Photo: P199 · Public domainHalf of Brighton is over 56, older than 96% of Canadian towns
Of the immigrants living here, 8.2% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. Brighton is home to some 12,900 people (July 2025 estimate), in 5,015 households at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents are under 15. Few places have so few renter households: 14% here, fewer than in 77% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Brighton
Older than most towns
The middle resident of Brighton is 56; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 33% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A change of +2% since 2016 leaves Brighton behind 63% 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
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 7%. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Ontario’s towns +6%.
Above 96% of Canadian towns: 33% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Across Canada’s towns, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24; in Brighton, 8.1%. For comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Brighton, 56. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women.
Brighton households average 2.3 people, smaller than in 64% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Where nearly one in ten households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns, Brighton has 6.9%. Here, nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone.
Brighton: 52% of residents 15 and over are married, above 69% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 19% of adults, against a typical 27%. Across the comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: just over a tenth of the total.
Households in single-detached houses: 88%, a higher share than 85% of Canadian towns
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
Newer homes outnumber old: 35% date from 2001 or later, 20% from before 1961. The comparison figure for households in single-detached houses is 64% across Canada’s towns. Little separates the share of households in buildings of five or more storeys here, 0.5%, from the figure across Canada’s towns.
The midpoint household income is $81,000 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
Household incomes run lower in Brighton: half had less than $81,000, 6% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Ontario’s towns, the median household income is $91,600. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 20% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
Brighton ranks below 69% of Canadian towns on residents who moved in within the year: 9.2%
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
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
Where 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, Brighton has 13%. As a reference point, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Census figures put residents without Canadian citizenship at 1.9% in the town.
Residents with no religion: 43%, a higher share than 74% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
4% of residents have an Indigenous identity (Canada’s towns: 2.8%). For residents with no religion, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 35%. Locally, 4.7% of residents belong to a visible minority.
English is the mother tongue of 92%, and 6.5% speak French as well
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 98%, French 0.7%. On residents whose mother tongue is French, Brighton sits higher than 64% of Canadian towns: 2.2%. 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns, against 6.5% in the town.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 76% of Canadian towns: 17%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 8.8% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. The wider picture: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 43% of residents aged 15 and over
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 43%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 33% are 65 or over.
Ranked by age, 3rd oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Median ages here range from 31 in Thompson to 56.8 in North Saanich. Nearest to Brighton in age: Rawdon (50.4), Meaford (54.4), Forest (56.8) and North Saanich (56.8).
Every neighbour of Brighton has a younger population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton | 12,900 | — | 56 | 33% | 13% |
| Colborne | 7,216 | 11.6 km | 49.2 | 23% | 8.3% |
| Quinte West | 50,385 | 16.6 km | 45.6 | 22% | 7.6% |
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. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
Questions about Brighton’s residents
Is Brighton bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 6.5% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 93% speak only English and 0% only French; 2.2% grew up with French.
How diverse is Brighton?
Immigrants make up 13% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 4.7% are members of a visible minority, and 4% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Brighton?
Christian: 56%. No religion: 43%. Another religion: 1.4%.
Is Brighton good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 11%. 60% of households are couple families and 6.9% one-parent families. Schools near Brighton are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Brighton?
$81,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Brighton (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Brighton?
Statistics Canada estimates 12,900 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 12,108 in Brighton, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Brighton?
56 is the median age, older than 96% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 11%. 65 and over: 33%.
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).