Photo: WayeMason · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in buildings of five or more storeys: 15%, a higher share than 83% of Canadian towns
Most recent wave: 49% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). Statistics Canada puts Halifax’s population at 516,822 for July 2025. Residents with no religion: two fifths of the total. The median age here is 40.4, lower than in 61% of Canadian towns.
Halifax’s population changed by +9% since 2016, more than in 77% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 18%. Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Nova Scotia’s towns, +2%.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 12% in Halifax, more than in 73% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Where 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns, Halifax has 15%. Across Halifax, 17% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
2.3 people per household, fewer than in 64% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Shared houses stand out: 7% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 86% of Canadian towns. The share of one-person households stands at 30%. On one-parent families, 8.2% here is much the same as across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of common-law partners than 65% of Canadian towns: 13%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Against a figure of 46% across Canada’s towns, the share of married residents 15 and over in Halifax comes in at 44%. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Halifax sits above 78% of Canadian towns for renter households (43%)
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
With households in single-detached houses at 48%, Halifax is behind 71% of Canadian towns on that count. Renter households: 25% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Newer homes outnumber old: 27% date from 2001 or later, 18% from before 1961.
Half above, half below $81,000 a year in household income
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
At $81,000, the middle household in Halifax earned 6% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Nova Scotia’s towns, half of households had more than $69,100 before tax. Pandemic benefits reached 27% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 15%, a higher share than 79% of Canadian towns
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
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
In Halifax, 12% of residents are immigrants, beside 17% across Canada’s towns. By contrast, 9.1% of residents are not Canadian citizens, a higher share than in 65% of Canadian towns. The usual figure: just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Halifax ranks above 61% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 3.8%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (3%). For Indigenous residents, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 2.8%. The share of visible minority residents is 17%, against 15% across Canada’s towns.
Bilingual residents make up 12% in Halifax, more than in 66% of Canadian towns
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
2.3% of residents have French as their mother tongue, about the same as across Canada’s towns. For comparison, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 73% of Canadian towns: 41%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of 25- to 64-year-olds hold a degree; in Halifax, 41%, and 29% have a college or trades credential (typical: 29%). Those with no credential make up 6.7%, next to 9.5% in the typical town.
In work on census day: 58% of adults
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 58%, the share in work is about the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
From a median age of 29 in Schmidtville to 57 in Sheet Harbour
The city’s 36 neighbourhoods, youngest first; each links its own page.
Sheet Harbour is the oldest area, with 33% aged 65 or over; Schmidtville the youngest (median age 29). Immigrants are most common in Clayton Park West (25% of residents). Schmidtville has the most renters: 86% of households.
Around Halifax, 3 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax | 516,822 | — | 40.4 | 17% | 12% |
| Austinville | 28,021 | 1.4 km | 41 | 18% | 9.2% |
| Windsor Park | 13,044 | 3.3 km | 35.4 | 14% | 14% |
| North End | 19,733 | 3.6 km | 33.3 | 14% | 14% |
| Manor Park | 14,148 | 3.9 km | 41.2 | 19% | 8.4% |
| Fairview | 16,296 | 4.8 km | 36.1 | 14% | 22% |
| Woodlawn | 20,925 | 4.9 km | 43.7 | 18% | 7.9% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- 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 Halifax’s residents
What religion are people in Halifax?
Most often Christian (53%) or no religion (40%); other religions make up 7.2%.
Is Halifax good for families?
Children under 15 are 15% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 50% of households and one-parent families 8.2%. Schools near Halifax are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Halifax?
Median total household income in Halifax was $81,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Halifax?
The latest figure is an estimate: 516,822 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Halifax counted 439,819, 9% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Halifax?
Half the residents are older than 40.4 and half younger; 15% are children under 15 and 17% are 65 or over.
Is Halifax bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 12% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 87% speak only English and 0.1% only French; 2.3% grew up with French.
How diverse is Halifax?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 12%. A visible minority makes up 17% and Indigenous residents 3.8%.
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).