Photo: U.S. Coast Guard · Public domainComox is older than 91% of Canadian towns: a median age of 52.4
The share of residents with no religion is 59%, against 35% across Canada’s towns. Comox had about 15,884 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 6,445 households at the 2021 Census. Across Comox, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Comox
Older than most towns
Comox’s median age is 52.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 32% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Faster growth than 59% of Canadian towns: Comox changed by +6% since 2016
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 7% higher again. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, by more than +6%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 95% of Canadian towns: 32%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Children under 15: 14%, below 73% of Canadian towns. By way of comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Comox, 52.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more 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.
Set against 8.2% across Canada’s towns, 6.7% of households are one-parent families in Comox. Locally, 29% of households are one person living alone.
More married residents 15 and over than 68% of Canadian towns: 52%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
19% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Measured more widely, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. The share of common-law partners stands at 11%.
23% of households rent their home, fewer than in 56% of Canadian towns
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
A quarter of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 9.1% built before 1961. Against a figure of 64% across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses in Comox comes in at 66%.
Half above, half below $83,000 a year in household income
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Comox’s median household took in $83,000 before tax, about the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). British Columbia’s towns have a median of $87,000. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 19% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a share 59% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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 largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (66%) and in the Americas (15%). Few places have so few residents without Canadian citizenship: 3.1% here, fewer than in 65% of Canadian towns. Measured more widely, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 17% of residents are immigrants; in Comox, 12%.
Comox ranks above 78% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 6.8%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Set against 15% across Canada’s towns, 4.9% of residents belong to a visible minority in Comox. The comparison figure for Indigenous residents is 2.8% across Canada’s towns.
Above 68% of Canadian towns: 13% of residents speak English and French
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
Where 1.5% of residents have French as their mother tongue across Canada’s towns, Comox has 3.3%. Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%.
In Comox, 30% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 57% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 4.8%, against 9.5%. Across Canada’s towns, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.
In work on census day: 49% of adults
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.
With 32% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 49% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Of 41 towns its size (15,480 to 16,296 people), the 2nd oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Between Ledbury-Heron Gate-Ridgemont (32.1) and Vieux-Moulin (54.3) lies the rest of the group. Closest in median age to Comox are Severn (49.6), Almonte (50) and Vieux-Moulin (54.3).
Comox is younger than 2 of its 5 nearest neighbours
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comox | 15,884 | — | 52.4 | 32% | 12% |
| Courtenay | 32,869 | 4.4 km | 48.8 | 28% | 14% |
| Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley | 7,830 | 4.6 km | 54 | 29% | 12% |
| Cumberland | 4,974 | 10.1 km | 39.2 | 15% | 9.6% |
| Electoral Area A, Comox Valley | 8,415 | 12.6 km | 58 | 34% | 15% |
| Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley | 9,803 | 15.6 km | 50.8 | 25% | 11% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- 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 Comox’s residents
What is the average age in Comox?
A median age of 52.4, older than 91% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 32%.
Is Comox bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 13% are. Another 0.1% speak only French and 87% only English, and French is the first language of 3.3%.
How diverse is Comox?
12% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 4.9% belong to a visible minority and 6.8% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Comox?
39% are Christian and 59% have no religion; 2.6% follow another religion.
Is Comox good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 56% of households. One-parent families: 6.7%. Schools near Comox are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Comox?
The median household in Comox took in $83,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Comox?
Comox had about 15,884 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 14,806, 6% 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).