Photo: William Matheson from Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 6.3% of households rent their home in West River
One-person households: 20%, below 77% of Canadian towns. Some 4,155 people live in West River, by the estimate for July 2025. Visible minority residents account for 1.3%. The median age locally is 44.8, higher than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of West River
Growing faster than most
West River went from 3,110 people in 2016 to 3,473 in 2021, +12%: faster growth than in 87% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, West River has grown +12%, faster than 87% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. 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 20%. Across Prince Edward Island’s towns the median is +11%, and across Canada’s towns +4%.
More children under 15 than 64% of Canadian towns: 17%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
60–64 is the most common age band: 8.3% of residents. As a reference point, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns. Among Prince Edward Island’s towns, Summerside has the highest share aged 65 or over, at 24%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ West River, 44.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women.
Bigger households than 67% of Canadian towns: 2.6 people each on average
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Prince Edward Island’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-parent families stands at 8.1%.
West River: 57% of residents 15 and over are married, above 86% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 22% of adults, against a typical 27%. The wider picture: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. For West River, the census puts common-law partners at 9.2%.
A larger share of households in single-detached houses than 95% of Canadian towns: 94%
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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 nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. 27% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 18% built before 1961. Across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses is 64%.
Half above, half below $94,000 a year in household income
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Half of West River’s households had a total income above $94,000, 9% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Prince Edward Island’s towns the median is $82,500. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 24% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
Below 68% of Canadian towns: 9.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Residents without Canadian citizenship make up 2.2%, against 5.8% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. On the census count, 7.3% of residents are immigrants.
Residents with no religion: 29%, a lower share than 68% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Here, 2.4% of residents have an Indigenous identity. On religion, 71% answered Christian and 29% no religion, against 54% and 35% across Canada’s towns.
Above 69% of Canadian towns: 14% of residents speak English and French
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 98%, French 0.4%. Measured more widely, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns. Little separates the share of residents whose mother tongue is French here, 1.7%, from the figure across Canada’s towns.
In West River, 28% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 52% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 5.3% here, 9.5% in the typical town. Measured more widely, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 63% of residents 15 and over had a job
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Employment runs above the middle of Canada’s towns (58%), at 63%.
The 17th oldest of 41 towns of 4,092 to 4,221 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The youngest is Banff Trail (31.7) and the oldest Lake of Bays (58.4). Closest in median age to West River are Island Lakes (44.4), Westphal (44.8), Leger (45.9) and Elbow Park (46.5).
West River is younger than 2 of its 6 nearest neighbours
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West River | 4,155 | — | 44.8 | 20% | 7.3% |
| Cornwall | 7,920 | 9.9 km | 38.8 | 17% | 9.7% |
| Kingston | 1,308 | 11.8 km | 39.2 | 14% | 5.9% |
| Charlottetown | 48,118 | 15.0 km | 40.8 | 21% | 14% |
| Stratford | 13,152 | 15.2 km | 40.4 | 18% | 13% |
| Miltonvale Park | 1,279 | 17.2 km | 45.2 | 18% | 4.4% |
| Crapaud, Part 1 | 1,781 | 18.2 km | 47.2 | 21% | 6.4% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Against Prince Edward Island’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: Prince Edward Island’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.
Questions about West River’s residents
Is West River bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 14% are. Another 0% speak only French and 86% only English, and French is the first language of 1.7%.
How diverse is West River?
7.3% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 1.3% belong to a visible minority and 2.4% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in West River?
71% are Christian and 29% have no religion; 0.6% follow another religion.
Is West River good for families?
Under 15: 17% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 65% of households. One-parent families: 8.1%. Schools near West River are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in West River?
The median household in West River took in $94,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of West River?
West River had about 4,155 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 3,473, 12% more than 2016.
What is the average age in West River?
A median age of 44.8, older than 66% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 17%, and people 65 and over 20%.
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).