Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Older than 89% of Canadian towns: half of Bristol is over 51.6
Renter households: 7.5%, below 95% of Canadian towns. Bristol is home to some 1,151 people (July 2025 estimate), in 545 households at the 2021 Census. 38% of households are one person living alone. Lower than in 80% of Canadian towns: 24% of residents said they have no religion.
What stands out about the people of Bristol
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 12% of residents, more than in 90% of Canadian towns, and 0% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Growing faster than most
Bristol went from 1,036 people in 2016 to 1,199 in 2021, +16%: faster growth than in 93% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Older than most towns
Line Bristol’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 51.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 27% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
More bilingual residents than 85% of Canadian towns: 39%
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. 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
In Bristol, nearly three quarters of residents have English as their mother tongue, beside 66% across Canada’s towns. On average, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
+16% since 2016, a pace 93% of Canadian towns didn’t match
The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate is down 4% on the census.
In Bristol, 27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 85% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Residents aged 15 to 24: 8.8% here and 11% across Canada’s towns. Set beside that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 74% 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.
Couple families are 50% of households (Canada’s towns 53%) and one-parent families 4.6% (8.2%).
Bristol sits above 64% of Canadian towns for common-law partners (12%)
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: just over a fifth of adults, against a typical 27%. To put it in context, just over one in ten residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
98% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 99% 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
16% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Set beside that, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 44% predate 1961, 13% date from 2001 or later.
Median gross household income: $67,500 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Bristol’s households had a total income below $67,500, 22% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Quebec’s towns, half of households had more than $74,000 before tax. 21% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
Only 10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Bristol
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 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
With immigrants at 2.5%, Bristol is behind 91% of Canadian towns on that count. The share of residents who moved in within the year across Canada’s towns is 11%. Residents without Canadian citizenship are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns.
Above 90% of Canadian towns: 12% of residents have an Indigenous identity
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents trails 84% of Canadian towns: 2.1%. For Indigenous residents, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 2.8%.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 80% of Canadian towns: 16%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 18% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
48% of residents 15 and over were in work
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 48%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 27% of residents are 65 or over.
1 in 5 nearby towns have a higher median age than Bristol
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 1,151 | — | 51.6 | 27% | 2.5% |
| Arnprior | 11,459 | 10.3 km | 48 | 27% | 7.4% |
| Shawville | 1,729 | 11.6 km | 53.6 | 32% | 3.9% |
| McNab/Braeside | 8,340 | 13.0 km | 48 | 22% | 4.5% |
| Horton | 3,550 | 13.9 km | 48.8 | 23% | 3.1% |
| Clarendon | 1,442 | 17.6 km | 50.8 | 23% | 3.6% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of Quebec’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
Questions about Bristol’s residents
Is Bristol good for families?
Children under 15 are 15% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 50% of households and one-parent families 4.6%. Schools near Bristol are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Bristol?
Median total household income in Bristol was $67,500 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Bristol?
The latest figure is an estimate: 1,151 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Bristol counted 1,199, 16% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Bristol?
Half the residents are older than 51.6 and half younger; 15% are children under 15 and 27% are 65 or over.
Is Bristol bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 39% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 57% speak only English and 3.3% only French; 21% grew up with French.
How diverse is Bristol?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 2.5%. A visible minority makes up 2.1% and Indigenous residents 12%.
What religion are people in Bristol?
Most often Christian (75%) or no religion (24%); other religions make up 1.7%.
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).