WestvilleNova Scotia
It belongs to the New Glasgow metropolitan area. It is a town of 3,731 residents in Nova Scotia.
Is Westville a good place to live?
A tough set of grades. Overall, Westville earns a C−: better than 17% of Canadian towns, and #43 of 88 in Nova Scotia. The weak point is health (D). Natural hazards are few (A). Elsewhere it is close to typical: B for cost of living and B for walkability.
No School Grade: this province doesn't publish comparable results school by school. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Westville grades
Each subject compares Westville with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Westville stand out
The 3 things Westville does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Westville.
Westville faces fewer hazards than 88% of Canadian towns
One flood study covers the town, by Nova Scotia Department of Municipal Affairs. Radon is lower than usual: 2% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town. For earthquakes Westville is middling, $0.021 a year per $1,000 against $0.030 for the typical town. Westville doesn’t get its own radon tests figures; the ones here come from the Zone 4 health region.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Westville | Nova Scotia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 2% | 13% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.021 | $0.018 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Westville scores below 86% of Canadian towns for health
Source area for health survey and life expectancy: the Zone 2 - Northern
The region has more smokers than Nova Scotia, 17% of adults to 14%. Adults who call their own health very good or excellent: 42%, lower than both Nova Scotia’s towns (49%) and Canadian towns (52%). In addition, people in the region live to 79.3 on average: 81.5 for women and 77.1 for men in 2022/2024. The town’s own part is the trip to care, and Westville’s is long: 5.9 km to a hospital on average, against 3.7 km typical.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Westville | Nova Scotia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very good or excellent health | 42% | 49% | 52% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 21% | 20% | 17% |
| Smokers | 17% | 15% | 12% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 79.3 | 80.0 | 81.5 |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Trips to work from Westville are shorter than from Nova Scotia’s towns or Canadian towns: 17 min on average
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Westville | Nova Scotia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 17 min | 23 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · The 2021 census was taken in May 2021, during COVID-19 restrictions: more people than usual worked from home or were off work.
For safety, Westville gets a C
Violence reaches 21.1 per 1,000 residents a year. For violence alone the index was 65, below both Nova Scotia’s towns (94) and Canadian towns (86). Each year brings 43 property incidents per 1,000 residents.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Westville | Nova Scotia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 21.1 | 14.5 | 12 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 43 | 36.2 | 31.2 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 65 | 94 | 86 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Afternoon heat in Westville trails that of 88% of Canadian towns
January nights fall to −8.9°C on average, about level with Nova Scotia’s towns (−8.9°C) and above Canadian towns (−13.5°C). October is the wettest month, with 119 mm of rain and snow on average. Snow peaks in January: 53 cm in a normal year.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Westville | Nova Scotia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precipitation a year | 1,134 mm | 1,393 mm | 883 mm |
| July afternoon high | 23.1°C | 23.1°C | 25.5°C |
| Snowfall a year | 187 cm | 215 cm | 141 cm |
| January night low | −8.9°C | −8.9°C | −13.5°C |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Caribou Point)
11 km from Westville to Salt Springs Provincial Park
Protected areas open to the public, within 10 km of the town: 7, between Nova Scotia’s towns (23.5) and Canadian towns (4). 3.3 km out lies the largest, Scallop Buffer Zone (SFA 24), at 209,496 ha. The closest of Canada’s national parks is Prince Edward Island National Park, at 96 km.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Westville | Nova Scotia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 4.1% | 8.7% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 7 | 23.5 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
For cost of living, Westville gets a B
The rent as a share of income and monthly rent for a two-bedroom numbers here cover the New Glasgow metro area
Shelter took 30% or more of income for 16% of households, between Nova Scotia’s towns (13%) and Canadian towns (18%). Owners make up 72% of households.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Westville | Nova Scotia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 72% | 82% | 74% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 16% | 13% | 18% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · The 2021 census asked owners what their home was worth; those values, and 2020 incomes, are what this compares.
In Westville, November normally means 8°C afternoons and 2°C nights
A normal November brings 118 mm of rain and snow. December follows at 3°C by day and −4°C by night. Expect around 7 cm of snow in November. The year peaks in July (23°C) and bottoms out in February (−9°C).
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 0°C | −7°C | 278 mm |
| Spring | 7°C | 0°C | 241 mm |
| Summer | 21°C | 14°C | 263 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 352 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Caribou Point); the forecast is on the Weather page
Westville’s MP is Sean Fraser (Liberal Party of Canada), for Central Nova
The Liberal Party of Canada has 11 of the 11 MPs elected in Nova Scotia.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Westville has one public library, Westville Public Library
It stands 0.7 km from the centre of Westville.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Westville has fewer immigrants than Nova Scotia’s towns or Canadian towns: 2.7% of residents
Children under 15 make up 16%, about level with Canadian towns (16%) and above Nova Scotia’s towns (14%). The 65-and-over age group makes up 24% of residents.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
52.5% of Westville’s residents are women
Of the 2021 count, 1,860 were women and 1,680 men (women across Canada: 50.9%).
| Westville | Nova Scotia | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 14% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 60% | 62% | 64% |
| 65+ | 24% | 25% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 21% | 18% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 44% | 54% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Nova Scotia and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Westville and its edges hold 4 schools: 3 elementary schools and 1 secondary school
Secondary school means a trip of 4.4 km at the nearest, close to Nova Scotia’s towns (4.3 km) and above Canadian towns (1.2 km).
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Duggan Consolidated SchoolIn WestvilleElementary | Elementary | – | English public |
| Northumberland Regional High SchoolNearest secondary school, 1.9 kmSecondary · Grades 9–RG | Secondary · Grades 9–RG | – | English public |
| Schools within 3 km | Westville | Nova Scotia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest secondary school | 4.4 km | 4.3 km | 1.2 km |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025-26 · Source note: the province reports its assessments by regional centre, and that series stops in 2019–20, so there’s no schools grade in Nova Scotia.
Older housing stands out in Westville: 38% predates 1961
| Heritage | Westville | Nova Scotia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1961 | 38% | 28% | 18% |
Canadian Register of Historic Places, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel, Wikidata; Census 2021 homes by period
Everything we know about Westville
Famous people from Westville
4 notable people were born in Westville.
Photo credits
Frank Bezanson: Nova Scotia House of Assembly, Public domain
About Westville
Town in Nova Scotia
For Westville, TownRatings uses Statistics Canada’s census-subdivision boundary in Nova Scotia, and every figure on its pages covers that whole area.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 3,731 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Nova Scotia
- Census division
- Pictou
- Metro area
- New Glasgow
- Census subdivision
- 1212008
Westville’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westville | 3,731 | — | C− | B | C | D |
| Pictou County, Subdivision B | 6,482 | 3.8 | D | B+ | C | D |
| Stellarton | 4,251 | 4.2 | D | B− | C− | C− |
| New Glasgow | 10,378 | 6.6 | D | C+ | D | C− |
| Trenton | 2,499 | 9.1 | — | B | C | C− |
| Pictou County, Subdivision C | 8,847 | 12 | D | B+ | C | D |
| Pictou | 3,307 | 14 | D | C+ | D | C− |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Westville
Who are the people of Westville?
3% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% for the median of Canadian towns; 3% have an Indigenous identity and 3% are immigrants.
What kind of homes are in Westville?
Mostly 74% single-detached houses (the median of Canadian towns: 64%), with 0% of homes in buildings of five or more storeys. Households hold 2.3 people on average, and 32% have just one.
Has Westville grown?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it fell from 3,628 to 3,540 residents (2.4% down; Canadian towns’ median grew 4.1%); Statistics Canada now estimates 3,731.
How old are the people of Westville?
The median resident is 47.2 years old, against 45.2 for the median of Canadian towns. 16% are under 15 and 24% are 65 or over.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. 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).