Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainMore residents with no religion than 98% of Canadian towns: 67%
Half of Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’s residents are over 46.8, older than in 76% of Canadian towns. For Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay, the census puts renter households at 11%. Statistics Canada puts the town’s population at 3,915 for July 2025. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails nearly three quarters of Canadian towns: 9.4%.
What stands out about the people of Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay
Growing faster than most
Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay went from 3,137 people in 2016 to 3,517 in 2021, +12%: faster growth than in 88% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay grew +12% from 2016 to 2021, ahead of 88% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 11%. Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, +6%.
Above 61% of Canadian towns: 21% of residents are 65 or over
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The largest age band is 60–64: nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. Locally, 15% of residents are under 15. For comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay, 46.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women.
Below 57% of Canadian towns: 25% of households are one person living alone
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The average household has 2.4 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay has fewer one-parent families than 67% of Canadian towns, at 7.2%. Across Canada’s towns, one-person households come to 27%.
Common-law partners: 15%, a higher share than 75% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Here nearly half of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 46%. For common-law partners, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay ranks above 75% of Canadian towns on households in single-detached houses: 81%
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Against that, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. 25% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 19% built before 1961.
$94,000 a year is the median household income here
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’s median household took in $94,000 before tax, 9% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $87,000 is the median household income across British Columbia’s towns. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 26% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay sits above 65% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (13%)
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
Most immigrants were born in Europe (47%) or in the Americas (37%). 7.2% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 73% of Canadian towns. By way of comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. In Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay, 3.2% of residents are not Canadian citizens, beside 5.8% across Canada’s towns.
6.3% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 76% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
By its share of visible minority residents (2.3%), Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay is below just over four fifths of Canadian towns. Indigenous residents make up 2.8% across Canada’s towns.
89% have English as their mother tongue; 5.4% also speak French
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
At home: English 98%, French 0.3%. On bilingual residents, Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay sits lower than 70% of Canadian towns: 5.4%. Residents whose mother tongue is French are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 1.1%.
17% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 76% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 7.2% (typical 9.5%). As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 55% of residents aged 15 and over
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 55%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 21% of residents are 65 or over.
In its size band (3,824 to 4,007), the 15th oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Okanagan Falls is the oldest at 59.2, Maple the youngest at 30.9. By median age, Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay sits among Trend-Arlington (44.4), Pincher Creek (45.2), Lamont County (47.6) and Lisgar (48.3).
Around Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay, 2 of 3 towns have a higher median age
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay | 3,915 | — | 46.8 | 21% | 7.2% |
| Castlegar | 9,465 | 6.1 km | 45.6 | 25% | 8.6% |
| Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay | 2,758 | 12.1 km | 47.6 | 21% | 5.7% |
| Electoral Area B (Lower Columbia-Old-Glory), Kootenay Boundary | 1,432 | 13.9 km | 55.6 | 28% | 6.7% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
Questions about Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay’s residents
Is Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay bilingual?
English and French: 5.4% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 95%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.1%.
How diverse is Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay?
7.2% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2.3% belong to a visible minority and 6.3% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay?
31% are Christian and 67% have no religion; 2.6% follow another religion.
Is Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay good for families?
Under 15: 15% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 57% of households. One-parent families: 7.2%. Schools near Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay?
The median household in Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay took in $94,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay?
Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay had about 3,915 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 3,517, 12% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay?
A median age of 46.8, older than 76% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 15%, and people 65 and over 21%.
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).