Photo: Miro Denck · CC BY-SA 4.0Sutton is older than 99% of Canadian towns: a median age of 60.4
Across Canada’s towns, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; in Sutton, 5.9%. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 4,775 residents; the 2021 Census found 2,390 households. For Sutton, the census puts visible minority residents at 1.9%. Compared with other places, one-parent families are scarce here: 5%, fewer than in 92% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Sutton
A bilingual town
Both official languages: 72% of residents speak English and French, more than in 99% of Canadian towns. Another 17% speak only French and 11% only English. English & French ↓
Older than most towns
Line Sutton’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 60.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 39% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Sutton went from 4,012 to 4,548 residents (+13%), faster growth than in 90% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Many people living alone
42% of households are one person living alone, more than in 91% of Canadian towns; 39% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
In Sutton, 72% of residents speak English and French, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. 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, 66% of residents have English as their mother tongue; in Sutton, 24%. The wider picture: 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
Since 2016, Sutton has grown +13%, faster than 90% 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
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +4% across Quebec’s towns. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 5%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 39% in Sutton, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Across Canada’s towns, the share of children under 15 is 16%; Sutton has 8.9%. To put it in context, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Sutton, 60.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
More one-person households than 91% of Canadian towns: 42%
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Quebec’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Sutton, 1.9. For one-person households, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 27%.
23% of residents 15 and over live common-law, a share 87% of Canadian towns don’t reach
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Compared with 46% across Canada’s towns, 37% of residents 15 and over are married here. The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%.
More households in single-detached houses than 55% of Canadian towns: 67%
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses is 64%. Census figures put renter households at 25% in Sutton.
Median household income: $66,500 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
At $66,500, the middle household in Sutton earned 23% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across Quebec’s towns has $74,000 before tax. In 2020, 27% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
9.1% of residents are immigrants
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
The share of residents without Canadian citizenship is 1.1%, against 5.8% across Canada’s towns. On immigrants, Sutton sits lower than 67% of Canadian towns: 9.1%. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (80%), then in the Americas (12%).
Sutton ranks above 56% of Canadian towns on residents with no religion: 37%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Here 0.9% of residents have an Indigenous identity, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 2.8%. For residents with no religion, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 35%.
39% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, a share 70% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 5.7% (typical 9.5%). As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
48% of adults were employed in May 2021
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 48%; 39% of residents are 65 or over.
Oldest by rank: 2nd of 41 towns of 4,681 to 4,867 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Median ages here range from 30.9 in Empire Park to 63.2 in Electoral Area B, Nanaimo. The closest ages to Sutton’s belong to Cumberland County, Subdivision D (58.4), Electoral Area H, Nanaimo (60) and Electoral Area B, Nanaimo (63.2).
Sutton is older than every town around it
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton | 4,775 | — | 60.4 | 39% | 9.1% |
| Frelighsburg | 1,168 | 14.5 km | 56.4 | 29% | 7.7% |
| Dunham | 3,632 | 14.7 km | 48.4 | 25% | 3.7% |
| Potton | 2,201 | 16.0 km | 59.6 | 37% | 11% |
| Cowansville | 17,269 | 16.2 km | 48.8 | 28% | 3.4% |
| Lac-Brome | 6,307 | 16.3 km | 58 | 35% | 5.9% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Provincial and national yardsticks: Quebec’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.
- 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.
Questions about Sutton’s residents
What is the population of Sutton?
The latest figure is an estimate: 4,775 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Sutton counted 4,548, 13% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Sutton?
Half the residents are older than 60.4 and half younger, older than 99% of Canadian towns; 8.9% are children under 15 and 39% are 65 or over.
Is Sutton bilingual?
English and French: 72% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 11%. French only: 17%. French mother tongue: 69%.
How diverse is Sutton?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 9.1%. A visible minority makes up 1.9% and Indigenous residents 0.9%.
What religion are people in Sutton?
Most often Christian (62%) or no religion (37%); other religions make up 1.2%.
Is Sutton good for families?
Children under 15 are 8.9% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 49% of households and one-parent families 5%. Schools near Sutton are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Sutton?
Median total household income in Sutton was $66,500 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).