Photo: University of the Fraser Valley · CC BY 2.0Indigenous residents make up 7.9% in Chilliwack, more than in 82% of Canadian towns
The share of children under 15 is 19%, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year are more common here than in 76% of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 105,520 residents; the 2021 Census found 35,755 households. Census figures put households in single-detached houses at 54% in Chilliwack.
What stands out about the people of Chilliwack
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Chilliwack went from 83,788 to 93,203 residents (+11%), faster growth than in 85% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Chilliwack’s population changed by +11% since 2016, more than in 85% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. 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 13%. For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across British Columbia’s towns.
A median age of 40.4: Chilliwack is younger than 61% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
No age band is larger than 35–39: 7% of residents. The highest share aged 65 or over among British Columbia’s towns is Qualicum Beach’s: 56%. Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Chilliwack, 40.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Larger households than 67% of Canadian towns: 2.6 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Census figures put one-parent families at 8.5% in Chilliwack. Across Canada’s towns, 27% of households are one person living alone; here, 26%.
49% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 59% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Across Canada’s towns, the share of common-law partners is 11%; Chilliwack has 9.6%. Against that, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
More renter households than 55% of Canadian towns: 28%
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
At 0.7%, the share of households in buildings of five or more storeys is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. 36% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 11% built before 1961.
$85,000 a year: the median household income
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Chilliwack’s households had a total income above $85,000 and half below, close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across British Columbia’s towns the median is $87,000. The pandemic’s benefits: 23% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
15% of residents are immigrants
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 (43%) or in Asia (34%). Nearly a quarter of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of residents with no religion than 86% of Canadian towns: 49%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents: just over a tenth of the total. On religion, 46% answered Christian and 49% no religion, against 54% and 35% across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 85%, and 4.4% speak French as well
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
0.9% of residents have French as their mother tongue, about the same as across Canada’s towns. Chilliwack has fewer bilingual residents than 82% of Canadian towns, at 4.4%.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 69% of Canadian towns, at 19%
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 11%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 59% of adults
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 59% is close to the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
In its size band (75,618 to 142,450), the 10th youngest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest of these towns is Fort McMurray, at 34.4; the oldest, Lindsay, is at 51.6. The towns whose median age is nearest to Chilliwack’s: Bowmanville (39.2), New Westminster (40.4), Moncton (40.8) and Pickering (40.8).
No nearby town is as young as Chilliwack
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chilliwack | 105,520 | — | 40.4 | 19% | 15% |
| Skowkale | 1,114 | 1.3 km | 62.4 | 44% | 0% |
| Tzeachten 13 | 4,899 | 3.0 km | 69 | 60% | 0% |
| Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley | 1,748 | 11.2 km | 53.6 | 27% | 11% |
| Cultus Lake | 2,773 | 12.6 km | 56.8 | 30% | 9.5% |
| Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley | 1,155 | 13.3 km | 58.8 | 34% | 14% |
| Rosedale | 2,401 | 15.3 km | 46 | 20% | 12% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across British Columbia’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
Questions about Chilliwack’s residents
What is the average age in Chilliwack?
Half the residents are older than 40.4 and half younger, younger than 61% of Canadian towns; 19% are children under 15 and 19% are 65 or over.
Is Chilliwack bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4.4% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 95% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.9% grew up with French.
How diverse is Chilliwack?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 15%. A visible minority makes up 12% and Indigenous residents 7.9%.
What religion are people in Chilliwack?
Most often Christian (46%) or no religion (49%); other religions make up 5.1%.
Is Chilliwack good for families?
Children under 15 are 19% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 52% of households and one-parent families 8.5%. Schools near Chilliwack are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Chilliwack?
Median total household income in Chilliwack was $85,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Chilliwack?
The latest figure is an estimate: 105,520 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Chilliwack counted 93,203, 11% more than 2016.
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).