Photo: Dllu · CC BY-SA 4.040% of residents belong to a visible minority, more than in 78% of Canadian towns
Across Canada’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Abbotsford, 2.8. The 2021 Census found 53,235 households in the town; by July 2025 the population was about 175,358. Census figures put households in single-detached houses at 37% in the town. 13% of residents are not Canadian citizens, a higher share than in 79% of Canadian towns.
A growing town: +9% since 2016, faster than 75% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across British Columbia’s towns. The July 2025 estimate adds another 14%.
A median age of 39.2: Abbotsford is younger than 69% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Across Canada’s towns, 16% of residents are under 15; in Abbotsford, 17%. Among British Columbia’s towns, Qualicum Beach has the highest share aged 65 or over, at 56%. The largest age band is 35–39: 7.2% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Abbotsford, 39.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Only 25% of households are one person living alone in Abbotsford
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
In Abbotsford, 7.4% of households are one-parent families. Set beside that, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
6.1% of residents 15 and over live common-law, fewer than in 85% 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
27% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). Here, 53% of residents 15 and over are married. Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns.
In Abbotsford, 31% of households rent their home, more than in 61% of Canadian towns
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
Newer homes outnumber old: 28% date from 2001 or later, 5% from before 1961. Across Canada’s towns, 25% of households rent their home. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are more common here than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns.
Household income, middle of the range: $90,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000, and Abbotsford’s, at $90,000, is close to it. Within British Columbia’s towns, the household in the middle had $87,000. Pandemic benefits reached 27% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Abbotsford sits above 77% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (15%)
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
29% of residents are immigrants; across Canada’s towns the figure is 17%. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (72%) and in Europe (15%).
Above 67% of Canadian towns: 4.5% 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
Other faiths: Sikh (26%) and Hindu (2.4%). Residents with no religion are rarer here than in just over three fifths of Canadian towns. The wider picture: 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 61%, and 4.1% speak French as well
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
At home: English 71%, French 0.2%. Fewer bilingual residents than in 85% of Canadian towns: 4.1%. Nothing unusual on residents whose mother tongue is French: 0.6%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 56% of Canadian towns, at 24%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of 25- to 64-year-olds hold a degree; in Abbotsford, 24%, and 24% have a college or trades credential (typical: 29%). Those with no credential make up 13%, next to 9.5% in the typical town.
60% of residents 15 and over were in work
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
60% of residents 15 and over have a job; across Canada’s towns the typical share is 58%.
In its size band (105,520 to 243,107), the 11th youngest of 41 towns
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Milton is the youngest of them at 36; Cape Breton, at 50.4, the oldest. By median age, Abbotsford sits among Oshawa (39.2), Bowmanville (39.2), Whitby (40) and Chilliwack (40.4).
Every neighbour of Abbotsford has an older population
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbotsford | 175,358 | — | 39.2 | 18% | 29% |
| Mission | 47,280 | 11.1 km | 40 | 16% | 17% |
| Electoral Area G, Fraser Valley | 1,808 | 14.4 km | 46.4 | 20% | 15% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: British Columbia’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.
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
Questions about Abbotsford’s residents
What is the median income in Abbotsford?
The median household in Abbotsford took in $90,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Abbotsford?
Abbotsford had about 175,358 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 153,524, 9% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Abbotsford?
A median age of 39.2, younger than 69% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 17%, and people 65 and over 18%.
Is Abbotsford bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4.1% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 90% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.6% grew up with French.
How diverse is Abbotsford?
29% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 40% belong to a visible minority and 4.5% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Abbotsford?
38% are Christian and 32% have no religion; 31% follow another religion.
Is Abbotsford good for families?
Under 15: 17% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 48% of households. One-parent families: 7.4%. Schools near Abbotsford are on its Schools page.
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).