Photo: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0One-person households: 40%, a higher share than 89% of Canadian towns
The median age in New Glasgow is 47.6, higher than in 79% of Canadian towns. This Nova Scotia town had about 10,378 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 4,445 households at the 2021 Census. The share of renter households stands at 44%. Where just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns, New Glasgow has 15%.
What stands out about the people of New Glasgow
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 40%, more than in 89% of Canadian towns, and 26% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
From 2016 to 2021, New Glasgow outgrew 52% of Canadian towns: +4%
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 10%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 26%, a higher share than 84% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The share of children under 15 trails 68% of Canadian towns: 14%. On average, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: 7.8% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ New Glasgow, 47.6. 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.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 83% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Couple families are 42% of households (Canada’s towns 53%) and one-parent families 11% (8.2%).
New Glasgow sits below 68% of Canadian towns for married residents 15 and over (40%)
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
28% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). In New Glasgow, 10% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
Only 59% of households live in a single-detached house in New Glasgow
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
9.8% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. Against that, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. The share of households in buildings of five or more storeys stands at 0.1%.
A median household income of $58,000 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Half of New Glasgow’s households had a total income below $58,000, 33% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within Nova Scotia’s towns, the household in the middle had $69,100. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 26% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
5.1% 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
3.3% of residents are not Canadian citizens; across Canada’s towns the figure is 5.8%. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (44%) and in Europe (33%). New Glasgow has fewer immigrants than 81% of Canadian towns, at 5.1%.
63% said they are Christian and 35% that they have no religion
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
In New Glasgow, one in ten residents belong to a visible minority, beside 15% across Canada’s towns. 3.3% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
English is the mother tongue of 94%, and 5.6% speak French as well
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
At 1%, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns. On bilingual residents, New Glasgow sits lower than 68% of Canadian towns: 5.6%.
A higher share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 52% of Canadian towns, at 28%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
A job for 48% of residents aged 15 and over
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 48% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 26% of residents are 65 or over.
Of 41 towns its size (10,150 to 10,614 people), the 6th oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The youngest is McConachie (30.9) and the oldest Leeds and the Thousand Islands (52). East St. Paul (46.8), Markham Village (47.3), Lynden (48.4) and Humber Heights-Westmount (48.8): the towns nearest New Glasgow in median age.
Among its 6 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than New Glasgow
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Glasgow | 10,378 | — | 47.6 | 26% | 5.1% |
| Trenton | 2,499 | 2.7 km | 47.6 | 23% | 1.1% |
| Stellarton | 4,251 | 3.7 km | 47.2 | 23% | 2.5% |
| Westville | 3,731 | 6.6 km | 47.2 | 24% | 2.7% |
| Pictou County, Subdivision C | 8,847 | 6.6 km | 52 | 26% | 1.6% |
| Pictou County, Subdivision B | 6,482 | 10.1 km | 51.6 | 27% | 2.7% |
| Pictou | 3,307 | 10.7 km | 53.2 | 30% | 4.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: Nova Scotia’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- 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 New Glasgow’s residents
What is the average age in New Glasgow?
The median age is 47.6, older than 79% of Canadian towns. 14% are under 15 and 26% 65 or older.
Is New Glasgow bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 5.6% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 94% speak only English and 0% only French; 1% grew up with French.
How diverse is New Glasgow?
Immigrants: 5.1% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 9.9%. Indigenous identity: 3.3%.
What religion are people in New Glasgow?
35% said they have no religion and 63% that they are Christian; 2.1% named another faith.
Is New Glasgow good for families?
14% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 42% of households and one-parent families 11%. Schools near New Glasgow are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in New Glasgow?
Half of New Glasgow’s households had more than $58,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of New Glasgow?
About 10,378, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 9,471 people in New Glasgow, 4% more than 2016.
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).