Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainA median age of 55.2: Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap is older than 95% of Canadian towns
The share of residents with no religion tops 98% of Canadian towns: 64%. Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap is home to some 1,518 people (July 2025 estimate), in 650 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put children under 15 at 12% in the town. On one-person households, Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap sits higher than 72% of Canadian towns: 33%.
What stands out about the people of Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
14% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 92% of Canadian towns; 4% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap’s residents are under 55.2 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 27% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap went from 1,185 to 1,388 residents (+17%), faster growth than in 94% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap’s population changed by +17% since 2016, more than in 94% 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
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 9%. Across British Columbia’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%.
Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 98% of Canadian towns: 6.5%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
No age band is larger than 60–64: 14% of residents, 2 times the share across Canada’s towns. Set beside that, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns. In Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap, 27% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
42% women, 58% men
About 74 women for every 100 men.
Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 83% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Against a figure of 8.2% across Canada’s towns, the share of one-parent families in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap comes in at 6.1%.
15% of residents 15 and over live common-law, a share 77% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 21% of adults (typical: 27%). Across Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap, 47% of residents 15 and over are married. Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns.
Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap ranks below 74% of Canadian towns on renter households: 15%
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
9.2% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. The benchmark for renter households across Canada’s towns: 25%. Households in single-detached houses: nearly four fifths of the total.
Median household income: $57,600 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap’s median household took in $57,600 before tax, 33% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across British Columbia’s towns, half of households had more than $87,000 before tax. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 30% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap ranks above 75% of Canadian towns on residents who moved in within the year: 14%
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
Where 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap has 8%. Most immigrants were born in Europe (59%) or in the Americas (27%). At 3.6%, the share of residents without Canadian citizenship is lower than in just over three fifths of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%.
Above 92% of Canadian towns: 14% of residents have an Indigenous identity
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
4.4% of residents belong to a visible minority; across Canada’s towns the figure is 15%. The comparison figure for Indigenous residents is 2.8% across Canada’s towns.
91% have English as their mother tongue; 3.6% 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
Against a figure of 7.5% across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap comes in at 3.6%. Residents whose mother tongue is French account for 1.4%.
Below 99% of Canadian towns: 7.7% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 23% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
Employment: 51% 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. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 51%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 27% are 65 or over.
Around Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap, 3 of 5 towns have a higher median age
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 9–34 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap | 1,518 | — | 55.2 | 27% | 8% |
| Sicamous | 2,854 | 9.3 km | 57.6 | 31% | 5.7% |
| Electoral Area F, North Okanagan | 4,969 | 31.1 km | 49.2 | 23% | 8.7% |
| Electoral Area F, Columbia-Shuswap | 3,475 | 32.1 km | 61.2 | 39% | 11% |
| Salmon Arm | 20,891 | 33.5 km | 51.6 | 30% | 10% |
| Blind Bay | 9,984 | 33.9 km | 58.8 | 34% | 10% |
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. 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.
- 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 E, Columbia-Shuswap’s residents
What is the median income in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap?
Half of Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap’s households had more than $57,600 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap?
About 1,518, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 1,388 people in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap, 17% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap?
The median age is 55.2. 12% are under 15 and 27% 65 or older.
Is Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap bilingual?
3.6% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 96% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.4%.
How diverse is Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap?
Immigrants: 8% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 4.4%. Indigenous identity: 14%.
What religion are people in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap?
64% said they have no religion and 32% that they are Christian; 3.6% named another faith.
Is Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap good for families?
12% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 51% of households and one-parent families 6.1%. Schools near Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap are on its Schools page.
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).