Photo: Reynoborn64 · Public domainA median age of 53.6: Digby is older than 92% of Canadian towns
Across Canada’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Digby, 2.1. Some 7,528 people live in the town, by the estimate for July 2025. Households in single-detached houses account for 91%. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 87% of Canadian towns: 8.4%.
What stands out about the people of Digby
Older than most towns
Line Digby’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 53.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 29% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
+2% since 2016, a pace below 65% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 4%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 91% of Canadian towns: 29%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Where 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns, Digby has 13%. On average, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Digby, 53.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
33% of households are one person living alone, more than in 71% 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.
On the census count, 8% of households are one-parent families. One-person households: 27% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Digby sits above 70% of Canadian towns for common-law partners (13%)
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
22% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). The share of married residents 15 and over stands at 47%. Across Canada’s towns, common-law partners come to 11%.
19% of households rent their home, below 65% 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Set beside that, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 45% predate 1961, 8.3% date from 2001 or later. 16% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Household income, middle of the range: $54,000 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Digby: half had less than $54,000, 37% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within Nova Scotia’s towns, the household in the middle had $69,100. 28% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
4.7% of residents are immigrants
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
Across Canada’s towns, the share of immigrants is 17%; Digby has 4.7%. The census found that 1.5% of residents are not Canadian citizens in the town. 11% lived at another address a year earlier, more than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns.
Indigenous residents: 7.7%, a higher share than 81% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 39%, above 63% of Canadian towns. In Digby, 5.7% of residents belong to a visible minority. Typically, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of residents whose mother tongue is French than 68% of Canadian towns: 3%
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
9.3% of residents speak English and French, against 7.5% across Canada’s towns. Residents whose mother tongue is French make up 1.5% across Canada’s towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64 make up 11% in Digby, less than in 93% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 20% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
42% of adults were employed in May 2021
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 29% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 42% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Oldest by rank: 2nd of 41 towns of 7,359 to 7,694 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The group spans Blairmore Suburban Centre, youngest at 31.8, to Louiseville, oldest at 57.6. Nearest to Digby in age: Parry Sound (53.2), Campbellton (53.6) and Louiseville (57.6).
The towns around Digby are all older
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. No closer places have figures: these lie 14–37 km from Digby.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digby | 7,528 | — | 53.6 | 29% | 4.7% |
| Digby | 2,153 | 14.1 km | 55.2 | 34% | 6.9% |
| Annapolis County, Subdivision A | 6,719 | 33.0 km | 57.2 | 33% | 8.8% |
| Clare | 8,020 | 36.6 km | 56 | 31% | 3.8% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of Nova Scotia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- What these tables don’t give. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
Questions about Digby’s residents
What is the population of Digby?
Statistics Canada estimates 7,528 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 7,242 in Digby, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Digby?
53.6 is the median age, older than 92% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 13%. 65 and over: 29%.
Is Digby bilingual?
9.3% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 91% English only. French is the mother tongue of 3%.
How diverse is Digby?
Immigrants make up 4.7% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 5.7% are members of a visible minority, and 7.7% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Digby?
Christian: 60%. No religion: 39%. Another religion: 0.7%.
Is Digby good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 13%. 51% of households are couple families and 8% one-parent families. Schools near Digby are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Digby?
$54,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Digby (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
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).