Photo: JustSomePics · CC BY-SA 4.0Older than 94% of Canadian towns: half of Meaford is over 54.4
With residents with no religion at 46%, Meaford is ahead of 80% of Canadian towns on that count. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 90% of Canadian towns: 8.1%. The town is home to some 12,652 people (July 2025 estimate), in 5,035 households at the 2021 Census. 81% of households live in a single-detached house.
What stands out about the people of Meaford
Older than most towns
Half of Meaford’s residents are under 54.4 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 31% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Meaford grew +5% from 2016 to 2021, faster than 53% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Ontario’s towns +6%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 10%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 95% of Canadian towns: 31%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Across Canada’s towns, 16% of residents are under 15; in Meaford, 13%. Measured more widely, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Meaford, 54.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 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-parent families: 5.9% here and 8.2% across Canada’s towns. Census figures put one-person households at 28% in Meaford.
55% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 78% of Canadian towns
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Nearly a fifth of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. By way of comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Census figures put common-law partners at 11% in Meaford.
Meaford ranks below 64% of Canadian towns on renter households: 19%
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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. By way of comparison, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
Half of households earn more than $79,500 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
Half of Meaford’s households had a total income below $79,500, 8% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $91,600 is the median household income across Ontario’s towns. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 22% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 68% of Canadian towns, at 9.3%
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (72%), then in the Americas (13%). As a reference point, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Meaford has fewer immigrants than 64% of Canadian towns, at 10%. What’s more, of the immigrants living here, 9.2% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
53% said they are Christian and 46% that they have no religion
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
With visible minority residents at 3.7%, Meaford is behind 73% of Canadian towns on that count. For Meaford, the census puts Indigenous residents at 3.2%.
English is the mother tongue of 93%, and 7.5% speak French as well
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 98%, French 0.2%. Residents whose mother tongue is French are rarer here than in 62% of Canadian towns.
Only 21% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Meaford
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 9.6% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 49% of residents aged 15 and over
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 49%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 31% of residents are 65 or over.
Oldest by rank: 4th of 41 towns of 12,384 to 12,924 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Between Thompson (31) and Saltspring Island (56.4) lies the rest of the group. Nearest to Meaford in age: Bromont (47.6), Bayview Woods-Steeles (51), Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine (54.8) and Brighton (56).
Around Meaford, 1 of 4 towns have a higher median age
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. Distances here run 20–27 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Meaford.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meaford | 12,652 | — | 54.4 | 31% | 10% |
| Thornbury | 11,162 | 19.9 km | 58.8 | 34% | 13% |
| Owen Sound | 24,075 | 21.5 km | 48 | 27% | 7.8% |
| Georgian Bluffs | 12,061 | 26.6 km | 51.2 | 26% | 6.5% |
| Chatsworth | 7,770 | 27.2 km | 46 | 22% | 7.1% |
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. 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 Meaford’s residents
Is Meaford bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 7.5% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 92% speak only English and 0% only French; 1.2% grew up with French.
How diverse is Meaford?
Immigrants make up 10% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 3.7% are members of a visible minority, and 3.2% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Meaford?
Christian: 53%. No religion: 46%. Another religion: 1.4%.
Is Meaford good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 13%. 60% of households are couple families and 5.9% one-parent families. Schools near Meaford are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Meaford?
$79,500 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Meaford (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Meaford?
Statistics Canada estimates 12,652 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 11,485 in Meaford, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Meaford?
54.4 is the median age, older than 94% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 13%. 65 and over: 31%.
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).