Photo: Muskwatch · CC BY-SA 4.0A median age of 29.6: Bella Coola 1 is younger than 99% of Canadian towns
Bella Coola 1 is a First Nations reserve, home to Nuxalk Nation. 11% of households rent their home (Canada’s towns: 25%). By contrast, at 17%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is higher than in 97% of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 1,037 residents; the 2021 Census found 285 households. Locally, 22% of households are one-parent families.
What stands out about the people of Bella Coola 1
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 99% of residents, more than in 99% of Canadian towns, and 97% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Bella Coola 1’s median age is 29.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 27% are under 15 and 12% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Bella Coola 1 went from 807 people in 2016 to 937 in 2021, +16%: faster growth than in 93% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Growth of +16% since 2016 puts Bella Coola 1 ahead of 93% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 11%. For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across British Columbia’s towns.
More children under 15 than 99% of Canadian towns: 27%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 10–14 than any other five-year age: 11% of residents, 1.9 times the share across Canada’s towns. Bella Coola 1 has fewer residents aged 65 and over than 87% of Canadian towns, at 12%. By way of comparison, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women.
3.3 people per household, more than in 96% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Against a figure of 27% across Canada’s towns, the share of one-person households in Bella Coola 1 comes in at 21%.
A lower share of married residents 15 and over than 98% of Canadian towns, at 23%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
46% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Common-law partners: 17% of the total.
Bella Coola 1 ranks above 77% of Canadian towns on households in single-detached houses: 83%
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
53% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. Newer homes outnumber old: 14% date from 2001 or later, 3.5% from before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. On average, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
Household income at the median: $47,200 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
At $47,200, the middle household in Bella Coola 1 earned 45% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across British Columbia’s towns, half of households had more than $87,000 before tax. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 40% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
In Bella Coola 1, 99% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns, against 64% in Bella Coola 1. The benchmark for Indigenous residents across Canada’s towns: 2.8%.
English is the mother tongue of 97%, and 1.1% speak French as well
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
Compared with 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 1.1% of residents speak English and French here. The census found that 0.5% of residents have French as their mother tongue in Bella Coola 1.
In Bella Coola 1, 3.5% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 99% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 29% here, 9.5% in the typical town. To put it in context, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 38% of residents aged 15 and over
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 38%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 12% are 65 or over.
The places around Bella Coola 1
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. Bella Coola 1 has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 101 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bella Coola 1 | 1,037 | — | 29.6 | 12% | 0% |
| Bella Bella 1 | 1,339 | 100.7 km | 36.4 | 15% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across British Columbia’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
- A First Nations reserve. Reserves are compared with Canada’s towns but aren’t counted among them: they have no overall grade and no place in ranked lists. Census figures for small reserves are rounded, and some are suppressed.
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- 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 Bella Coola 1’s residents
How diverse is Bella Coola 1?
In Bella Coola 1, 99% have an Indigenous identity and 0% belong to a visible minority; its immigration figures are suppressed.
What religion are people in Bella Coola 1?
64% said they have no religion and 27% that they are Christian; 9.7% named another faith.
Is Bella Coola 1 good for families?
27% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 31% of households and one-parent families 22%. Schools near Bella Coola 1 are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Bella Coola 1?
Half of Bella Coola 1’s households had more than $47,200 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Bella Coola 1?
About 1,037, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 937 people in Bella Coola 1, 16% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Bella Coola 1?
The median age is 29.6. 27% are under 15 and 12% 65 or older.
Is Bella Coola 1 bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 1.1% are. Another 0% speak only French and 99% only English, and French is the first language of 0.5%.
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).