Photo: Verne Equinox · CC BY-SA 3.0Older than 97% of Canadian towns: half of St. Mary's is over 57.6
Compared with 25% across Canada’s towns, one in ten households rent their home here. Its population is down 3% on 2016. The census found that 7.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in St. Mary's. Fewer residents who moved in within the year than in 83% of Canadian towns: 7.9%.
What stands out about the people of St. Mary's
Older than most towns
Half of St. Mary's’s residents are under 57.6 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 33% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, St. Mary's went from 2,233 to 2,161 residents (−3%), slower growth than in 92% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
−3% since 2016, a pace below 92% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 2%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 96% of Canadian towns: 33%
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Children under 15 make up 11%, against 16% across Canada’s towns. On average, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
St. Mary's households average 2 people, smaller 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.
Set against 8.2% across Canada’s towns, 5.3% of households are one-parent families in St. Mary's. The census found that just over a third of households are one person living alone locally.
St. Mary's ranks above 75% of Canadian towns on married residents 15 and over: 54%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
18% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). By way of comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. For St. Mary's, the census puts common-law partners at 10%.
90% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 89% 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
30% of homes were built before 1961 and 13% in 2001 or later. Measured more widely, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
Half above, half below $59,200 a year in household income
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in St. Mary's had $59,200 before tax, 31% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Nova Scotia’s towns have a median of $69,100. The pandemic’s benefits: 22% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
2.8% of residents are immigrants
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
Compared with 17% across Canada’s towns, 2.8% of residents are immigrants here. Census figures put residents without Canadian citizenship at 0.9% in St. Mary's.
St. Mary's ranks above 68% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 4.7%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
With visible minority residents at 0.7%, St. Mary's is behind 97% of Canadian towns on that count. For comparison, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. Here, a third of residents said they have no religion.
97% have English as their mother tongue; 4% also speak French
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
7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns, against 4% in St. Mary's. The census found that 1.4% of residents have French as their mother tongue locally.
St. Mary's sits below 91% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (12%)
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 18% (typical 9.5%). The wider picture: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 40% of adults
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 33% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 40% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
1 in 5 nearby towns have a higher median age than St. Mary's
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. Distances here run 45–69 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from St. Mary's.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Mary's | 2,212 | — | 57.6 | 33% | 2.8% |
| Guysborough | 4,721 | 45.0 km | 58.4 | 35% | 3.2% |
| Antigonish County, Subdivision B | 6,486 | 53.7 km | 48 | 23% | 2.4% |
| Antigonish | 5,175 | 55.9 km | 42 | 25% | 6.8% |
| Antigonish County, Subdivision A | 9,682 | 56.7 km | 47.2 | 25% | 6.5% |
| Port Hawkesbury | 3,442 | 69.0 km | 46.8 | 24% | 4.5% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into 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. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
Questions about St. Mary's’s residents
What religion are people in St. Mary's?
33% said they have no religion and 67% that they are Christian; 0.7% named another faith.
Is St. Mary's good for families?
11% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 57% of households and one-parent families 5.3%. Schools near St. Mary's are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in St. Mary's?
Half of St. Mary's’s households had more than $59,200 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of St. Mary's?
About 2,212, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 2,161 people in St. Mary's, 3% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in St. Mary's?
The median age is 57.6. 11% are under 15 and 33% 65 or older.
Is St. Mary's bilingual?
English and French: 4% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 96%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.4%.
How diverse is St. Mary's?
Immigrants: 2.8% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 0.7%. Indigenous identity: 4.7%.
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).