Photo: Ken Walker · CC BY-SA 3.0A higher share of residents with no religion than 97% of Canadian towns, at 61%
Set against 11% across Canada’s towns, 15% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Courtenay. About 32,869 people lived locally in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. Households in single-detached houses account for 50%. With a median age of 48.8, Courtenay is older than 82% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Courtenay
Many older residents
28% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 89% of Canadian towns; 7.3% are 80 or over, and 33% of households are one person living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
+11% since 2016, a pace 84% of Canadian towns didn’t match
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
Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, +6%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 16%.
Courtenay sits above 89% of Canadian towns for residents aged 65 and over (28%)
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Across Canada’s towns, the share of children under 15 is 16%; Courtenay has 14%. Against that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. The largest age band is 60–64: 7.8% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Courtenay, 48.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 83% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-person households is 33%, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Here, 8.7% of households are one-parent families.
44% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 58% of Canadian towns
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%; Courtenay has 12%. As a reference point, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Courtenay ranks above 56% of Canadian towns on renter households: 29%
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
Newer homes outnumber old: 33% date from 2001 or later, 8.9% from before 1961. Measured more widely, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. 0.3% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
The midpoint household income is $72,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Courtenay’s, at $72,000, is 16% lower. The median across British Columbia’s towns is $87,000. The pandemic’s benefits: 24% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
14% 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
Of the immigrants living here, 21% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. The census found that 4.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens in Courtenay.
Courtenay ranks above 81% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 7.6%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Set against 15% across Canada’s towns, nearly one in ten residents belong to a visible minority in Courtenay. For Indigenous residents, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 2.8%.
Bilingual residents: 9%, a higher share than 58% of Canadian towns
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
Nothing unusual on residents whose mother tongue is French: 2.3%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns. The share of bilingual residents across Canada’s towns is 7.5%. At home: English 95%, French 0.7%.
24% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 56% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
10% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
A job for 51% 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.
51% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 28% are 65 or more.
2nd highest median age among 41 towns of 30,930 to 34,965
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Median ages here range from 34.8 in DT Core to 51.2 in North Cowichan. In age, Courtenay keeps company with Saint-Georges (45.6), Vimont (46.1) and North Cowichan (51.2).
Courtenay sits below 4 of its 5 closest neighbours on median age
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courtenay | 32,869 | — | 48.8 | 28% | 14% |
| Comox | 15,884 | 4.4 km | 52.4 | 32% | 12% |
| Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley | 7,830 | 5.5 km | 54 | 29% | 12% |
| Cumberland | 4,974 | 8.8 km | 39.2 | 15% | 9.6% |
| Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley | 9,803 | 11.7 km | 50.8 | 25% | 11% |
| Electoral Area A, Comox Valley | 8,415 | 15.2 km | 58 | 34% | 15% |
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. 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.
Questions about Courtenay’s residents
What religion are people in Courtenay?
Christian: 35%. No religion: 61%. Another religion: 3.9%.
Is Courtenay good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 14%. 47% of households are couple families and 8.7% one-parent families. Schools near Courtenay are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Courtenay?
$72,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Courtenay (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Courtenay?
Statistics Canada estimates 32,869 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 28,420 in Courtenay, 11% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Courtenay?
48.8 is the median age, older than 82% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 14%. 65 and over: 28%.
Is Courtenay bilingual?
English and French: 9% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 91%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 2.3%.
How diverse is Courtenay?
Immigrants make up 14% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 8.3% are members of a visible minority, and 7.6% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
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).