Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainA median age of 52: Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay is older than 90% of Canadian towns
Across Canada’s towns, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity; in Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay, 7.8%. With about 5,243 residents in July 2025, Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay counted 1,980 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, just over nine in ten households live in a single-detached house. Compared with other places, residents who moved in within the year are common here: 14%, more than in 71% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay
Older than most towns
The middle resident of Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay is 52; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 29% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay has changed by +3%, slower than 56% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across British Columbia’s towns +6%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 9%.
Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay sits above 90% of Canadian towns for residents aged 65 and over (29%)
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 10%, Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay is behind 61% of Canadian towns on that count. By way of comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay, 52. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
2.4 people per household, fewer than in 53% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Here 6.6% of households are one-parent families, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 8.2%. Across Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay, 27% of households are one person living alone.
Married residents 15 and over: 53%, a higher share than 71% of Canadian towns
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
22% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. In Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay, 9.6% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
A smaller share of renter households than 68% of Canadian towns: 17%
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 18% date from 2001 or later, 18% from before 1961. As a yardstick, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Nearly one in ten homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
The middle household earns $67,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
At $67,000, the middle household in Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay earned 22% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across British Columbia’s towns, half of households had more than $87,000 before tax. In 2020, 20% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
12% 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 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of immigrants is 17%; Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay has 12%. On the census count, 2.6% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay sits above 88% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (51%)
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
In Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay, 2.3% of residents belong to a visible minority, beside 15% across Canada’s towns. The usual figure: just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
91% have English as their mother tongue; 2.7% also speak 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
Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%; Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay has 2.7%. Census figures put residents whose mother tongue is French at 1.3% in the town.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 9.9%, a lower share than 96% 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, 17% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
47% of adults were employed in May 2021
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 47%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 29% of residents are 65 or over.
Of 41 towns its size (5,167 to 5,319 people), the 3rd oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The span goes from 32.9 (Rundle Heights) up to 58 (Oliver). Next to Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay on this scale come Marystown (50.8), Deer Lake (51.6), Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac (52.8) and Oliver (58).
The towns around Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay are all older
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay | 5,243 | — | 52 | 29% | 12% |
| Creston | 5,976 | 2.8 km | 57.6 | 39% | 12% |
| Electoral Area C, Central Kootenay | 1,672 | 5.7 km | 56 | 33% | 12% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond 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 B, Central Kootenay’s residents
How diverse is Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay?
Immigrants: 12% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 2.3%. Indigenous identity: 7.8%.
What religion are people in Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay?
51% said they have no religion and 47% that they are Christian; 1.7% named another faith.
Is Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay good for families?
15% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 56% of households and one-parent families 6.6%. Schools near Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay?
Half of Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay’s households had more than $67,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay?
About 5,243, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 4,802 people in Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay?
The median age is 52, older than 90% of Canadian towns. 15% are under 15 and 29% 65 or older.
Is Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay bilingual?
2.7% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 97% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.3%.
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).