# List of population centres in Nova Scotia

A population centre, in Canadian census data, is a populated place, or a cluster of interrelated populated places, which meets the demographic characteristics of an urban area, having a population of at least 1,000 people and a population density of no fewer than 400 persons per square km2.
The term was first introduced in the Canada 2011 Census; prior to that, Statistics Canada used the term urban area.
In the 2021 Census of Population, Statistics Canada listed 37 population centres in the province of Nova Scotia.

## List

The below table is a list of those population centres in Nova Scotia from the 2021 Census of Population as designated, named, and delineated by Statistics Canada.
| Rank | Population centre | Size group | Population (2021) | Population (2016) | Change | Land area | Land area | Population density | Population density |
| Rank | Population centre | Size group | Population (2021) | Population (2016) | Change | km$^2$ | sq mi | /km$^2$ | /sq mi |
| 1 | Halifax | Large urban | 348,634 | 317,334 | +9.9% | 238.29 | 92.00 | 1,463.1 | 3,789 |
| 2 | Cape Breton - Sydney | Medium | 30,960 | 30,170 | +2.6% | 30.91 | 11.93 | 1,001.6 | 2,594 |
| 3 | Truro | Small | 23,583 | 23,205 | +1.6% | 31.52 | 12.17 | 748.2 | 1,938 |
| 4 | New Glasgow | Small | 19,316 | 19,137 | +0.9% | 29.82 | 11.51 | 647.8 | 1,678 |
| 5 | Glace Bay | Small | 16,915 | 17,604 | −3.9% | 31.19 | 12.04 | 542.3 | 1,405 |
| 6 | Kentville | Small | 14,905 | 14,449 | +3.2% | 27.98 | 10.80 | 532.7 | 1,380 |
| 7 | Sydney Mines | Small | 12,353 | 12,823 | −3.7% | 18.11 | 6.99 | 682.1 | 1,767 |
| 8 | Amherst | Small | 9,548 | 9,550 | 0.0% | 12.38 | 4.78 | 771.2 | 1,997 |
| 9 | Bridgewater | Small | 8,790 | 8,532 | +3.0% | 13.63 | 5.26 | 644.9 | 1,670 |
| 10 | Yarmouth | Small | 7,848 | 7,527 | +4.3% | 16.81 | 6.49 | 466.9 | 1,209 |
| 11 | Kingston - Greenwood | Small | 7,118 | 6,879 | +3.5% | 17.22 | 6.65 | 413.4 | 1,071 |
| 12 | New Waterford | Small | 6,723 | 7,416 | −9.3% | 9.23 | 3.56 | 728.4 | 1,887 |
| 13 | Enfield - Lantz | Small | 6,583 | 6,807 | −3.3% | 11.67 | 4.51 | 564.1 | 1,461 |
| 14 | Antigonish | Small | 5,620 | 5,079 | +10.7% | 5.88 | 2.27 | 955.8 | 2,476 |
| 15 | Windsor | Small | 5,514 | 5,248 | +5.1% | 10.56 | 4.08 | 522.2 | 1,352 |
| 16 | Wolfville | Small | 5,057 | 4,195 | +20.5% | 6.46 | 2.49 | 782.8 | 2,027 |
| 17 | Still Water Lake | Small | 3,379 | 3,447 | −2.0% | 8.23 | 3.18 | 410.6 | 1,063 |
| 18 | Port Hawkesbury | Small | 2,998 | 3,004 | −0.2% | 5 | 1.9 | 599.6 | 1,553 |
| 19 | Springhill | Small | 2,654 | 2,743 | −3.2% | 4.84 | 1.87 | 548.3 | 1,420 |
| 20 | Pictou | Small | 2,643 | 2,711 | −2.5% | 4.35 | 1.68 | 607.6 | 1,574 |
| 21 | Eskasoni 3 | Small | 2,575 | 2,352 | +9.5% | 5.7 | 2.2 | 451.8 | 1,170 |
| 22 | Liverpool | Small | 2,546 | 2,549 | −0.1% | 3.59 | 1.39 | 709.2 | 1,837 |
| 23 | Berwick | Small | 2,455 | 2,517 | −2.5% | 4.31 | 1.66 | 569.6 | 1,475 |
| 24 | Lunenburg | Small | 2,405 | 2,262 | +6.3% | 3.35 | 1.29 | 717.9 | 1,859 |
| 25 | Lake Echo | Small | 2,365 | 2,515 | −6.0% | 4.76 | 1.84 | 496.8 | 1,287 |
| 26 | Indian Brook 14 | Small | 2,332 | 655 | +256.0% | 3.89 | 1.50 | 599.5 | 1,553 |
| 27 | Digby | Small | 2,001 | 2,060 | −2.9% | 3.16 | 1.22 | 633.2 | 1,640 |
| 28 | Hantsport | Small | 1,542 | 1,560 | −1.2% | 2.89 | 1.12 | 533.6 | 1,382 |
| 29 | Brookside | Small | 1,439 | 1,441 | −0.1% | 2.81 | 1.08 | 512.1 | 1,326 |
| 30 | Shelburne | Small | 1,439 | 1,483 | −3.0% | 2.6 | 1.0 | 553.5 | 1,434 |
| 31 | Middleton | Small | 1,429 | 1,391 | +2.7% | 2.72 | 1.05 | 525.4 | 1,361 |
| 32 | Chester | Small | 1,371 | 1,362 | +0.7% | 3.23 | 1.25 | 424.5 | 1,099 |
| 33 | Inverness | Small | 1,228 | 1,248 | −1.6% | 2.73 | 1.05 | 449.8 | 1,165 |
| 34 | Centreville | Small | 1,159 | 1,129 | +2.7% | 2.36 | 0.91 | 491.1 | 1,272 |
| 35 | Howie Centre | Small | 1,106 | 1,157 | −4.4% | 1.67 | 0.64 | 662.3 | 1,715 |
| 36 | Hayes Subdivision | Small | 1,044 | 1,121 | −6.9% | 1.1 | 0.42 | 949.1 | 2,458 |
| 37 | Port Williams | Small | 1,030 | 1,120 | −8.0% | 1.92 | 0.74 | 536.5 | 1,390 |