Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainElectoral Area A, Central Kootenay is older than 99% of Canadian towns: a median age of 60
Set against 25% across Canada’s towns, 9.8% of households rent their home in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay. Fewer children under 15 than in 96% of Canadian towns: 9.4%. About 2,668 people lived in the town in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. In Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay, 56% of residents said they have no religion.
What stands out about the people of Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay
Older than most towns
Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay’s median age is 60; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 36% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay went from 1,930 to 2,241 residents (+16%), faster growth than in 93% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay has grown +16%, faster than 93% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across British Columbia’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 19% higher again.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 36% in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay, more than in 98% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
5.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across Canada’s towns the figure is 11%. For comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay, 60. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women.
Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay households average 2 people, smaller than in 90% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The figure for one-parent families is 3.7% in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay and 8.2% across Canada’s towns. The census found that a third of households are one person living alone locally.
54% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 77% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 17% of adults, against a typical 27%. The wider picture: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 12% of the total.
96% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 97% of Canadian towns
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses is 64%. A quarter of homes were built before 1961 and 25% in 2001 or later.
The middle household earns $60,400 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay: half had less than $60,400, 30% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across British Columbia’s towns have a median of $87,000. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 23% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 9%, a lower share than 72% of Canadian towns
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
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
By its share of residents without Canadian citizenship (2.5%), Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay is below 70% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%. Most immigrants were born in Europe (67%) or in the Americas (20%).
Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay: 7.1% of residents have an Indigenous identity, above 79% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Compared with 15% across Canada’s towns, 1.8% of residents belong to a visible minority here. Across Canada’s towns, Indigenous residents come to 2.8%.
89% have English as their mother tongue; 7.6% also speak French
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
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: 2.2%.
Below 75% of Canadian towns: 17% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 10% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
Employment: 42% of residents 15 and over had a job
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 42% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 36% of residents are 65 or over.
Among 41 towns of 2,629 to 2,706 people, the 2nd oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Brockville is the oldest at 67.7, La Ronge the youngest at 31. In age, Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay keeps company with Berwick (56.8), Eastman (56.8) and Brockville (67.7).
Every neighbour of Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay has a younger population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. The nearest places to Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay with figures are 30–47 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay | 2,668 | — | 60 | 36% | 13% |
| Electoral Area C, Central Kootenay | 1,672 | 30.1 km | 56 | 33% | 12% |
| Creston | 5,976 | 31.9 km | 57.6 | 39% | 12% |
| Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay | 5,243 | 33.8 km | 52 | 29% | 12% |
| Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay | 4,309 | 44.6 km | 51.2 | 27% | 11% |
| Nelson | 12,126 | 47.2 km | 42.4 | 21% | 15% |
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. The middle of British Columbia’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- 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 Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay’s residents
How diverse is Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay?
Immigrants make up 13% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 1.8% are members of a visible minority, and 7.1% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay?
Christian: 39%. No religion: 56%. Another religion: 5%.
Is Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 9.4%. 57% of households are couple families and 3.7% one-parent families. Schools near Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay?
$60,400 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay?
Statistics Canada estimates 2,668 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 2,241 in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay, 16% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay?
60 is the median age, older than 99% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 9.4%. 65 and over: 36%.
Is Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay bilingual?
7.6% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 92% English only. French is the mother tongue of 2.2%.
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).