Photo: Darren Kirby Darren Kirby · CC BY-SA 2.0Immigrants make up 61% in Metrotown, more than in 98% of Canadian towns
With a median age of 38, Metrotown is younger than 77% of Canadian towns. Across Metrotown, just over half of households rent their home. At the 2021 Census, 36,594 people lived in the neighbourhood, in 17,810 households. A household here has 2.1 people on average; across Canada’s towns, 2.4.
What stands out about the people of Metrotown
The highest immigrant share of British Columbia’s towns
Immigrants make up 61% of residents; the medians are 16% across British Columbia’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (81%), then in Europe (10%), and 34% arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
A mix of backgrounds
Visible minority residents make up 79%, more than in 96% of Canadian towns, and immigrants 61%. Identity & religion ↓
A neighbourhood of high-rises
Buildings of five storeys or more hold 61% of households, more than in 97% of Canadian towns, and 65% of homes are condos. Homes ↓
A neighbourhood people move to
21% of residents lived at another address a year before the census, 1.9 times the typical share; 53% moved within five years. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Fewer children under 15 than 95% of Canadian towns: 10%
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
No age band is larger than 30–34: just over one in ten residents, 1.9 times the share across Canada’s towns. On average, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over account for 17%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Metrotown, 38. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women.
Above 84% of Canadian towns: 38% of households are one person living alone
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Shared houses stand out: 9% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 94% of Canadian towns. Measured more widely, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. In Metrotown, 8% of households are one-parent families.
Only 8% of residents 15 and over live common-law in Metrotown
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: just over a third of adults (typical: 27%). To put it in context, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
More households in buildings of five or more storeys than 97% of Canadian towns: 61%
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
Nearly one in ten homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. On the census count, 1.5% of households live in a single-detached house.
Household income at the median: $63,800 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Metrotown’s median household took in $63,800 before tax, 26% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across British Columbia’s towns has $87,000 before tax. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 29% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
A higher share of residents without Canadian citizenship than 99% of Canadian towns, at 34%
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 70%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
In Metrotown, just over a fifth of residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 11% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents without Canadian citizenship is 5.8%. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (81%), then in Europe (10%).
In Metrotown, 79% of residents belong to a visible minority, more than in 96% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of Indigenous residents is 2.8%; Metrotown has 0.7%. The neighbourhood has more residents with no religion than 88% of Canadian towns, at 51%. The benchmark for visible minority residents across Canada’s towns: 15%. Among other religions: Hindu (6.1%), Muslim (5.6%) and Buddhist (4.4%).
75% have a mother tongue other than English or French
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
On residents whose mother tongue is French, 0.7% here is much the same as across Canada’s towns. 4% of residents speak English and French.
More degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 90% of Canadian towns: 55%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 4.6% here, 9.5% in the typical town. By way of comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 57% of residents aged 15 and over
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
57% of residents 15 and over have a job, in line with the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
41 towns of 34,129 to 39,397 people: this is the 5th youngest
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
They run from Strawberry Hill, at 35.2, to Sorel-Tracy, at 53.2. The towns whose median age is nearest to Metrotown’s: Mount Pleasant (36.3), Whitehorse (37.6), Sunset (38.8) and Cochrane (39.2).
Around Metrotown, 5 of 6 towns have a higher median age
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metrotown | 36,594 | — | 38 | 17% | 61% |
| Garden Village | 6,492 | 1.4 km | 42.9 | 19% | 52% |
| Royal Oak | 18,364 | 1.7 km | 39.5 | 16% | 57% |
| South Slope | 8,989 | 2.0 km | 45.3 | 22% | 44% |
| Collingwood | 18,399 | 2.4 km | 37.7 | 14% | 57% |
| Killarney | 32,167 | 2.7 km | 41.7 | 18% | 49% |
| Deer Lake | 8,417 | 2.7 km | 45.8 | 22% | 45% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada reports the census by municipality; a neighbourhood’s figures are the sum of its dissemination areas, rounded counts and all, with medians estimated from age and income groups and no 2016 count, as the 2016 areas don’t fit.
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Metrotown’s residents
What is the average age in Metrotown?
Half the residents are older than 38 and half younger, younger than 77% of Canadian towns; 10% are children under 15 and 17% are 65 or over.
Is Metrotown bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 4% are. Another 0% speak only French and 87% only English, and French is the first language of 0.7%.
How diverse is Metrotown?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 61%. A visible minority makes up 79% and Indigenous residents 0.7%.
What religion are people in Metrotown?
Most often Christian (30%) or no religion (51%); other religions make up 19%.
Is Metrotown good for families?
Children under 15 are 10% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 41% of households and one-parent families 8%. Schools near Metrotown are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Metrotown?
Median total household income in Metrotown was $63,800 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Metrotown?
Metrotown had 36,594 residents at the 2021 Census.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. 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).