Photo: Mario Hains · CC BY-SA 3.0Renter households: 6.9%, a lower share than 96% of Canadian towns
The average household has 2.2 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. There are 15% more residents than in 2016. 4.6% of residents are immigrants. Orford has fewer residents with no religion than 60% of Canadian towns, at 32%.
What stands out about the people of Orford
A bilingual town
Both official languages: 58% of residents speak English and French, more than in 94% of Canadian towns. Another 41% speak only French and 1% only English. English & French ↓
Common-law couples
36% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 98% of Canadian towns; 35% are married. Couples ↓
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Orford went from 4,337 to 5,007 residents (+15%), faster growth than in 92% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Orford’s residents are under 50.4 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 22% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Bilingual residents make up 58% in Orford, more than in 94% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. 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
66% of residents have English as their mother tongue across Canada’s towns, against 3.7% in Orford. Typically, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Since 2016, Orford has grown +15%, faster than 92% of Canadian towns
Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Quebec’s towns, +4%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 14%.
Half of Orford is over 50.4, older than 86% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 6.9%, Orford is behind 96% of Canadian towns on that count. Residents aged 65 and over: 22% of the total.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Orford, 50.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Orford sits above 58% of Canadian towns for one-person households (29%)
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 64% of households (Canada’s towns 53%) and one-parent families 3.8% (8.2%). On average, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of common-law partners than 98% of Canadian towns, at 36%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 20% of adults, beside a typical 27%. The comparison figure for common-law partners is 11% across Canada’s towns. In Orford, just over a third of residents 15 and over are married.
Orford ranks above 82% of Canadian towns on households in single-detached houses: 86%
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
Newer homes outnumber old: 50% date from 2001 or later, 6.3% from before 1961. The share of households in single-detached houses across Canada’s towns is 64%. Orford sits close to the norm on households in buildings of five or more storeys: 0.2%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
Household income at the median: $99,000 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Orford’s median household took in $99,000 before tax, 15% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The figure for Quebec’s towns: $74,000. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 24% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
4.6% 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
Residents without Canadian citizenship: 1.4%, below 83% of Canadian towns. Most immigrants were born in Europe (87%) or in the Americas (6.5%). A year before the census, 11% lived somewhere else: fewer than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns.
68% said they are Christian and 32% that they have no religion
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
With Indigenous residents at 1.4%, Orford is behind 73% of Canadian towns on that count. In Orford, 0.8% of residents belong to a visible minority.
Orford ranks above 75% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 43%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
With no certificate, diploma or degree: 5.7%, beside a typical 9.5%. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 59% of residents aged 15 and over
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
59% of residents 15 and over have a job, in line with the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
The 8th oldest of 41 towns of 5,602 to 5,795 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Median ages climb from 27.8 (Montcalm) to 63.2 (Osoyoos) across the group. By median age, Orford sits among Armstrong (50), New Edinburgh (50.2), Shediac (51.2) and Vieux-Québec—Cap-Blanc—Colline parlementaire (52.2).
4 of the 6 nearest towns are older than Orford
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orford | 5,698 | — | 50.4 | 22% | 4.6% |
| Magog | 30,764 | 7.8 km | 54.4 | 32% | 3.8% |
| Eastman | 2,706 | 8.3 km | 56.8 | 31% | 5.7% |
| Austin | 1,959 | 9.8 km | 58.8 | 31% | 4.9% |
| Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley | 2,938 | 14.1 km | 50 | 24% | 4.7% |
| Saint-Denis-de-Brompton | 5,249 | 15.0 km | 41.2 | 17% | 2.4% |
| Racine | 1,441 | 15.2 km | 50.8 | 27% | 2.7% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
- 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. Each comparison is its own median: over Quebec’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
Questions about Orford’s residents
What religion are people in Orford?
68% are Christian and 32% have no religion; 0.6% follow another religion.
Is Orford good for families?
Under 15: 16% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 64% of households. One-parent families: 3.8%. Schools near Orford are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Orford?
The median household in Orford took in $99,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Orford?
Orford had about 5,698 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 5,007, 15% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Orford?
A median age of 50.4, older than 86% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 16%, and people 65 and over 22%.
Is Orford bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 58% are. Another 41% speak only French and 1% only English, and French is the first language of 93%.
How diverse is Orford?
4.6% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 0.8% belong to a visible minority and 1.4% have an Indigenous identity.
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).