Photo: David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada · CC BY 2.0Younger than 99% of Canadian towns: half of Cowichan is under 30.2
A First Nations reserve, Cowichan is home to Cowichan Tribes. One-person households make up 16%, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Cowichan is home to some 2,509 people (July 2025 estimate), in 590 households at the 2021 Census. For Cowichan, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 19%. Compared with other places, residents with no religion are common here: 60%, more than in 96% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Cowichan
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
93% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 91% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Cowichan’s median age is 30.2; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 23% are under 15 and 9.3% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Cowichan went from 2,066 to 2,420 residents (+17%), faster growth than in 94% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
+17% since 2016, a pace 94% of Canadian towns didn’t match
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. 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%.
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 94% of Canadian towns, at 9.3%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 20–24, with 9.7% of residents, 1.8 times the share across Canada’s towns. As a yardstick, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Children under 15 account for 23%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Cowichan, 30.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women.
Bigger households than 99% of Canadian towns: 4 people each on average
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
12% of households are one-parent families (Canada’s towns: 8.2%).
A smaller share of married residents 15 and over than 97% of Canadian towns: 24%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 51% of adults (typical: 27%). Across Canada’s towns, 46% of residents 15 and over are married. Census figures put common-law partners at 14% in Cowichan.
Cowichan sits above 64% of Canadian towns for households in single-detached houses (74%)
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
Newer homes outnumber old: 34% date from 2001 or later, 7.6% from before 1961. Across Canada’s towns, a quarter of households rent their home; in Cowichan, 23%.
Half above, half below $77,000 a year in household income
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
Household incomes run lower in Cowichan: half had less than $77,000, 10% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across British Columbia’s towns has $87,000 before tax. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 32% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
More Indigenous residents than 99% of Canadian towns: 93%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
With visible minority residents at 0.6%, Cowichan is behind 98% of Canadian towns on that count. The comparison figure for Indigenous residents is 2.8% across Canada’s towns.
95% have English as their mother tongue; 1% also speak 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
Nothing unusual on residents whose mother tongue is French: 0.6%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns. Cowichan has fewer bilingual residents than 99% of Canadian towns, at 1%.
Cowichan sits below 99% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (7.4%)
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
36% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
Employment: 39% 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. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
39% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 9.3% are 65 or more.
No nearby town is as young as Cowichan
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowichan | 2,509 | — | 30.2 | 9.3% | 0% |
| Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley | 4,482 | 1.2 km | 46 | 21% | 7.7% |
| Duncan | 5,745 | 1.5 km | 55.6 | 36% | 11% |
| North Cowichan | 34,525 | 4.8 km | 51.2 | 29% | 14% |
| Cowichan Bay | 3,713 | 6.4 km | 51.6 | 27% | 14% |
| Cobble Hill | 5,074 | 11.7 km | 58.8 | 38% | 16% |
| Shawnigan | 9,903 | 13.3 km | 44.4 | 18% | 8.5% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Two medians frame each figure: one for British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
- A First Nations reserve. Reserves are compared with Canada’s towns but aren’t counted among them: they have no overall grade and no place in ranked lists. Census figures for small reserves are rounded, and some are suppressed.
- 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 Cowichan’s residents
Is Cowichan good for families?
23% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 29% of households and one-parent families 12%. Schools near Cowichan are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Cowichan?
Half of Cowichan’s households had more than $77,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Cowichan?
About 2,509, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 2,420 people in Cowichan, 17% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Cowichan?
The median age is 30.2, younger than 99% of Canadian towns. 23% are under 15 and 9.3% 65 or older.
Is Cowichan bilingual?
English and French: 1% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 99%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 0.6%.
How diverse is Cowichan?
In Cowichan, 93% have an Indigenous identity and 0.6% belong to a visible minority; its immigration figures are suppressed.
What religion are people in Cowichan?
60% said they have no religion and 24% that they are Christian; 17% named another faith.
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).