Photo: Deconstructhis · Public domainHalf of Exeter is over 50, older than 85% of Canadian towns
Set against 11% across Canada’s towns, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 in Exeter. The census found that 78% of households live in a single-detached house in the town. Higher than in 63% of Canadian towns: 30% of households are one person living alone. With about 10,781 residents in July 2025, Exeter counted 4,335 households at the 2021 Census. The census figures here are for the whole of South Huron, the municipality that includes Exeter.
What stands out about the people of Exeter
Older than most towns
The middle resident of Exeter is 50; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 29% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Exeter changed by ±0% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 79% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 7%. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Ontario’s towns, by more than +6%.
Above 90% of Canadian towns: 29% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
No age band is larger than 60–64: nearly one in ten residents. On average, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Set against 16% across Canada’s towns, 15% of residents are under 15 in Exeter.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Exeter, 50. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
2.3 people per household, fewer than in 64% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Couple families are 57% of households (Canada’s towns 53%) and one-parent families 6.6% (8.2%).
Married residents 15 and over: 52%, a higher share than 69% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Just over a fifth of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Set beside that, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. For Exeter, the census puts common-law partners at 10%.
A larger share of renter households than 54% of Canadian towns: 27%
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
42% of homes were built before 1961 and 14% in 2001 or later. Measured more widely, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
Median household income here: $77,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Exeter: half had less than $77,000, 10% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Ontario’s towns the median is $91,600. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 19% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
Only 9.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Exeter
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
7.9% of residents are immigrants; across Canada’s towns the figure is 17%. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%. Census figures put residents without Canadian citizenship at 1.7% in Exeter.
30% of residents said they have no religion, below 66% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
By its share of visible minority residents (2.9%), Exeter is below 78% of Canadian towns. As a reference point, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. In Exeter, 2.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
94% have English as their mother tongue; 2.1% also speak French
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
Across Canada’s towns, 7.5% of residents speak English and French; in Exeter, 2.1%. At home: English 98%, French 0.1%. Compared with other places, residents whose mother tongue is French are scarce here: 0.7%, fewer than in 86% of Canadian towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64 make up 16% in Exeter, less than in 81% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 15% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. Across the comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 54% of residents aged 15 and over
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 54%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 29% are 65 or over.
The 5th oldest of 41 towns of 10,498 to 11,059 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Lethbridge County is the youngest of them at 32.8; Liverpool, at 55.6, the oldest. Closest in median age to Exeter are Saint-Sacrement (47.8), Ocean Park (49.7), Yarmouth (50.4) and Markland Wood (51.3).
A younger town than 1 of the 2 around it: Exeter
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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.
Questions about Exeter’s residents
What is the median income in Exeter?
The median household in Exeter took in $77,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Exeter?
Exeter had about 10,781 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 10,063, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Exeter?
A median age of 50, older than 85% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 15%, and people 65 and over 29%.
Is Exeter bilingual?
2.1% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 98% English only. French is the mother tongue of 0.7%.
How diverse is Exeter?
7.9% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2.9% belong to a visible minority and 2.2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Exeter?
69% are Christian and 30% have no religion; 1.1% follow another religion.
Is Exeter good for families?
Under 15: 15% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 57% of households. One-parent families: 6.6%. Schools near Exeter are on its Schools page.
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).