Photo: Krisco75 · CC BY-SA 3.0Older than 84% of Canadian towns: half of Ayer's Cliff is over 49.6
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 24% in Ayer's Cliff and 19% across Canada’s towns. With about 1,284 residents in July 2025, Ayer's Cliff counted 530 households at the 2021 Census. The share of Indigenous residents stands at 6.2%. Renter households are rarer here than in 63% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Ayer's Cliff
A bilingual town
Both official languages: 63% of residents speak English and French, more than in 96% of Canadian towns. Another 25% speak only French and 13% only English. English & French ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
63% of residents speak English and French, a share 96% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most 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%; Ayer's Cliff has 32%. The comparison figure for bilingual residents is 7.5% across Canada’s towns.
Ayer's Cliff’s population changed by +10% since 2016, more than in 81% of Canadian towns
Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 9%. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Quebec’s towns +4%.
8.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 81% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
No age band is larger than 60–64: 9.7% of residents, 1.4 times the share across Canada’s towns. The usual figure: 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Above 75% of Canadian towns: 34% of households are one person living alone
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Households average 2.2 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. To put it in context, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. In Ayer's Cliff, one in ten households are one-parent families.
In Ayer's Cliff, 25% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 88% of Canadian towns
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
34% of residents 15 and over are married; across Canada’s towns the figure is 46%. Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns.
76% of households live in a single-detached house, a share 66% of Canadian towns don’t reach
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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
Older homes outnumber new: 46% predate 1961, 24% date from 2001 or later. Households in single-detached houses: 64% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
The median household brings in $76,000 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Ayer's Cliff’s median household took in $76,000 before tax, 12% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Quebec’s towns, the median household income is $74,000. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 29% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
Ayer's Cliff sits above 65% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (13%)
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
Most immigrants were born in the Americas (46%) or in Europe (39%). The wider picture: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. 5.4% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 80% of Canadian towns. What’s more, in Ayer's Cliff, 1.3% of residents are not Canadian citizens, beside 5.8% across Canada’s towns.
28% of residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 70% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority; in Ayer's Cliff, 2.1%. As a reference point, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
23% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 60% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
14% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
63% of adults were employed in May 2021
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
63% of residents 15 and over have a job; across Canada’s towns the typical share is 58%.
3 in 6 nearby towns have a higher median age than Ayer's Cliff
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayer's Cliff | 1,284 | — | 49.6 | 24% | 5.4% |
| Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley | 2,938 | 9.3 km | 50 | 24% | 4.7% |
| Stanstead | 1,171 | 10.6 km | 58.8 | 33% | 5.2% |
| Magog | 30,764 | 12.9 km | 54.4 | 32% | 3.8% |
| Compton | 3,351 | 18.4 km | 41.2 | 20% | 3.1% |
| Waterville | 2,643 | 18.8 km | 39.2 | 17% | 4.2% |
| Stanstead | 2,994 | 19.1 km | 48.8 | 27% | 8.9% |
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 Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Quebec’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
Questions about Ayer's Cliff’s residents
What is the average age in Ayer's Cliff?
A median age of 49.6. Children under 15 make up 16%, and people 65 and over 24%.
Is Ayer's Cliff bilingual?
English and French: 63% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 13%. French only: 25%. French mother tongue: 62%.
How diverse is Ayer's Cliff?
5.4% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2.1% belong to a visible minority and 6.2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Ayer's Cliff?
71% are Christian and 28% have no religion; 0.9% follow another religion.
Is Ayer's Cliff good for families?
Under 15: 16% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 51% of households. One-parent families: 10%. Schools near Ayer's Cliff are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Ayer's Cliff?
The median household in Ayer's Cliff took in $76,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Ayer's Cliff?
Ayer's Cliff had about 1,284 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 1,180, 10% more than 2016.
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).