Photo: Tim Green from Bradford, UK · CC BY 2.0Half of Shelburne is over 54.4, older than 94% of Canadian towns
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.2%, Shelburne is behind 89% of Canadian towns on that count. On residents with no religion, Shelburne sits higher than 85% of Canadian towns: 49%. Statistics Canada puts the town’s population at 4,542 for July 2025. For Shelburne, the census puts households in single-detached houses at 86%.
What stands out about the people of Shelburne
Older than most towns
Shelburne’s median age is 54.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 29% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Shelburne changed by +1% from 2016 to 2021, behind 70% 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
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 5%. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Nova Scotia’s towns +2%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 91% of Canadian towns: 29%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The largest age band is 60–64: just over one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across Canada’s towns. For comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Locally, 12% of residents are under 15.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Shelburne, 54.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Smaller households than 83% of Canadian towns: 2.1 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Here 31% of households are one person living alone, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 27%. In Shelburne, 7.8% of households are one-parent families.
In Shelburne, 14% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 71% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: a fifth of adults (typical: 27%). To put it in context, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
Fewer renter households than 71% of Canadian towns: 17%
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
Older homes outnumber new: 34% predate 1961, 11% date from 2001 or later. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Typically, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
A median household income of $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
Shelburne’s median household took in $62,000 before tax, 28% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The figure for Nova Scotia’s towns: $69,100. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 25% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
Below 87% of Canadian towns: 7.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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
4.7% of residents are immigrants; across Canada’s towns the figure is 17%. Residents who moved in within the year: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Across Shelburne, 1.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
A higher share of Indigenous residents than 80% of Canadian towns, at 7.2%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, against 3.3% in Shelburne. By way of comparison, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 97%, and 4.2% speak French as well
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
Residents whose mother tongue is French make up 0.9%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns. On bilingual residents, Shelburne sits lower than 84% of Canadian towns: 4.2%.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 95% of Canadian towns, at 10%
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 22% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Measured more widely, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 47%
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 47%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 29% of residents are 65 or over.
Ranked by age, 1st oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Between Fairfield Park (31.6) and Shelburne (54.4) lies the rest of the group. Nearest to Shelburne in age: Berthierville (52.4) and Caraquet (54.4).
Of the 5 towns nearest Shelburne, 1 are older
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. Shelburne has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 4–67 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelburne | 4,542 | — | 54.4 | 29% | 4.7% |
| Shelburne | 1,797 | 3.7 km | 50.8 | 27% | 3.7% |
| Barrington | 6,720 | 40.9 km | 50 | 25% | 2.2% |
| Argyle | 8,216 | 50.7 km | 51.6 | 27% | 1.6% |
| Liverpool | 10,997 | 53.7 km | 55.6 | 32% | 4.7% |
| Yarmouth | 10,637 | 67.4 km | 50.4 | 26% | 3.9% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Nova Scotia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Nova Scotia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town 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.
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
Questions about Shelburne’s residents
Is Shelburne good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 12%. 56% of households are couple families and 7.8% one-parent families. Schools near Shelburne are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Shelburne?
$62,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Shelburne (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Shelburne?
Statistics Canada estimates 4,542 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 4,336 in Shelburne, 1% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Shelburne?
54.4 is the median age, older than 94% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 12%. 65 and over: 29%.
Is Shelburne bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4.2% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 96% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.9% grew up with French.
How diverse is Shelburne?
Immigrants make up 4.7% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 3.3% are members of a visible minority, and 7.2% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Shelburne?
Christian: 51%. No religion: 49%. Another religion: 0.8%.
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).