Photo: Ymblanter · CC BY-SA 4.0Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley is older than 93% of Canadian towns: a median age of 54
Compared with 11% across Canada’s towns, 7.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24 here. Few places have so few renter households: 12% here, fewer than in 84% of Canadian towns. Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley had about 5,156 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 2,035 households at the 2021 Census. Residents with no religion account for 59%.
What stands out about the people of Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley
Older than most towns
Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley’s median age is 54; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 29% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Growth of +5% since 2016 puts Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley ahead of 53% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 4%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 29% in Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley, more than in 90% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Just over one in ten residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%). Set beside that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley, 54. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
A lower share of one-person households than 68% of Canadian towns, at 22%
Private households by type and size.
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. One-person households: 27% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Census figures put one-parent families at 5.7% in Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley.
Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley: 56% of residents 15 and over are married, above 85% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 18% of adults, beside a typical 27%. Across the comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 11% of the total.
A larger share of households in single-detached houses than 70% of Canadian towns: 78%
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. The usual figure: 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. 36% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 7.9% built before 1961.
The midpoint household income is $96,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley’s, at $96,000, is 12% higher. $87,000 is the median household income across British Columbia’s towns. The pandemic’s benefits: 22% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
In Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley, 12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 60% of Canadian towns
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, 17% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. Set beside that, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Residents without Canadian citizenship account for 4.4%.
In Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley, 5.5% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 73% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of visible minority residents is 15%; Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley has 5.3%. Set beside that, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
91% have English as their mother tongue; 8.4% 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
Census figures put residents whose mother tongue is French at 1.4% in Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley.
30% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, a share 56% of Canadian towns don’t reach
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
7% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
Employment: 51% of residents 15 and over had a job
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 51%; 29% of residents are 65 or over.
5th highest median age among 41 towns of 5,086 to 5,225
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Saint-Donat is the oldest at 60.4, River-Osborne the youngest at 31.6. The closest ages to Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley’s belong to Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac (52.8), Inverness (54), Annapolis County, Subdivision B (54.4) and Morin-Heights (54.4).
Among its 6 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley | 5,156 | — | 54 | 29% | 17% |
| Cobble Hill | 5,074 | 6.0 km | 58.8 | 38% | 16% |
| Shawnigan | 9,903 | 6.6 km | 44.4 | 18% | 8.5% |
| North Saanich | 12,986 | 9.5 km | 56.8 | 35% | 17% |
| Sidney | 13,445 | 11.2 km | 62 | 45% | 23% |
| Cowichan Bay | 3,713 | 11.3 km | 51.6 | 27% | 14% |
| Central Saanich | 18,184 | 12.3 km | 49.6 | 27% | 16% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
Questions about Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley’s residents
What is the population of Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley?
The latest figure is an estimate: 5,156 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley counted 4,949, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley?
Half the residents are older than 54 and half younger, older than 93% of Canadian towns; 12% are children under 15 and 29% are 65 or over.
Is Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley bilingual?
English and French: 8.4% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 91%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.4%.
How diverse is Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 17%. A visible minority makes up 5.3% and Indigenous residents 5.5%.
What religion are people in Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley?
Most often Christian (38%) or no religion (59%); other religions make up 3.1%.
Is Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley good for families?
Children under 15 are 12% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 60% of households and one-parent families 5.7%. Schools near Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley?
Median total household income in Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley was $96,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).