Photo: William M. Monroe · Public domainPictou is older than 92% of Canadian towns: a median age of 53.2
One-person households make up 38%, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Pictou has more Indigenous residents than 73% of Canadian towns, at 5.5%. There are 3% fewer residents than in 2016. Census figures put renter households at 34% locally.
What stands out about the people of Pictou
Older than most towns
The middle resident of Pictou is 53.2; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 30% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than before
Pictou went from 3,186 people in 2016 to 3,107 in 2021, −3%: slower growth than in 90% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A change of −3% since 2016 leaves Pictou behind 90% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 6% higher again. For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +2% across Nova Scotia’s towns.
More residents aged 65 and over than 93% of Canadian towns: 30%
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Children under 15 make up 14%, against 16% across Canada’s towns. By way of comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Pictou, 53.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
12% of households are one-parent families, more than in 90% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Households in Pictou hold 2.1 people on average (Canada’s towns: 2.4). Against that, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns.
Below 68% of Canadian towns: 40% of residents 15 and over are married
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
26% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. The wider picture: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: just over a tenth of the total.
71% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 60% of Canadian towns
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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
10% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. The wider picture: 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 49% predate 1961, 4.8% date from 2001 or later.
The middle household earns $55,600 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Pictou had $55,600 before tax, 35% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The figure for Nova Scotia’s towns: $69,100. The pandemic’s benefits: 26% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
Above 68% of Canadian towns: 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
Set against 17% across Canada’s towns, 4.3% of residents are immigrants in Pictou. What’s more, 2% of residents are not Canadian citizens, a lower share than in 75% of Canadian towns. The benchmark for residents who moved in within the year across Canada’s towns: 11%. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (48%), then in Asia (30%).
Pictou sits above 53% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (36%)
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
4.3% of residents belong to a visible minority (Canada’s towns: 15%). Against that, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 95%, and 5.2% speak French as well
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 99%, French 0.3%. Lower than in 72% of Canadian towns: 5.2% of residents speak English and French. Little separates the share of residents whose mother tongue is French here, 2%, from the figure across Canada’s towns.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 79% of Canadian towns, at 16%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Employment: 41% of residents 15 and over had a job
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 30% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 41% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
In its size band (3,260 to 3,358), the 9th oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Arviat is the youngest of them at 21.8; North Kawartha, at 59.2, the oldest. Next to Pictou on this scale come Annapolis County, Subdivision D (52), Atholville (52.8), Saint-Jean-Port-Joli (54) and Enderby (54.4).
Of the 6 towns nearest Pictou, 1 are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pictou | 3,307 | — | 53.2 | 30% | 4.3% |
| Trenton | 2,499 | 9.3 km | 47.6 | 23% | 1.1% |
| New Glasgow | 10,378 | 10.7 km | 47.6 | 26% | 5.1% |
| Pictou County, Subdivision A | 6,575 | 12.6 km | 54.4 | 30% | 5% |
| Westville | 3,731 | 13.5 km | 47.2 | 24% | 2.7% |
| Stellarton | 4,251 | 13.6 km | 47.2 | 23% | 2.5% |
| Pictou County, Subdivision C | 8,847 | 15.6 km | 52 | 26% | 1.6% |
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. For each measure we take the median of Nova Scotia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- 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.
Questions about Pictou’s residents
Is Pictou good for families?
14% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 43% of households and one-parent families 12%. Schools near Pictou are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Pictou?
Half of Pictou’s households had more than $55,600 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Pictou?
About 3,307, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 3,107 people in Pictou, 3% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Pictou?
The median age is 53.2, older than 92% of Canadian towns. 14% are under 15 and 30% 65 or older.
Is Pictou bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 5.2% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 95% speak only English and 0% only French; 2% grew up with French.
How diverse is Pictou?
Immigrants: 4.3% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 4.3%. Indigenous identity: 5.5%.
What religion are people in Pictou?
36% said they have no religion and 63% that they are Christian; 1.5% named another faith.
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).