Photo: XeresNelro · CC BY-SA 4.0Bracebridge is older than 88% of Canadian towns: a median age of 51.2
With children under 15 at 13%, Bracebridge is behind 78% of Canadian towns on that count. Here, just over three quarters of households live in a single-detached house. 44% of residents said they have no religion, a higher share than in 77% of Canadian towns. This Ontario town had about 18,676 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 7,230 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of Bracebridge
Older than most towns
The middle resident of Bracebridge is 51.2; 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.
Bracebridge grew +8% from 2016 to 2021, ahead of 73% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. 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%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 28% in Bracebridge, more than in 88% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 9.1%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. The wider picture: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Bracebridge, 51.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Smaller households than 64% of Canadian towns: 2.3 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-person households account for 28%. At 7.6%, the share of one-parent families is lower than in just over three fifths of Canadian towns.
Married residents 15 and over make up 49% in Bracebridge, more than in 58% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
The figure for common-law partners is 12% in Bracebridge and 11% across Canada’s towns. Elsewhere, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of renter households than 61% of Canadian towns: 20%
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
With households in buildings of five or more storeys at 1.8%, Bracebridge is ahead of 64% of Canadian towns on that count. As a reference point, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
$85,000 a year: the median household income
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Bracebridge had $85,000 before tax, near the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Ontario’s towns, the median household income is $91,600. In 2020, 25% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
A larger share of residents who moved in within the year than 58% of Canadian towns: 12%
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
Of the immigrants living here, 8.4% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. Bracebridge has fewer residents without Canadian citizenship than 80% of Canadian towns, at 1.7%. Across Canada’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%. The share of immigrants stands at 7.4%.
3.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 55% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
3% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% across Canada’s towns. Set beside that, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 93%, and 6.7% speak French as well
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
At home: English 98%, French 0.1%. 1.1% of residents have French as their mother tongue, a lower share than in 67% of Canadian towns.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 59% of Canadian towns: 23%
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
54% of adults were employed in May 2021
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
54% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 28% are 65 or more.
3rd highest median age among 41 towns of 18,016 to 19,363
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest is Schmidtville (29) and the oldest Oak Bay (54.4). Nearest to Bracebridge in age: Greater Napanee (50.4), Port Hope (50.8), Edmundston (54) and Oak Bay (54.4).
4 in 5 nearby towns have a higher median age than Bracebridge
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. The nearest places to Bracebridge with figures are 16–40 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bracebridge | 18,676 | — | 51.2 | 28% | 7.4% |
| Gravenhurst | 14,576 | 15.7 km | 53.6 | 30% | 8% |
| Muskoka Lakes | 8,463 | 21.1 km | 57.2 | 32% | 7.4% |
| Huntsville | 23,948 | 30.8 km | 49.6 | 25% | 7.9% |
| Lake of Bays | 4,105 | 34.6 km | 58.4 | 34% | 10% |
| Georgian Bay | 3,798 | 40.2 km | 58.4 | 33% | 11% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about Bracebridge’s residents
What is the average age in Bracebridge?
51.2 is the median age, older than 88% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 13%. 65 and over: 28%.
Is Bracebridge bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 6.7% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 93% speak only English and 0% only French; 1.1% grew up with French.
How diverse is Bracebridge?
Immigrants make up 7.4% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 3% are members of a visible minority, and 3.2% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Bracebridge?
Christian: 54%. No religion: 44%. Another religion: 1.6%.
Is Bracebridge good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 13%. 55% of households are couple families and 7.6% one-parent families. Schools near Bracebridge are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Bracebridge?
$85,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Bracebridge (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Bracebridge?
Statistics Canada estimates 18,676 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 17,305 in Bracebridge, 8% 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).