Photo: Edgar El · CC BY 3.0Older than 99% of Canadian towns: half of Mahone Bay is over 60
A household here has 1.9 people on average; across Canada’s towns, 2.4. With about 1,200 residents in July 2025, Mahone Bay counted 520 households at the 2021 Census. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 7%. On residents with no religion, Mahone Bay sits higher than 83% of Canadian towns: 48%.
What stands out about the people of Mahone Bay
Older than most towns
The middle resident of Mahone Bay is 60; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 41% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 42%, more than in 91% of Canadian towns, and 41% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Mahone Bay’s population moved +3% on 2016, less than in 59% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 13%. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Nova Scotia’s towns, by more than +2%.
In Mahone Bay, 41% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
More residents are 70–74 than any other five-year age: one in ten residents, 2.1 times the share across Canada’s towns. Elsewhere, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Census figures put children under 15 at 11% in Mahone Bay.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
57% women, 43% men
About 77 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Mahone Bay, 42% of households are one person living alone, more than in 91% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, couple families are 53% of households and one-parent families 8.2%; here, 46% and 5.8%. The usual figure: 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
Mahone Bay ranks below 84% of Canadian towns on common-law partners: 6.3%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: a fifth of adults, against a typical 27%. Set beside that, just over one in ten residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
33% of households rent their home, more than in 64% 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
Here 61% of households live in a single-detached house, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 64%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Elsewhere, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 54% predate 1961, 29% date from 2001 or later.
The median household brings in $62,000 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Mahone Bay: half had less than $62,000, 28% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The median across Nova Scotia’s towns is $69,100. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 20% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
A larger share of residents who moved in within the year than 70% of Canadian towns: 13%
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 25%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
1.5% of residents are not Canadian citizens; across Canada’s towns the figure is 5.8%. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%. Most immigrants were born in Europe (59%) or in the Americas (29%).
A larger share of Indigenous residents than 76% of Canadian towns: 6.4%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents: 2%, below 85% of Canadian towns. Typically, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
Mahone Bay sits above 61% of Canadian towns for bilingual residents (9.9%)
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
Across Mahone Bay, 1.5% of residents have French as their mother tongue. The benchmark for bilingual residents across Canada’s towns: 7.5%.
More degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 63% of Canadian towns: 34%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 7.1% here, 9.5% in the typical town. Measured more widely, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 41%
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
41% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 41% are 65 or more.
The towns around Mahone Bay are all younger
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahone Bay | 1,200 | — | 60 | 41% | 17% |
| Lunenburg | 2,523 | 9.7 km | 57.2 | 36% | 12% |
| Lunenburg | 26,862 | 10.9 km | 53.6 | 29% | 5.7% |
| Bridgewater | 9,989 | 13.2 km | 51.6 | 30% | 6.7% |
| Chester | 11,740 | 18.5 km | 55.6 | 31% | 4.8% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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 Mahone Bay’s residents
Is Mahone Bay bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 9.9% are. Another 0% speak only French and 90% only English, and French is the first language of 1.5%.
How diverse is Mahone Bay?
17% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2% belong to a visible minority and 6.4% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Mahone Bay?
51% are Christian and 48% have no religion; 1.5% follow another religion.
Is Mahone Bay good for families?
Under 15: 11% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 46% of households. One-parent families: 5.8%. Schools near Mahone Bay are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Mahone Bay?
The median household in Mahone Bay took in $62,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Mahone Bay?
Mahone Bay had about 1,200 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 1,064, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Mahone Bay?
A median age of 60. Children under 15 make up 11%, and people 65 and over 41%.
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).