Watfordin Warwick, Ontario
Its census division is Lambton. It is a town of 3,955 residents in Ontario.
Is Watford a good place to live?
Police record more crime here than in most towns (D−). Watford’s overall C− puts it #729 of 858 in Ontario. Set against the rest, it does better than 24% of Canadian towns. It also trails on health (C). Also worth knowing: its standout strength is jobs & income (B+). At $400,000, the median home value in 2021 came to 4.6 times local household income. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for schools and B− for walkability.
Figures: home values and income: Statistics Canada, Census 2021.
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Safety is the police detachment's figure, shared with the towns and countryside around it. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Watford grades
Each subject compares Watford with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Watford stand out
The one thing Watford does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Watford.
The force covering Watford records more serious violence than Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns, at 378
The index for the force that serves it came to 334, above both Ontario’s towns (56) and Canadian towns (67). For every 1,000 residents of its police area, 53.3 violent incidents are reported each year. Property crime in the area its police cover: 95 per 1,000 people a year.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Watford | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Severity Index | 334 | 56 | 67 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 378 | 76 | 86 |
| Violent crime | 53.3 | 10.5 | 12 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 95 | 30.5 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average · Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000 published for the Lambton (Walpole Island First Nation) detachment area, not by town
Flood mapping exists for Watford: 1 on record, latest by St. Clair Region Conservation Authority
Shaking is less of a worry than in most places, at $0.014 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). About as many homes carry radon around Watford as elsewhere, 8.4% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Watford | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 8.4% | 4% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.014 | $0.043 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Households in Watford have higher incomes than those in 70% of Canadian towns
The car took 94% of commuters, higher than both Ontario’s towns (88%) and Canadian towns (89%). Getting to work takes 25 min on average.
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Watford | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 25 min | 29 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 94% | 88% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so commuting and work figures carry the lockdowns’ mark.
Watford’s region trails the typical Canadian town by 1.5 years: life expectancy 80.0
Measured across the Lambton Health Unit: health survey and life expectancy
A hospital lies 16 km from the typical home, above both Ontario’s towns (3.3 km) and Canadian towns (3.7 km). At 14%, the share of adults who smoke tops the 11% for Ontario. Adults here are less upbeat about their health than the province: 49% very good or excellent, against 51% in Ontario.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Watford | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 14% | 10% | 12% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 80.0 | 82.8 | 81.5 |
| Very good or excellent health | 49% | 51% | 52% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Rent takes less of local pay in Watford than in Ontario’s towns or Canadian towns: 16% of household income
Shelter took 30% or more of income for 14% of households, lower than both Ontario’s towns (22%) and Canadian towns (18%). Home ownership covers 79% of households.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Watford | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent as a share of income | 16% | 22% | 20% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 14% | 22% | 18% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $400,000 | $695,000 | $406,000 |
| Households owning their home | 79% | 76% | 74% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Home values are owners’ own estimates at the May 2021 census, and incomes are for 2020.
Watford’s 5 schools with results spread wide in Ontario, 1 in the top two fifths and 2 in the bottom two
In or within 3 km of Watford: 4 elementary schools and 1 secondary school, with 1,635 students. Measured from the centre, the closest high school lies 19 km off, higher than both Ontario’s towns (1.2 km) and Canadian towns (1.2 km).
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| St John Fisher Catholic School CatholicLargest elementary schoolElementary · Grades JK–8 | Elementary · Grades JK–8 | 325 | English Catholic |
| North Lambton Secondary School Fourth fifth in OntarioLargest secondary schoolSecondary · Grades 9–12 | Secondary · Grades 9–12 | 575 | English public |
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| Schools within 3 km | Watford | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest secondary school | 19 km | 1.2 km | 1.2 km |
| School boards | 2 | 4 | 3 |
Provincial school lists and results, 2024-25
Watford has warmer summer afternoons than nine in ten Canadian towns
Midwinter nights in Watford bottom out at −8.5°C on average. There are 137 days of frost in a typical year, close to Ontario’s towns (139) and below Canadian towns (159). Rain and snow peak in November, at 90 mm. Gardeners get 155 frost-free days, from 8 May to 11 October.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Watford | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| July afternoon high | 27.3°C | 26.7°C | 25.5°C |
| January night low | −8.5°C | −9.1°C | −13.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 137 | 139 | 159 |
| Precipitation a year | 966 mm | 902 mm | 883 mm |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Strathroy-Mullifarry)
In Watford, November normally means 8°C afternoons and freezing nights
November usually brings some 13 cm of snow. The month after, December, normally sees 2°C afternoons and −5°C nights. The year peaks in July (27°C) and bottoms out in January (−9°C).
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 0°C | −7°C | 222 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 2°C | 238 mm |
| Summer | 26°C | 15°C | 245 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 6°C | 261 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Strathroy-Mullifarry); the forecast is on the Weather page
Turnout in Watford reached 52% in 2022, higher than in 94% of Ontario’s municipalities
Lambton—Kent—Middlesex is the riding Watford votes in for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and its MPP (Member of Provincial Parliament, at Queen’s Park in Toronto) isn’t named here because no open list records the members.
| Turnout | Watford | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal election, 2022 | 52% | 31% | 31% |
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Lambton County Library - Watford is Watford’s public library
The library is 1.1 km from the centre of Watford.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
A town of families: 19% of people in Watford are under 15, more than in both Ontario’s towns and Canadian towns
1.7% of residents belong to a visible minority, lower than both Ontario’s towns (26%) and Canadian towns (15%). Those 65 and older account for 20% of residents.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
49.3% of Watford’s residents are women
Here the census found 1,845 men and 1,795 women; the figure for women across Canada is 50.9%.
| Watford | Ontario | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 15% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 61% | 65% | 64% |
| 65+ | 20% | 19% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 19% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 50% | 56% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Ontario and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Little of the land around Watford is protected: 0.1% within 10 km
A provincial park, Pinery Provincial Park, lies 16 km away. There is no national park within 100 km of the town. One named trail is close: the Rock Glen CA.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Watford | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 0.1% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 0 | 4 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
45% of Watford’s homes were built before 1961
| Heritage | Watford | Ontario | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1961 | 45% | 22% | 18% |
Canadian Register of Historic Places, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel, Wikidata; Census 2021 homes by period
Everything we know about Watford
Famous people from Watford
13 notable people were born in Watford.
Photo credits
Frank L. Shaw: Los Angeles Daily News, CC BY 4.0 · Albert G. Rutherford: Harris & Ewing, photographer. U.S. Government Printing Office, publisher., Public domain · George Henry Cowan: Unknown author, Public domain · David Wesley Bole: Unknown author , Published by Montreal Perrault Print. Co, Public domain · Glenville MacLachlan: Unknown author, Public domain
About Watford
Town in Ontario
Watford is a municipality in Ontario, read by TownRatings as Statistics Canada draws it: one census subdivision, so its figures cover the whole municipality.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 3,955 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Ontario
- Census division
- Lambton
- Census subdivision
- 3538043
Watford’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watford | 3,955 | — | C− | C+ | D− | C |
| Brooke-Alvinston | 2,557 | 15 | D− | C+ | D− | C |
| Adelaide-Metcalfe | 3,196 | 18 | A− | C− | A+ | B+ |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Watford
Who are the people of Watford?
Visible minorities are 2% of the population, where the middle of Canadian towns is 15%. Immigrants make up 6%, and Indigenous people 3%.
What kind of homes are in Watford?
Mostly 89% single-detached houses (the median of Canadian towns: 64%), with 0% of homes in buildings of five or more storeys. Households hold 2.6 people on average, and 24% have just one.
Has Watford grown?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it fell from 3,692 to 3,641 residents (1.4% down; Canadian towns’ median grew 4.1%); Statistics Canada now estimates 3,955.
Is Watford a young town or an old one?
At 41.6, its median age compares with 45.2 across Canadian towns. Children make up 19% of the population and seniors 20%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. 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).