Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainElectoral Area I, Central Kootenay: 71% of residents said they have no religion, above 99% of Canadian towns
Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay has 7.9%. Here, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. The median age locally is 47.6, higher than in 79% of Canadian towns. This British Columbia town had about 2,758 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 1,130 households at the 2021 Census.
Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay changed by +3% from 2016 to 2021, behind 58% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. 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 6%.
In Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay, 21% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 63% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The share of children under 15 trails nearly two thirds of Canadian towns: 15%. Elsewhere, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay, 47.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women.
Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay 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.
One-parent families: 6.2%, below just over four fifths of Canadian towns. Census figures put one-person households at 27% in Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay.
Common-law partners: 18%, a higher share than 82% 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
Never married and not common-law: just over a fifth of adults (typical: 27%). Here, 46% of residents 15 and over are married. Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns.
Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay ranks above 85% of Canadian towns on households in single-detached houses: 88%
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. To put it in context, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. For Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay, the census puts renter households at 20%.
$80,000 a year is the median household income here
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
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay’s, at $80,000, is 7% lower. British Columbia’s towns have a median of $87,000. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 26% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
5.7% 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
The share of residents without Canadian citizenship trails just over four fifths of Canadian towns: 1.5%. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (67%) and in the Americas (33%). Immigrants are rarer here than in 79% of Canadian towns.
Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay sits above 74% of Canadian towns for Indigenous residents (5.8%)
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents: 2.9% here and 15% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, Indigenous residents come to 2.8%.
English is the mother tongue of 84%, and 4.4% speak French as well
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
Compared with 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 4.4% of residents speak English and French here. Residents whose mother tongue is French: 1% of the total.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 86% of Canadian towns: 14%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
57% of adults were employed in May 2021
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 57% is close to the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Of 41 towns its size (2,722 to 2,796 people), the 15th oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The group spans Waskaganish, youngest at 25, to Cultus Lake, oldest at 56.8. Next to Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay on this scale come Turner Valley (46), Sussex (46.4), Cochrane, Unorganized, North Part (48.8) and Holyrood (49.2).
Every neighbour of Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay has a younger population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay | 2,758 | — | 47.6 | 21% | 5.7% |
| Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay | 3,915 | 12.1 km | 46.8 | 21% | 7.2% |
| Castlegar | 9,465 | 13.3 km | 45.6 | 25% | 8.6% |
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. 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.
Questions about Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay’s residents
What is the population of Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay?
About 2,758, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 2,607 people in Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay?
The median age is 47.6, older than 79% of Canadian towns. 15% are under 15 and 21% 65 or older.
Is Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4.4% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 96% speak only English and 0% only French; 1% grew up with French.
How diverse is Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay?
Immigrants: 5.7% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 2.9%. Indigenous identity: 5.8%.
What religion are people in Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay?
71% said they have no religion and 29% that they are Christian; 0.8% named another faith.
Is Electoral Area I, 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 6.2%. Schools near Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay?
Half of Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay’s households had more than $80,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
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).