Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domainAmherst is older than 97% of Canadian towns: a median age of 57.2
Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Amherst has 5.5%. Few places have as many one-person households: 39% here, more than in 88% of Canadian towns. The town is home to some 1,703 people (July 2025 estimate), in 875 households at the 2021 Census. Just over nine in ten households live in a single-detached house.
What stands out about the people of Amherst
Older than most towns
Half of Amherst’s residents are under 57.2 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 29% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Amherst went from 1,484 to 1,728 residents (+16%), faster growth than in 94% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Common-law couples
26% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 89% of Canadian towns; 35% are married. Couples ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
More bilingual residents than 86% of Canadian towns: 40%
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. 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
Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents whose mother tongue is English is 66%; Amherst has 4.9%. As a reference point, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
+16% since 2016, a pace 94% of Canadian towns didn’t match
Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate is down 1% on the census. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Quebec’s towns, by more than +4%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 29%, a higher share than 90% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 60–64, with 14% of residents, 1.9 times the share across Canada’s towns. Across Amherst, 12% of residents are under 15. Elsewhere, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women.
Households here average 2 people, below 90% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-parent families make up 5.1%, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
26% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 89% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Against a figure of 46% across Canada’s towns, the share of married residents 15 and over in Amherst comes in at 35%. The comparison figure for common-law partners is 11% across Canada’s towns.
Only 18% of households rent their home in Amherst
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
24% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 19% built before 1961. Elsewhere, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
Median household income: $58,800 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
At $58,800, the middle household in Amherst earned 32% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across Quebec’s towns have a median of $74,000. Pandemic benefits reached 29% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
2.3% of residents are immigrants
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
The share of immigrants trails 92% of Canadian towns: 2.3%. What’s more, 0.6% of residents are not Canadian citizens, fewer than in 95% of Canadian towns. Locally, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Amherst ranks below 78% of Canadian towns on residents with no religion: 25%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. Indigenous residents: 3.5% of the total. Across Canada’s towns, residents with no religion come to 35%.
11% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, below 95% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
21% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
An employment rate of 43%
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 29% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 43% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
The towns around Amherst are all younger
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | 1,703 | — | 57.2 | 29% | 2.3% |
| Brébeuf | 1,012 | 10.5 km | 52 | 22% | 2.3% |
| La Conception | 1,685 | 11.7 km | 54 | 23% | 3.9% |
| Mont-Tremblant | 11,879 | 18.7 km | 53.6 | 29% | 5.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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 Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of Quebec’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
Questions about Amherst’s residents
Is Amherst good for families?
12% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 49% of households and one-parent families 5.1%. Schools near Amherst are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Amherst?
Half of Amherst’s households had more than $58,800 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Amherst?
About 1,703, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 1,728 people in Amherst, 16% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Amherst?
The median age is 57.2. 12% are under 15 and 29% 65 or older.
Is Amherst bilingual?
English and French: 40% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 0.6%. French only: 59%. French mother tongue: 93%.
How diverse is Amherst?
Immigrants: 2.3% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 0%. Indigenous identity: 3.5%.
What religion are people in Amherst?
25% said they have no religion and 75% that they are Christian; 0.5% named another faith.
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).