Immigrants: 45%, a higher share than 89% of Canadian towns
55% of residents belong to a visible minority; across Canada’s towns the figure is 15%. The 2021 Census put Montecito’s population at 10,734, in 3,995 households. The share of households in buildings of five or more storeys stands at 13%. Residents without Canadian citizenship are more common here than in 83% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Montecito
More immigrants than most towns
45% of residents are immigrants, against 16% across British Columbia’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. Most immigrants were born in Asia (71%) or in Europe (21%); 22% of them arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Older than 64% of Canadian towns: half of Montecito is over 44.4
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over; across Canada’s towns the figure is 19%. The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.7% of residents. More residents aged 15 to 24 than in 67% of Canadian towns: 12%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Montecito, 44.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
2.7 people per household, more than in 73% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
9.4% of households are one-parent families, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns. Locally, 24% of households are one person living alone.
A lower share of common-law partners than 89% of Canadian towns, at 5.4%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
52% of residents 15 and over are married; across Canada’s towns the figure is 46%. Across Canada’s towns, common-law partners come to 11%.
Montecito ranks below 81% of Canadian towns on households in single-detached houses: 34%
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
Just over one in ten homes were built before 1961 and 9.8% in 2001 or later. On renter households, Montecito sits higher than 72% of Canadian towns: 38%. For comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
Household income at the median: $98,700 a year
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
Household incomes run high in Montecito: half had more than $98,700, 15% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). British Columbia’s towns have a median of $87,000. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 27% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
45% of residents are immigrants
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 55%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Most immigrants were born in Asia (71%) or in Europe (21%). A year before the census, 11% lived somewhere else: fewer than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns. Of the immigrants living here, 22% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
Above 85% of Canadian towns: 49% of residents said they have no religion
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (4.2%) and Buddhist (2.6%). On Indigenous residents, Montecito sits lower than just over four fifths of Canadian towns: 1%. The usual figure: 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
54% have a mother tongue other than English or French
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
30% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 5.2% speak neither official language. Residents whose mother tongue is French are rarer here than in 92% of Canadian towns. By its share of bilingual residents (5.9%), Montecito is below 64% of Canadian towns.
More degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 80% of Canadian towns: 45%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 4.1% here, 9.5% in the typical town. As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 53% of residents 15 and over had a job
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.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 53%; 21% of residents are 65 or over.
Oldest by rank: 13th of 41 towns of 10,463 to 11,014 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
At one end is Lethbridge County (32.8), at the other Liverpool (55.6). Ponoka County (43.2), Vieux Greenfield Park (43.4), Walkerton (44.8) and Yellowhead County (44.8): the towns nearest Montecito in median age.
Around Montecito, 2 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- 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. Built up from dissemination areas: Statistics Canada stops at the municipality. Rounded counts are added together and medians estimated from the published groups. The 2016 areas don’t line up with these, so the change since 2016 isn’t shown.
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
Questions about Montecito’s residents
What is the median income in Montecito?
Half of Montecito’s households had more than $98,700 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Montecito?
Montecito had 10,734 residents at the 2021 Census.
What is the average age in Montecito?
The median age is 44.4, older than 64% of Canadian towns. 15% are under 15 and 21% 65 or older.
Is Montecito bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 5.9% are. Another 0% speak only French and 89% only English, and French is the first language of 0.5%.
How diverse is Montecito?
Immigrants: 45% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 55%. Indigenous identity: 1%.
What religion are people in Montecito?
49% said they have no religion and 42% that they are Christian; 9.8% named another faith.
Is Montecito good for families?
15% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 51% of households and one-parent families 9.4%. Schools near Montecito are on its Schools page.
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).