Half of East Preston is over 50.7, older than 87% of Canadian towns
Where 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns, East Preston has 14%. In East Preston, 18% of households are one-parent families. The neighbourhood has fewer residents who moved in within the year than 98% of Canadian towns, at 5.4%. There were 1,035 households here at the 2021 Census, home to 2,573 people.
What stands out about the people of East Preston
Older than most towns
Half of East Preston’s residents are under 50.7 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 25% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 79% of Canadian towns, at 25%
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 9.5%, East Preston is behind 73% of Canadian towns on that count. The wider picture: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ East Preston, 50.7. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
East Preston households average 2.5 people, larger than in 54% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
For East Preston, the census puts one-person households at 27%.
Only 7.8% of residents 15 and over live common-law in East Preston
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
36% of residents 15 and over are married, against 46% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, common-law partners come to 11%.
In East Preston, 83% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 77% of Canadian towns
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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. On average, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. 17% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 13% built before 1961.
Household income at the median: $75,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in East Preston had $75,000 before tax, 13% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Nova Scotia’s towns the median is $69,100. Pandemic benefits reached 34% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
1% of residents are immigrants, the fewest of Nova Scotia’s towns
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
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
17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, against 1% in East Preston. What’s more, residents without Canadian citizenship are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns.
East Preston ranks above 88% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 11%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion trails four fifths of Canadian towns: 24%. On visible minority residents, East Preston sits higher than 86% of Canadian towns: 52%. Indigenous residents: 2.8% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
English is the mother tongue of 98%, and 5.8% speak French as well
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Residents whose mother tongue is French: 1%, near enough the figure across Canada’s towns. At home: English 99%, French 0.2%. On bilingual residents, East Preston sits lower than 66% of Canadian towns: 5.8%.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 97% of Canadian towns, at 9.3%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 13%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 44% of residents 15 and over had a job
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 44% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 25% of residents are 65 or over.
Among 41 towns of 2,517 to 2,632 people, the 12th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Between City Commercial Core (32.7) and Electoral Area G, Cowichan Valley (59.6) lies the rest of the group. Closest in median age to East Preston are Sainte-Victoire-de-Sorel (50), Sainte-Croix (50.4), Nanton (52.8) and Roberval (53).
East Preston and its 6 nearest towns: 1 of them are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Preston | 2,573 | — | 50.7 | 25% | 1% |
| Lawrencetown | 3,509 | 4.6 km | 46.5 | 17% | 4.4% |
| Westphal | 4,201 | 4.6 km | 44.8 | 16% | 5.5% |
| Lake Echo | 5,223 | 5.3 km | 43.6 | 17% | 3.2% |
| Cole Harbour | 21,627 | 7.1 km | 43 | 18% | 6.5% |
| Woodlawn | 20,925 | 8.0 km | 43.7 | 18% | 7.9% |
| Portland Estates | 10,164 | 9.0 km | 51.9 | 32% | 10% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
- Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Nova Scotia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Built up from dissemination areas: Statistics Canada stops at the municipality. Rounded counts are added together and medians estimated from the published groups. The 2016 areas don’t line up with these, so the change since 2016 isn’t shown.
Questions about East Preston’s residents
How diverse is East Preston?
1% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 52% belong to a visible minority and 11% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in East Preston?
75% are Christian and 24% have no religion; 1% follow another religion.
Is East Preston good for families?
Under 15: 13% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 36% of households. One-parent families: 18%. Schools near East Preston are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in East Preston?
The median household in East Preston took in $75,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of East Preston?
The 2021 Census counted 2,573 people in East Preston.
What is the average age in East Preston?
A median age of 50.7, older than 87% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 13%, and people 65 and over 25%.
Is East Preston bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 5.8% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 94% speak only English and 0% only French; 1% grew up with French.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. 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).