Photo: Jfvoll · CC BY-SA 4.0A lower share of one-person households than 91% of Canadian towns, at 15%
12% of households rent their home; across Canada’s towns the figure is 25%. With about 13,051 residents in July 2025, Ayr counted 3,690 households at the 2021 Census. On the census count, 8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Few places have so few residents aged 65 and over: 17% here, fewer than in 62% of Canadian towns. The census figures here are for the whole of North Dumfries, the municipality that includes Ayr.
Ayr changed by +4% from 2016 to 2021, behind 51% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Ontario’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 23%.
Ayr ranks above 73% of Canadian towns on children under 15: 18%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 7.9% of residents. Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, a higher share than in 74% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Ayr, 42.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Ayr households average 2.9 people, larger than in 87% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
By its share of one-parent families (5.8%), Ayr is below 85% of Canadian towns.
A higher share of married residents 15 and over than 92% of Canadian towns, at 59%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: just over a fifth of adults, against a typical 27%. Nearly one in ten residents 15 and over live common-law, fewer than in 63% of Canadian towns.
Households in single-detached houses make up 83% in Ayr, more than in 77% of Canadian towns
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Just over a quarter of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 21% built before 1961. Measured more widely, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
Half above, half below $128,000 a year in household income
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Ayr had $128,000 before tax, 49% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The provincial yardstick is $91,600, the median across Ontario’s towns. The pandemic’s benefits: 23% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
12% of residents are immigrants
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
Compared with 5.8% across Canada’s towns, 1.9% of residents are not Canadian citizens here. Immigrants are rarer here than in three fifths of Canadian towns. Most immigrants were born in Europe (64%) or in Asia (18%).
Only 35% of residents said they have no religion in Ayr
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Where 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, Ayr has 6.7%. On the census count, 1.6% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
English is the mother tongue of 88%, and 4.9% speak French as well
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Against a figure of 7.5% across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents in Ayr comes in at 4.9%. On residents whose mother tongue is French, Ayr sits lower than just over four fifths of Canadian towns: 0.8%. At home: English 96%, French 0.1%.
Ayr: 28% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, above 52% of Canadian towns
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 6.5%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
65% of adults were employed in May 2021
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 65% is above the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Oldest by rank: 15th of 41 towns of 12,799 to 13,302 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The youngest of these towns is Thompson, at 31; the oldest, Forest, is at 56.8. Closest in median age to Ayr are Peel Village (41.7), Sainte-Julienne (42), Centre-Nord (Montréal-Nord) (43.4) and Kincardine (44.4).
Older than Ayr: 1 of the 6 towns nearby
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayr | 13,051 | — | 42.4 | 17% | 12% |
| Doon South | 15,044 | 8.4 km | 33.9 | 7.7% | 36% |
| Huron South | 5,555 | 9.9 km | 33.6 | 7.2% | 39% |
| Pioneer Park | 8,781 | 10.8 km | 35.4 | 15% | 26% |
| Rosenberg | 9,831 | 11.0 km | 32.1 | 4.4% | 39% |
| Pioneer Tower West | 4,122 | 11.5 km | 43.5 | 18% | 29% |
| Cambridge | 165,354 | 12.7 km | 39.2 | 16% | 23% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of Ontario’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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 Ayr’s residents
What religion are people in Ayr?
62% are Christian and 35% have no religion; 3.7% follow another religion.
Is Ayr good for families?
Under 15: 18% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 70% of households. One-parent families: 5.8%. Schools near Ayr are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Ayr?
The median household in Ayr took in $128,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Ayr?
Ayr had about 13,051 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 10,619, 4% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Ayr?
A median age of 42.4, older than 52% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 18%, and people 65 and over 17%.
Is Ayr bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4.9% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 95% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.8% grew up with French.
How diverse is Ayr?
12% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 6.7% belong to a visible minority and 1.6% have an Indigenous identity.
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).