Photo: Fungus Guy · CC BY-SA 3.05.3% of households rent their home, below 98% of Canadian towns
Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Laird has 7.6%. Few places have so few residents who moved in within the year: 7.2% here, fewer than in 89% of Canadian towns. About 1,221 people lived in the town in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. In Laird, 8.5% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
What stands out about the people of Laird
Older than most towns
Half of Laird’s residents are under 50.4 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 23% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, Laird has grown +7%, faster than 68% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 9%. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Ontario’s towns +6%.
Laird is older than 86% of Canadian towns: a median age of 50.4
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Across Canada’s towns, 16% of residents are under 15; in Laird, 15%. The highest share aged 65 or over among Ontario’s towns is Northern Bruce Peninsula’s: 41%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women.
A smaller share of one-person households than 76% of Canadian towns: 20%
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Households average 2.4 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. One-parent families: 4.3% of the total.
60% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 93% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Across Canada’s towns, the share of common-law partners is 11%; Laird has 15%.
Laird: 100% of households live in a single-detached house, above 99% of Canadian towns
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. As a yardstick, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Just over a quarter of homes were built before 1961 and 18% in 2001 or later.
$103,000 a year is the median household income here
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
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Laird’s, at $103,000, is 20% higher. Among Ontario’s towns, the typical figure is $91,600. Pandemic benefits reached 21% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
1.8% 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
Residents without Canadian citizenship are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. Compared with 17% across Canada’s towns, 1.8% of residents are immigrants here.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 77% of Canadian towns, at 44%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents trails 96% of Canadian towns: 0.9%. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 35%.
English is the mother tongue of 94%, and 7.1% 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
Residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.8% of the total.
Fewer degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 61% of Canadian towns: 22%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 2.5% here, 9.5% in the typical town. Set beside that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 53% of adults
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.
At 53%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 23% are 65 or over.
Laird is younger than 1 of its 3 nearest neighbours
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laird | 1,221 | — | 50.4 | 23% | 1.8% |
| Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional | 1,771 | 10.1 km | 45.6 | 20% | 3.3% |
| St. Joseph | 1,560 | 13.8 km | 57.2 | 34% | 8.8% |
| Garden River 14 | 1,205 | 17.8 km | 38.8 | 14% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Ontario’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
Questions about Laird’s residents
What is the average age in Laird?
50.4 is the median age. Under 15: 15%. 65 and over: 23%.
Is Laird bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 7.1% are. Another 0% speak only French and 93% only English, and French is the first language of 1.8%.
How diverse is Laird?
Immigrants make up 1.8% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 0.9% are members of a visible minority, and 8.5% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Laird?
Christian: 55%. No religion: 44%. Another religion: 0.9%.
Is Laird good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 15%. 70% of households are couple families and 4.3% one-parent families. Schools near Laird are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Laird?
$103,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Laird (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Laird?
Statistics Canada estimates 1,221 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 1,121 in Laird, 7% 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).