Photo: Ken Eckert · CC BY-SA 4.0Residents with no religion make up 61% in Castlegar, more than in 96% of Canadian towns
With residents aged 65 and over at 25%, Castlegar is ahead of 79% of Canadian towns on that count. The 2021 Census found 3,550 households locally; by July 2025 the population was about 9,465. Here, 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. At 30%, the share of one-person households is higher than in 62% of Canadian towns.
Castlegar changed by +4% from 2016 to 2021, behind 52% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 14%.
Half of Castlegar is over 45.6, older than 71% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Across Canada’s towns, 16% of residents are under 15; in Castlegar, 15%. More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: 8% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Castlegar, 45.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
Castlegar households average 2.3 people, smaller than in 64% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
By its share of one-parent families (9.2%), Castlegar is above 64% of Canadian towns.
Above 66% of Canadian towns: 13% of residents 15 and over live common-law
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
26% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). Locally, 45% of residents 15 and over are married. The comparison figure for common-law partners is 11% across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of households in single-detached houses than 56% of Canadian towns, at 68%
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
Older homes outnumber new: 25% predate 1961, 14% date from 2001 or later. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Measured more widely, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
$81,000 a year: the median household income
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Castlegar had $81,000 before tax, 6% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across British Columbia’s towns has $87,000 before tax. In 2020, 22% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
8.6% 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
The share of immigrants trails 68% of Canadian towns: 8.6%. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (54%) and in Asia (23%).
6.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity, a share 78% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
7.3% of residents belong to a visible minority and 6.8% have an Indigenous identity, against 15% and 2.8% across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 85%, and 5.5% 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
Residents whose mother tongue is French are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 1%. At home: English 95%, French 0.1%. Castlegar has fewer bilingual residents than 69% of Canadian towns, at 5.5%.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 67% of Canadian towns: 20%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 7.4%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Across the comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 52% 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 work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
52% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 25% are 65 or more.
Ranked by age, 9th oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The youngest of these towns is Oromocto, at 31.8; the oldest, Qualicum Beach, is at 67.5. Nearest to Castlegar in age: Three Rivers (44.8), Plympton-Wyoming (45.6), La Pêche (46.4) and Antigonish County, Subdivision A (47.2).
No nearby town is as young as Castlegar
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlegar | 9,465 | — | 45.6 | 25% | 8.6% |
| Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay | 3,915 | 6.1 km | 46.8 | 21% | 7.2% |
| Electoral Area B (Lower Columbia-Old-Glory), Kootenay Boundary | 1,432 | 9.2 km | 55.6 | 28% | 6.7% |
| Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay | 2,758 | 13.3 km | 47.6 | 21% | 5.7% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
- 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. 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.
Questions about Castlegar’s residents
What is the average age in Castlegar?
45.6 is the median age, older than 71% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 15%. 65 and over: 25%.
Is Castlegar bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 5.5% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 94% speak only English and 0% only French; 1% grew up with French.
How diverse is Castlegar?
Immigrants make up 8.6% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 7.3% are members of a visible minority, and 6.8% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Castlegar?
Christian: 35%. No religion: 61%. Another religion: 4.1%.
Is Castlegar good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 15%. 50% of households are couple families and 9.2% one-parent families. Schools near Castlegar are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Castlegar?
$81,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Castlegar (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Castlegar?
Statistics Canada estimates 9,465 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 8,338 in Castlegar, 4% more than 2016.
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).