Photo: Verne Equinox · CC BY 3.0Half of Berwick is over 56.8, older than 97% of Canadian towns
In Berwick, just over one in ten residents are under 15, beside 16% across Canada’s towns. The census found that just over a third of households are one person living alone here. Higher than in 71% of Canadian towns: 37% of households rent their home. The 2021 Census found 1,045 households here; by July 2025 the population was about 2,631.
What stands out about the people of Berwick
Older than most towns
Half of Berwick’s residents are under 56.8 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 36% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Berwick went from 2,509 to 2,455 residents (−2%), slower growth than in 89% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A −2% change since 2016: slower than 89% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Nova Scotia’s towns +2%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 7%.
Berwick ranks above 98% of Canadian towns on residents aged 65 and over: 36%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Compared with 11% across Canada’s towns, 8.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24 here. To put it in context, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Berwick, 56.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 82 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 83% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-parent families stands at 8.2%.
A lower share of common-law partners than 70% of Canadian towns, at 8.3%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
44% of residents 15 and over are married; across Canada’s towns the figure is 46%. The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%.
62% of households live in a single-detached house, fewer than in 53% of Canadian towns
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. Prices, rents and shelter costs are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Owners and renters · share of households
When homes were built · share of homes
Older homes outnumber new: 26% predate 1961, 25% date from 2001 or later. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. For households in single-detached houses, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 64%.
Household income at the median: $60,400 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Berwick’s median household took in $60,400 before tax, 30% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Nova Scotia’s towns, the median household income is $69,100. COVID-19 benefits went to 19% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
A higher share of residents who moved in within the year than 58% of Canadian towns, at 12%
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Here 3% of residents are not Canadian citizens, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 5.8%. For comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Locally, 5.5% of residents are immigrants.
Residents with no religion make up 39% in Berwick, more than in 63% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents is 4.6%, against 15% across Canada’s towns. Locally, 3.9% of residents have an Indigenous identity. Residents with no religion: 35% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
95% have English as their mother tongue; 6% also speak French
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Against a figure of 7.5% across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents in Berwick comes in at 6%. 1.3% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
30% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 55% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 9.2% (typical 9.5%). Elsewhere, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 43% of adults
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 43%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 36% of residents are 65 or over.
Oldest by rank: 5th of 41 towns of 2,587 to 2,675 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The youngest of these towns is La Ronge, at 31; the oldest, Brockville, is at 67.7. In age, Berwick keeps company with Sainte-Croix (50.4), Division No. 7, Subdivision E (55.2), Electoral Area G, Cowichan Valley (59.6) and Chase (59.6).
The towns around Berwick are all younger
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of Nova Scotia’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
Questions about Berwick’s residents
Is Berwick good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 12%. 48% of households are couple families and 8.2% one-parent families. Schools near Berwick are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Berwick?
$60,400 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Berwick (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Berwick?
Statistics Canada estimates 2,631 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 2,455 in Berwick, 2% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Berwick?
56.8 is the median age, older than 97% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 12%. 65 and over: 36%.
Is Berwick bilingual?
English and French: 6% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 94%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.3%.
How diverse is Berwick?
Immigrants make up 5.5% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 4.6% are members of a visible minority, and 3.9% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Berwick?
Christian: 59%. No religion: 39%. Another religion: 1.9%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population · Statistics Canada, population estimates for 1 July 2025 (table 17-10-0155). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).