Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0A higher share of households in single-detached houses than 87% of Canadian towns, at 89%
Residents who moved in within the year: 8.4%, below 78% of Canadian towns. With about 3,955 residents in July 2025, Watford counted 1,355 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put children under 15 at 19% in the town. Lower than in 63% of Canadian towns: 24% of households are one person living alone. Statistics Canada counts Watford as part of Warwick: the figures on this page are the municipality’s.
Watford changed by −1% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 86% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 9%.
Above 62% of Canadian towns: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Half of Watford’s residents are under 41.6, younger than in 53% of Canadian towns. The usual figure: 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns. No age band is larger than 60–64: 7.1% of residents. Against a figure of 19% across Canada’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Watford comes in at 20%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Watford, 41.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split.
Larger households than 67% of Canadian towns: 2.6 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.
Census figures put one-parent families at 8.1% in Watford.
In Watford, 52% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 69% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: nearly a quarter of adults, against a typical 27%. Common-law partners: a tenth of the total. Set beside that, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
22% of households rent their home, fewer than in 58% 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
45% of homes were built before 1961 and 7.8% in 2001 or later. Renter households make up 25% across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
The midpoint household income is $86,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes sit at the middle in Watford: half had more than $86,000, near the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across Ontario’s towns have a median of $91,600. Pandemic benefits reached 23% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
6.3% 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
Most recent wave: nearly a quarter of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). On the census count, 2.1% of residents are not Canadian citizens. Fewer immigrants than in 76% of Canadian towns: 6.3%.
Residents with no religion: 32%, a lower share than 60% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents: 1.7%, below 88% of Canadian towns. The benchmark for residents with no religion across Canada’s towns: 35%. For Watford, the census puts Indigenous residents at 3.1%.
93% have English as their mother tongue; 3.4% also speak French
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
Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%; Watford has 3.4%. In Watford, 0.4% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 13%, a lower share than 88% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of 25- to 64-year-olds hold a degree; in Watford, 13%, and 42% have a college or trades credential (typical: 29%).
An employment rate of 61%
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
61% of residents 15 and over have a job; across Canada’s towns the typical share is 58%.
41 towns of 3,881 to 4,032 people: this is the 20th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Median ages here range from 30.9 in Maple to 59.2 in Okanagan Falls. Next to Watford on this scale come Parkdale (40.6), Haddow (41), Fort Macleod (42.4) and Templeton-Sinclair (42.9).
Among its 2 nearest neighbours, 1 are older than Watford
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watford | 3,955 | — | 41.6 | 20% | 6.3% |
| Brooke-Alvinston | 2,557 | 15.0 km | 41.6 | 20% | 4.7% |
| Adelaide-Metcalfe | 3,196 | 18.2 km | 43.2 | 19% | 10% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- 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.
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
Questions about Watford’s residents
What is the population of Watford?
About 3,955, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 3,641 people in Watford, 1% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Watford?
The median age is 41.6, younger than 53% of Canadian towns. 19% are under 15 and 20% 65 or older.
Is Watford bilingual?
3.4% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 96% English only. French is the mother tongue of 0.4%.
How diverse is Watford?
Immigrants: 6.3% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 1.7%. Indigenous identity: 3.1%.
What religion are people in Watford?
32% said they have no religion and 67% that they are Christian; 0.8% named another faith.
Is Watford good for families?
19% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 63% of households and one-parent families 8.1%. Schools near Watford are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Watford?
Half of Watford’s households had more than $86,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
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).