Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainOlder than 88% of Canadian towns: half of Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay is over 51.2
The share of Indigenous residents tops just over four fifths of Canadian towns: 7.5%. Locally, 7.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24. 31% of households are one person living alone, a higher share than in 66% of Canadian towns. Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay had about 4,309 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 1,800 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay
Older than most towns
Line Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 51.2; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 27% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A change of +3% since 2016 leaves Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay behind 55% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across British Columbia’s towns. The July 2025 estimate adds another 11%.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 86% of Canadian towns, at 27%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Set against 16% across Canada’s towns, 13% of residents are under 15 in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay. As a yardstick, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay, 51.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 74% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-parent families make up 6.4% of households and couple families 52%, against 8.2% and 53% across Canada’s towns.
Above 78% of Canadian towns: 15% of residents 15 and over live common-law
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 24% of adults, against a typical 27%. The wider picture: 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
88% of households live in a single-detached house, a share 85% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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 nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. As a yardstick, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Renter households account for 19%. 9.5% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
$70,500 a year: the median household income
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay had $70,500 before tax, 18% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within British Columbia’s towns, the household in the middle had $87,000. Pandemic benefits reached 27% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
In Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay, 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 65% 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
Most recent wave: 17% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). Across Canada’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%. For Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay, the census puts residents without Canadian citizenship at 3.2%. Immigrants are rarer here than in 62% of Canadian towns.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 99% of Canadian towns, at 68%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of visible minority residents is 15%; Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay has 3%. As a yardstick, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
90% have English as their mother tongue; 8.3% 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
At home: English 98%, French 0.6%. Few places have as many residents whose mother tongue is French: 2.2% here, more than in 64% of Canadian towns.
A university degree: 27% of 25- to 64-year-olds
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 7.9% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town.
In work on census day: 54% of adults
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.
54% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 27% are 65 or more.
Among 41 towns of 4,237 to 4,388 people, the 10th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Highlands East is the oldest at 58.8, Glenridding Heights the youngest at 31.9. In age, Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay keeps company with Electoral Area E, Sunshine Coast (50.8), Lantzville (50.8), Downtown (51.4) and Beaupré (52.8).
Every nearby town is younger than Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay | 4,309 | — | 51.2 | 27% | 11% |
| Nelson | 12,126 | 3.2 km | 42.4 | 21% | 15% |
| Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay | 4,209 | 7.5 km | 47.2 | 22% | 13% |
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. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
Questions about Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s residents
Is Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay bilingual?
8.3% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 91% English only. French is the mother tongue of 2.2%.
How diverse is Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay?
Immigrants make up 11% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 3% are members of a visible minority, and 7.5% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay?
Christian: 29%. No religion: 68%. Another religion: 3.3%.
Is Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 13%. 52% of households are couple families and 6.4% one-parent families. Schools near Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay?
$70,500 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay?
Statistics Canada estimates 4,309 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 3,897 in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay?
51.2 is the median age, older than 88% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 13%. 65 and over: 27%.
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).