Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainElectoral Area H, Central Kootenay sits above 99% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (76%)
Half of Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay’s residents are over 47.2, older than in 77% of Canadian towns. Statistics Canada puts the town’s population at 5,390 for July 2025. The census found that 7.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in the town. Most recent wave: 10% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%).
Growth of +8% since 2016 puts Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay ahead of 74% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 7% higher again. Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, +6%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 22% in Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay, more than in 69% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The biggest five-year age group is 60–64, with nearly one in ten residents. On average, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Few places have so few children under 15: 15% here, fewer than in 62% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay, 47.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 112 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.
In Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay, 32% of households are one person living alone, beside 27% across Canada’s towns. On the census count, 8.3% of households are one-parent families.
Above 84% of Canadian towns: 20% of residents 15 and over live common-law
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: nearly a quarter of adults (typical: 27%). The share of common-law partners across Canada’s towns is 11%. The census found that 40% of residents 15 and over are married in Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay.
Households in single-detached houses make up 91% in Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay, more than in 90% of Canadian towns
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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
14% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. The comparison figure for households in single-detached houses is 64% across Canada’s towns. Renter households account for 20%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
$58,800 a year is the median household income here
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay had $58,800 before tax, 32% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). British Columbia’s towns have a median of $87,000. The pandemic’s benefits: 31% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 59% of Canadian towns, at 10%
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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 residents without Canadian citizenship is 5.8%; Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay has 1.5%. On average, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Immigrants account for 12%.
Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay sits above 76% of Canadian towns for Indigenous residents (6.3%)
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
4.5% of residents belong to a visible minority (Canada’s towns: 15%). As a yardstick, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
Residents whose mother tongue is French: 2.5%, a higher share than 66% of Canadian towns
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Here, nearly one in ten residents speak English and French. The share of residents whose mother tongue is French across Canada’s towns is 1.5%.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 20%, a lower share than 68% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 9.5% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. On average, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 52% 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. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 22% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 52% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
In its size band (5,297 to 5,486), the 9th oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Median ages here range from 26.6 in Chisasibi to 60 in Electoral Area L, Cariboo. Norwood (46), Westlock (46.8), The Ravines of Rainbow Creek (48.5) and Juan de Fuca (Part 1) (51.6): the towns nearest Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay in median age.
Older than Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay: 2 of the 4 towns nearby
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. No closer places have figures: these lie 22–27 km from Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay | 5,390 | — | 47.2 | 22% | 12% |
| Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay | 4,209 | 22.2 km | 47.2 | 22% | 13% |
| Nelson | 12,126 | 24.2 km | 42.4 | 21% | 15% |
| Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay | 2,758 | 24.3 km | 47.6 | 21% | 5.7% |
| Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay | 4,309 | 27.2 km | 51.2 | 27% | 11% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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. 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 Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay’s residents
Is Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay good for families?
15% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 50% of households and one-parent families 8.3%. Schools near Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay?
Half of Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay’s households had more than $58,800 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay?
About 5,390, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 5,045 people in Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay, 8% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay?
The median age is 47.2, older than 77% of Canadian towns. 15% are under 15 and 22% 65 or older.
Is Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay bilingual?
8.6% 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 2.5%.
How diverse is Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay?
Immigrants: 12% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 4.5%. Indigenous identity: 6.3%.
What religion are people in Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay?
76% said they have no religion and 19% that they are Christian; 5.4% named another faith.
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).