Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainElectoral Area E, Cowichan Valley sits above 99% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (71%)
The median age in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley is 46, higher than in 72% of Canadian towns. Residents who moved in within the year: 7% of the total. With about 4,482 residents in July 2025, Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley counted 1,645 households at the 2021 Census. Most recent wave: just over one in ten immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%).
Slower than most: +3% since 2016, behind 55% of Canadian towns
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
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 5%. Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +6% across British Columbia’s towns.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 9.4% in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley, less than in 74% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Compared with 19% across Canada’s towns, 21% of residents are 65 or over here. 17% of residents are under 15.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley, 46. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Below 71% of Canadian towns: 22% of households are one person living alone
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.
Households average 2.6 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Set beside that, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. The share of one-parent families stands at 7.9%.
Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley: 14% of residents 15 and over live common-law, above 74% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
23% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). Across the comparison, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
More households in single-detached houses than 93% of Canadian towns: 92%
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
By its share of renter households (20%), Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley is below 62% of Canadian towns. Against that, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. 23% of homes were built before 1961 and 18% in 2001 or later. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
Half above, half below $83,000 a year in household income
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley’s median household took in $83,000 before tax, about the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $87,000 is the median household income across British Columbia’s towns. In 2020, 25% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
7.7% of residents are immigrants
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
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 share of residents without Canadian citizenship trails 71% of Canadian towns: 2.4%. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (66%), then in the Americas (22%).
Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley ranks above 80% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 7.4%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents trails nearly three quarters of Canadian towns: 3.4%. For Indigenous residents, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 2.8%.
94% have English as their mother tongue; 5.9% also speak French
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 98%, French 0.2%. Fewer bilingual residents than in 64% of Canadian towns: 5.9%. Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley sits close to the norm on residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.1%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
20% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 68% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
11% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
58% of residents 15 and over were in work
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 58%, the share in work is about the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Ranked by age, 12th oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The youngest of these towns is Centennial, at 32.1; the oldest, Caraquet, is at 54.4. Nearest to Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley in age: Montague (44.4), Melville (45.2), Gaetz Brook (46.4) and Minnetonka (46.9).
Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley and its 6 nearest towns: 4 of them are older
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley | 4,482 | — | 46 | 21% | 7.7% |
| Cowichan | 2,509 | 1.2 km | 30.2 | 9.3% | 0% |
| Duncan | 5,745 | 1.5 km | 55.6 | 36% | 11% |
| North Cowichan | 34,525 | 5.1 km | 51.2 | 29% | 14% |
| Cowichan Bay | 3,713 | 7.3 km | 51.6 | 27% | 14% |
| Cobble Hill | 5,074 | 12.4 km | 58.8 | 38% | 16% |
| Shawnigan | 9,903 | 13.4 km | 44.4 | 18% | 8.5% |
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. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- 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.
Questions about Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley’s residents
How diverse is Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley?
Immigrants make up 7.7% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 3.4% are members of a visible minority, and 7.4% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley?
Christian: 26%. No religion: 71%. Another religion: 2.5%.
Is Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 17%. 55% of households are couple families and 7.9% one-parent families. Schools near Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley?
$83,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley?
Statistics Canada estimates 4,482 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 4,253 in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley?
46 is the median age, older than 72% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 17%. 65 and over: 21%.
Is Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley bilingual?
English and French: 5.9% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 94%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.1%.
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).