Photo: K Danko · CC BY-SA 3.0Older than 99% of Canadian towns: half of Northern Bruce Peninsula is over 61.6
94% of households live in a single-detached house; across Canada’s towns the figure is 64%. In Northern Bruce Peninsula, 5.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24. On one-person households, Northern Bruce Peninsula sits higher than nearly three quarters of Canadian towns: 34%. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 5,018 residents; the 2021 Census found 2,210 households.
What stands out about the people of Northern Bruce Peninsula
Older than most towns
Half of Northern Bruce Peninsula’s residents are under 61.6 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 41% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A growing town: +10% since 2016, faster than 82% 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
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 14% higher again. Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 41%, a higher share than 99% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Across Canada’s towns, the share of children under 15 is 16%; Northern Bruce Peninsula has 8.2%. As a reference point, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Northern Bruce Peninsula, 61.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
2 people per household, fewer than in 90% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-parent families make up 4.1%, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of married residents 15 and over than 90% of Canadian towns, at 58%
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Across Canada’s towns, just over one in ten residents 15 and over live common-law; in Northern Bruce Peninsula, 9.3%.
Renter households make up 10% in Northern Bruce Peninsula, less than in 89% 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
Newer homes outnumber old: 30% date from 2001 or later, 20% from before 1961. Renter households: 25% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
The median household brings in $69,500 a year
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
Half of Northern Bruce Peninsula’s households had a total income below $69,500, 19% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The figure for Ontario’s towns: $91,600. COVID-19 benefits went to 18% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a share 62% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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
Here just over one in ten residents are immigrants, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 17%. On the census count, 2.5% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
Northern Bruce Peninsula sits above 67% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (41%)
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity; in Northern Bruce Peninsula, 4.8%. Typically, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. On the census count, 3.1% of residents belong to a visible minority.
English is the mother tongue of 91%, and 4.5% 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
The share of bilingual residents trails 81% of Canadian towns: 4.5%. At home: English 98%, French 0.2%. Few places have so few residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.1% here, fewer than in 67% of Canadian towns.
Only 22% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Northern Bruce Peninsula
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of 25- to 64-year-olds hold a degree; in Northern Bruce Peninsula, 22%, and 35% have a college or trades credential (typical: 29%). Those with no credential make up 9.8%, next to 9.5% in the typical town.
39% of adults were employed in May 2021
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.
The employment rate of 39% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 41% of residents are 65 or over.
Among 41 towns of 4,938 to 5,102 people, the 1st oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The group spans River-Osborne, youngest at 31.6, to Northern Bruce Peninsula, oldest at 61.6. By median age, Northern Bruce Peninsula sits among Cobble Hill (58.8) and Saint-Donat (60.4).
Every neighbour of Northern Bruce Peninsula has a younger population
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. The nearest places to Northern Bruce Peninsula with figures are 44–74 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Bruce Peninsula | 5,018 | — | 61.6 | 41% | 11% |
| Wiarton | 9,799 | 44.2 km | 56.8 | 33% | 7.3% |
| Georgian Bluffs | 12,061 | 55.0 km | 51.2 | 26% | 6.5% |
| Owen Sound | 24,075 | 61.7 km | 48 | 27% | 7.8% |
| Port Elgin | 18,167 | 64.1 km | 46.8 | 26% | 11% |
| Meaford | 12,652 | 73.8 km | 54.4 | 31% | 10% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
- 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.
Questions about Northern Bruce Peninsula’s residents
What is the median income in Northern Bruce Peninsula?
The median household in Northern Bruce Peninsula took in $69,500 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Northern Bruce Peninsula?
Northern Bruce Peninsula had about 5,018 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 4,404, 10% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Northern Bruce Peninsula?
A median age of 61.6, older than 99% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 8.2%, and people 65 and over 41%.
Is Northern Bruce Peninsula bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4.5% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 95% speak only English and 0% only French; 1.1% grew up with French.
How diverse is Northern Bruce Peninsula?
11% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 3.1% belong to a visible minority and 4.8% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Northern Bruce Peninsula?
58% are Christian and 41% have no religion; 1.6% follow another religion.
Is Northern Bruce Peninsula good for families?
Under 15: 8.2% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 58% of households. One-parent families: 4.1%. Schools near Northern Bruce Peninsula 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).