Photo: Historyted at English Wikipedia · Public domainIn Armstrong, 30% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 91% of Canadian towns
Across Canada’s towns, 35% of residents said they have no religion; in Armstrong, 59%. About 5,643 people lived here in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.1% in the town. On renter households, Armstrong sits lower than 70% of Canadian towns: 17%.
What stands out about the people of Armstrong
Older than most towns
Line Armstrong’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 50; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 30% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A +4% change since 2016: faster than 50% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 6% higher again.
Older than 85% of Canadian towns: half of Armstrong is over 50
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
No age band is larger than 60–64: 7.8% of residents. Little separates the share of children under 15 here, 16%, from the figure across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Armstrong, 50. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
2.3 people per household, fewer than in 64% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Armstrong, 28% of households are one person living alone. At 7.9%, one-parent families sit close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
Above 65% of Canadian towns: 51% of residents 15 and over are married
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Nearly a fifth of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). The usual figure: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 11% of the total.
Armstrong: 69% of households live in a single-detached house, above 58% of Canadian towns
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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
23% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 16% built before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. For households in single-detached houses, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 64%.
Half above, half below $77,500 a year in household income
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
At $77,500, the middle household in Armstrong earned 10% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Among British Columbia’s towns, the typical figure is $87,000. Pandemic benefits reached 21% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 66% of Canadian towns
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
Against a figure of 17% across Canada’s towns, the share of immigrants in Armstrong comes in at 7.1%. By way of comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Here, 2.5% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
More Indigenous residents than 80% of Canadian towns: 7.3%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of visible minority residents is 15%; Armstrong has 3.5%. Elsewhere, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 94%, and 3.3% speak French as well
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns, against 3.3% in Armstrong. For Armstrong, the census puts residents whose mother tongue is French at 1.4%.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 85% of Canadian towns, at 14%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 9.5%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
55% 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. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 55% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 30% of residents are 65 or over.
In its size band (5,555 to 5,745), the 9th oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Median ages here range from 27.8 in Montcalm to 63.2 in Osoyoos. Next to Armstrong on this scale come West Lorne (48.8), Annapolis County, Subdivision C (50), New Edinburgh (50.2) and Orford (50.4).
Armstrong sits below 2 of its 5 closest neighbours on median age
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armstrong | 5,643 | — | 50 | 30% | 7.1% |
| Spallumcheen | 5,843 | 3.5 km | 48 | 23% | 7.6% |
| Enderby | 3,292 | 13.3 km | 54.4 | 33% | 7.6% |
| Electoral Area D, Columbia-Shuswap | 4,829 | 14.5 km | 48 | 23% | 8.5% |
| Electoral Area B, North Okanagan | 3,415 | 15.5 km | 50.4 | 26% | 12% |
| Electoral Area C, North Okanagan | 5,029 | 17.1 km | 47.2 | 21% | 11% |
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. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
Questions about Armstrong’s residents
What is the median income in Armstrong?
Half of Armstrong’s households had more than $77,500 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Armstrong?
About 5,643, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 5,323 people in Armstrong, 4% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Armstrong?
The median age is 50, older than 85% of Canadian towns. 16% are under 15 and 30% 65 or older.
Is Armstrong bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 3.3% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 97% speak only English and 0.1% only French; 1.4% grew up with French.
How diverse is Armstrong?
Immigrants: 7.1% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 3.5%. Indigenous identity: 7.3%.
What religion are people in Armstrong?
59% said they have no religion and 39% that they are Christian; 2.4% named another faith.
Is Armstrong good for families?
16% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 55% of households and one-parent families 7.9%. Schools near Armstrong 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).