Photo: Richard apple · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 51.2: Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh is older than 88% of Canadian towns
Across Canada’s towns, a quarter of households rent their home; in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, 9.7%. Here, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. Lower than in 72% of Canadian towns: 27% of residents said they have no religion. Some 7,052 people live here, by the estimate for July 2025.
What stands out about the people of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
Older than most towns
Half of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh’s residents are under 51.2 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 28% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A +9% change since 2016: Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh grew faster than 75% 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
Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 20%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 28% in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, more than in 88% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Across Canada’s towns, the share of children under 15 is 16%; Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh has 18%. As a reference point, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, 51.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Only 23% of households are one person living alone in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Nearly one in ten households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns, against 4.9% in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh. The benchmark for one-person households across Canada’s towns: 27%. Households average 2.5 people.
More married residents 15 and over than 97% of Canadian towns: 61%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Common-law partners: 8.4% here and 11% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 46% of residents 15 and over are married.
Above 85% of Canadian towns: 88% of households live in a single-detached house
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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: 33% predate 1961, 23% date from 2001 or later. The benchmark for households in single-detached houses across Canada’s towns: 64%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
Household income at the median: $78,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
At $78,000, the middle household in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh earned 9% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Ontario’s towns, half of households had more than $91,600 before tax. In 2020, 15% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
8.2% of residents are immigrants
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, against 8.2% in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh. Here, 1.9% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
72% said they are Christian and 27% that they have no religion
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The figure for visible minority residents is 1.2% in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh and 15% across Canada’s towns. Here, 2% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
English is the mother tongue of 82%, and 2.6% speak French as well
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home, 13% mostly speak another language; 2.4% speak neither English nor French. Fewer bilingual residents than in 96% of Canadian towns: 2.6%. Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh sits close to the norm on residents whose mother tongue is French: 0.7%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
Only 15% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 16%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 55% of residents aged 15 and over
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 55%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 28% are 65 or over.
Among 41 towns of 6,891 to 7,238 people, the 7th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Fairwinds is the oldest at 61.6, Edgeley the youngest at 31.2. The closest ages to Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh’s belong to La Sarre (50.4), Rhatigan Ridge (50.9), Springhill (51.6) and Algoma, Unorganized, North Part (54.4).
Older than Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh: 1 of the 5 towns nearby
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. Distances here run 13–29 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh | 7,052 | — | 51.2 | 28% | 8.2% |
| Goderich | 8,412 | 13.3 km | 52.8 | 32% | 7.5% |
| Clinton | 8,318 | 23.6 km | 48.8 | 27% | 7.3% |
| Huron-Kinloss | 8,445 | 24.0 km | 46 | 25% | 6% |
| Wingham | 5,411 | 25.0 km | 44 | 23% | 6.2% |
| Morris-Turnberry | 4,028 | 29.4 km | 40 | 22% | 5.9% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of Ontario’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.
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
Questions about Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh’s residents
What religion are people in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh?
Most often Christian (72%) or no religion (27%); other religions make up 0.8%.
Is Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh good for families?
Children under 15 are 18% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 67% of households and one-parent families 4.9%. Schools near Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh?
Median total household income in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh was $78,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh?
The latest figure is an estimate: 7,052 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh counted 5,884, 9% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh?
Half the residents are older than 51.2 and half younger, older than 88% of Canadian towns; 18% are children under 15 and 28% are 65 or over.
Is Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 2.6% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 95% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.7% grew up with French.
How diverse is Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 8.2%. A visible minority makes up 1.2% and Indigenous residents 2%.
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).