Photo: Paulo O from Halifax, Canada · CC BY 2.0A larger share of one-parent families than 84% of Canadian towns: 11%
With a median age of 43.7, Woodlawn is older than 60% of Canadian towns. Here, 3.5% of households live in a building of five or more storeys. The 2021 Census put the neighbourhood’s population at 20,925, in 8,470 households. Residents who moved in within the year: 8.8%, below nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
Woodlawn sits below 59% of Canadian towns for children under 15 (15%)
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
At 11%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns. No age band is larger than 55–59: 8.7% of residents. Among Nova Scotia’s towns, Lunenburg has the highest share aged 65 or over, at 36%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Woodlawn, 43.7. 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.
Only 22% of households are one person living alone in Woodlawn
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.5 people. Across Canada’s towns, the share of one-person households is 27%.
Above 51% of Canadian towns: 47% of residents 15 and over are married
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
29% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). As a yardstick, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: just over a tenth of the total.
A smaller share of renter households than 57% of Canadian towns: 22%
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: 16% predate 1961, 7.3% date from 2001 or later. Single-detached houses hold 67% of households, more than in 54% of Canadian towns, and buildings of five or more storeys 3.5%. Measured more widely, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Nearly one in ten homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Half of households earn more than $95,100 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
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Woodlawn’s, at $95,100, is 11% higher. The median across Nova Scotia’s towns is $69,100. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 26% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
7.9% 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
31% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Woodlawn has fewer immigrants than 70% of Canadian towns, at 7.9%. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (42%), then in Europe (35%).
Residents with no religion: 39%, a higher share than 62% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns, against 4.4% in Woodlawn. The share of visible minority residents stands at 14%. Across Canada’s towns, residents with no religion come to 35%.
Bilingual residents: 13%, a higher share than 66% of Canadian towns
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
3.3% of residents have French as their mother tongue; across Canada’s towns the figure is 1.5%. Measured more widely, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 34%, a higher share than 62% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 6.8% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
A job for 56% of residents aged 15 and over
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.
The employment rate of 56% is close to the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Of 41 towns its size (20,337 to 21,490 people), the 13th oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Saddle Ridge is the youngest of them at 32.4; Bridgenorth, at 52, the oldest. The closest ages to Woodlawn’s belong to Pitt Meadows (43.2), Camrose (43.2), Dunbar-Southlands (44.3) and West Rouge (44.4).
A younger town than 2 of the 6 around it: Woodlawn
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodlawn | 20,925 | — | 43.7 | 18% | 7.9% |
| Manor Park | 14,148 | 2.7 km | 41.2 | 19% | 8.4% |
| Portland Estates | 10,164 | 3.3 km | 51.9 | 32% | 10% |
| Westphal | 4,201 | 3.6 km | 44.8 | 16% | 5.5% |
| Austinville | 28,021 | 4.0 km | 41 | 18% | 9.2% |
| Cole Harbour | 21,627 | 4.7 km | 43 | 18% | 6.5% |
| North End | 19,733 | 6.1 km | 33.3 | 14% | 14% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada reports the census by municipality; a neighbourhood’s figures are the sum of its dissemination areas, rounded counts and all, with medians estimated from age and income groups and no 2016 count, as the 2016 areas don’t fit.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about Woodlawn’s residents
What religion are people in Woodlawn?
Most often Christian (58%) or no religion (39%); other religions make up 3.8%.
Is Woodlawn good for families?
Children under 15 are 15% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 55% of households and one-parent families 11%. Schools near Woodlawn are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Woodlawn?
Median total household income in Woodlawn was $95,100 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Woodlawn?
The 2021 Census counted 20,925 people in Woodlawn.
What is the average age in Woodlawn?
Half the residents are older than 43.7 and half younger, older than 60% of Canadian towns; 15% are children under 15 and 18% are 65 or over.
Is Woodlawn bilingual?
13% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 87% English only. French is the mother tongue of 3.3%.
How diverse is Woodlawn?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 7.9%. A visible minority makes up 14% and Indigenous residents 4.4%.
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).