A median age of 52.4: Electoral Area I, Cariboo is older than 91% of Canadian towns
Compared with 35% across Canada’s towns, 63% of residents said they have no religion here. Residents who moved in within the year are rarer here than in 95% of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 1,707 residents; the 2021 Census found 660 households. Locally, just over one in ten residents are under 15.
What stands out about the people of Electoral Area I, Cariboo
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
14% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 93% of Canadian towns; 3% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Older than most towns
Electoral Area I, Cariboo’s median age is 52.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 25% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Electoral Area I, Cariboo changed by +4% from 2016 to 2021, behind 53% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 15%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 81% of Canadian towns: 25%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
No age band is larger than 60–64: one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across Canada’s towns. Nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 82% of Canadian towns. The wider picture: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 116 men for every 100 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 Canada’s towns, the share of one-parent families is 8.2%; Electoral Area I, Cariboo has 6.1%. The census found that 27% of households are one person living alone here.
A higher share of common-law partners than 71% of Canadian towns, at 14%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
The share of married residents 15 and over is 49%, against 46% across Canada’s towns. The comparison figure for common-law partners is 11% across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of renter households than 81% of Canadian towns: 13%
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
By its share of households in single-detached houses (84%), Electoral Area I, Cariboo is above 79% of Canadian towns. Renter households make up 25% across Canada’s towns. 15% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 9.8% built before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
Half above, half below $68,500 a year in household income
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Electoral Area I, Cariboo’s households had a total income below $68,500, 20% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across British Columbia’s towns the median is $87,000. COVID-19 benefits went to 27% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
6.7% of residents are immigrants
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
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
Where 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, Electoral Area I, Cariboo has 6.7%. Census figures put residents without Canadian citizenship at 2.4% here.
Electoral Area I, Cariboo ranks above 93% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 14%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns. To put it in context, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
94% have English as their mother tongue; 3.7% also speak French
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
There is little gap on residents whose mother tongue is French: 1%, about the same as across Canada’s towns. Bilingual residents are rarer here than in 90% of Canadian towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 5.7%, a lower share than 99% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 23% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 46%
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
46% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 25% are 65 or more.
No nearby town is as old as Electoral Area I, Cariboo
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area I, Cariboo | 1,707 | — | 52.4 | 25% | 6.7% |
| Electoral Area A, Cariboo | 6,172 | 7.8 km | 46.4 | 22% | 5.6% |
| Quesnel | 10,253 | 10.5 km | 45.6 | 23% | 8.3% |
| Electoral Area B, Cariboo | 4,169 | 19.0 km | 48.8 | 22% | 8.7% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- 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.
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
Questions about Electoral Area I, Cariboo’s residents
What religion are people in Electoral Area I, Cariboo?
63% said they have no religion and 36% that they are Christian; 1.1% named another faith.
Is Electoral Area I, Cariboo good for families?
12% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 55% of households and one-parent families 6.1%. Schools near Electoral Area I, Cariboo are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area I, Cariboo?
Half of Electoral Area I, Cariboo’s households had more than $68,500 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Electoral Area I, Cariboo?
About 1,707, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 1,485 people in Electoral Area I, Cariboo, 4% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area I, Cariboo?
The median age is 52.4. 12% are under 15 and 25% 65 or older.
Is Electoral Area I, Cariboo bilingual?
3.7% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 96% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1%.
How diverse is Electoral Area I, Cariboo?
Immigrants: 6.7% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 0%. Indigenous identity: 14%.
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).