Photo: cate cuerden from Stratford, Canada · CC BY 2.0A median age of 52: Bayfield is older than 90% of Canadian towns
Most recent wave: 1.9% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). Bayfield has fewer residents who moved in within the year than 89% of Canadian towns, at 7.2%. The 2021 Census found 3,305 households here; by July 2025 the population was about 8,327. In Bayfield, 17% of households rent their home. Statistics Canada counts Bayfield as part of Bluewater: the figures on this page are the municipality’s.
What stands out about the people of Bayfield
Older than most towns
Line Bayfield’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 52; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 27% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Bayfield grew +6% from 2016 to 2021, ahead of 60% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says 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, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Ontario’s towns, by more than +6%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 10%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 87% of Canadian towns: 27%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 9.7%, Bayfield is behind 70% of Canadian towns on that count. To put it in context, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Bayfield, 52. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Households here average 2.3 people, below 64% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
In Bayfield, 29% of households are one person living alone, beside 27% across Canada’s towns. Lower than in 90% of Canadian towns: 5.3% of households are one-parent families.
A larger share of married residents 15 and over than 84% of Canadian towns: 56%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Nearly one in ten residents 15 and over live common-law; across Canada’s towns the figure is 11%. Never married and not common-law: just over a fifth of adults (typical: 27%).
Bayfield sits above 77% of Canadian towns for households in single-detached houses (83%)
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: 38% predate 1961, 22% date from 2001 or later. Households in single-detached houses: 64% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
The median household brings in $85,000 a year
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
At $85,000, the middle household in Bayfield earned close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across Ontario’s towns has $91,600 before tax. The pandemic’s benefits: 19% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
7% 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
1.1% of residents are not Canadian citizens, against 5.8% across Canada’s towns. Most immigrants were born in Europe (77%) or in the Americas (14%). Immigrants are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
29% of residents said they have no religion, below 67% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Indigenous residents make up 1.6%, against 2.8% across Canada’s towns. Compared with other places, visible minority residents are scarce here: 1%, fewer than in 95% of Canadian towns. The share of residents with no religion across Canada’s towns is 35%.
English is the mother tongue of 94%, and 2.7% 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
Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%; Bayfield has 2.7%. The census found that 0.6% of residents have French as their mother tongue locally.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 74% of Canadian towns: 18%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 9.6% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Elsewhere, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 56%
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.
The employment rate of 56% is close to the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Among 41 towns of 8,210 to 8,445 people, the 5th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
At one end is Rosewood (32.4), at the other Electoral Area G, Nanaimo (60.8). In age, Bayfield keeps company with Clinton (48.8), Argyle (51.6), Goderich (52.8) and La Malbaie (54).
The towns around Bayfield are all younger
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. Distances here run 16–30 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Bayfield.
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Ontario’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. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
Questions about Bayfield’s residents
What is the average age in Bayfield?
52 is the median age, older than 90% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 15%. 65 and over: 27%.
Is Bayfield bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 2.7% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 97% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.6% grew up with French.
How diverse is Bayfield?
Immigrants make up 7% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 1% are members of a visible minority, and 1.6% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Bayfield?
Christian: 70%. No religion: 29%. Another religion: 1.1%.
Is Bayfield good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 15%. 61% of households are couple families and 5.3% one-parent families. Schools near Bayfield are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Bayfield?
$85,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Bayfield (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Bayfield?
Statistics Canada estimates 8,327 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 7,540 in Bayfield, 6% more than 2016.
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).