Photo: Sophilosophie · CC BY-SA 4.0Older than 96% of Canadian towns: half of Clare is over 56
One in ten residents are under 15; across Canada’s towns the figure is 16%. Clare is home to some 8,020 people (July 2025 estimate), in 3,605 households at the 2021 Census. In Clare, 13% of households rent their home. On residents with no religion, Clare sits lower than 77% of Canadian towns: 25%.
What stands out about the people of Clare
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 17% of residents, more than in 95% of Canadian towns, and 0.4% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
A bilingual town
Both official languages: 69% of residents speak English and French, more than in 98% of Canadian towns. Another 1.1% speak only French and 30% only English. English & French ↓
Older than most towns
The middle resident of Clare is 56; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 31% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Clare went from 8,018 to 7,678 residents (−4%), slower growth than in 95% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
In Clare, 69% of residents speak English and French, more than in 98% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. 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
With residents whose mother tongue is French at 55%, Clare is ahead of 82% of Canadian towns on that count. The wider picture: 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Slower than most: −4% since 2016, behind 95% of Canadian towns
The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Clare ranks above 94% of Canadian towns on residents aged 65 and over: 31%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Compared with 11% across Canada’s towns, 7.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24 here. Measured more widely, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Clare, 56. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
Clare households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 83% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
By its share of one-person households (30%), Clare is above 63% of Canadian towns. The census found that 7.6% of households are one-parent families locally.
13% of residents 15 and over live common-law, a share 65% of Canadian towns don’t reach
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
In Clare, 48% of residents 15 and over are married, beside 46% across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
More households in single-detached houses than 95% of Canadian towns: 94%
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. As a reference point, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Nearly two in five homes were built before 1961 and 8.6% in 2001 or later.
Household income, middle of the range: $61,600 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Clare’s households had a total income below $61,600, 28% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across Nova Scotia’s towns have a median of $69,100. 25% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
A smaller share of residents who moved in within the year than 56% of Canadian towns: 10%
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
Against a figure of 17% across Canada’s towns, the share of immigrants in Clare comes in at 3.8%. The wider picture: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. For Clare, the census puts residents without Canadian citizenship at 1.8%.
Indigenous residents: 17%, a higher share than 95% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
In Clare, 2.7% of residents belong to a visible minority, beside 15% across Canada’s towns. The usual figure: 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 75% of Canadian towns: 17%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
A job for 45% of residents aged 15 and over
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 45%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 31% of residents are 65 or over.
Of 41 towns its size (7,888 to 8,153 people), the 2nd oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
They run from Taber, at 27.4, to Haliburton Village, at 59.2. Closest in median age to Clare are Scenic Acres (50.7), Beaubassin East / Beaubassin-est (50.8) and Haliburton Village (59.2).
Every nearby town is younger than Clare
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. No closer places have figures: these lie 37–45 km from Clare.
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: Nova Scotia’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Clare’s residents
What is the median income in Clare?
The median household in Clare took in $61,600 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Clare?
Clare had about 8,020 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 7,678, 4% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Clare?
A median age of 56, older than 96% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 10%, and people 65 and over 31%.
Is Clare bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 69% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 30% speak only English and 1.1% only French; 55% grew up with French.
How diverse is Clare?
3.8% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2.7% belong to a visible minority and 17% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Clare?
75% are Christian and 25% have no religion; 0.3% follow another religion.
Is Clare good for families?
Under 15: 10% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 54% of households. One-parent families: 7.6%. Schools near Clare are on its Schools page.
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).