Photo: waferboard · CC BY 2.056% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 94% of Canadian towns
With a median age of 45.2, Cranbrook is older than 69% of Canadian towns. There are 2% more residents than in 2016. The census found that 24% of residents are 65 or over here. 8.7% of residents are immigrants; across Canada’s towns the figure is 17%.
Slower growth than 62% of Canadian towns: Cranbrook changed by +2% since 2016
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, by more than +6%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 11%.
In Cranbrook, 15% of residents are under 15, fewer than in 64% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: 7.4% of residents. Across the comparison, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Cranbrook, 45.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
2.3 people per household, fewer than in 64% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
30% of households are one person living alone; across Canada’s towns the figure is 27%. Locally, 8.8% of households are one-parent families.
Cranbrook ranks above 58% of Canadian towns on common-law partners: 12%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
25% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns. Married residents 15 and over: 46% of the total.
Cranbrook: 26% of households rent their home, above 52% of Canadian towns
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
Newer homes outnumber old: 17% date from 2001 or later, 17% from before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. By way of comparison, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses is 64%; Cranbrook has 65%.
The middle household earns $80,000 a year
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
At $80,000, the middle household in Cranbrook earned 7% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across British Columbia’s towns has $87,000 before tax. The pandemic’s benefits: 23% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
Cranbrook ranks above 70% of Canadian towns on residents who moved in within the year: 13%
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
Most immigrants were born in Europe (43%) or in Asia (26%). Across the comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Of the immigrants living here, 29% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
A larger share of Indigenous residents than 86% of Canadian towns: 9.9%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Set against 15% across Canada’s towns, 6.9% of residents belong to a visible minority in Cranbrook. The comparison figure for Indigenous residents is 2.8% across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 91%, and 4.3% speak French as well
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 97%, French 0.2%. Lower than in 83% of Canadian towns: 4.3% of residents speak English and French. Cranbrook sits close to the norm on residents whose mother tongue is French: 0.9%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 74% of Canadian towns: 18%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 9.2% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Against that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
57% of adults were employed in May 2021
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Employment here, 57%, matches the middle of Canada’s towns (58%) within a couple of points.
Ranked by age, 7th oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Electoral Area A, Metro Vancouver is the youngest of them at 31.4; Cobourg, at 54.8, the oldest. Nearest to Cranbrook in age: Birchcliffe-Cliffside (44.9), Riverview (45.2), Red Deer County (46) and Joliette (46.8).
Median age: 3 of the 4 towns around Cranbrook are older
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. No closer places have figures: these lie 4–37 km from Cranbrook.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranbrook | 22,703 | — | 45.2 | 24% | 8.7% |
| Electoral Area C, East Kootenay | 7,006 | 4.4 km | 49.6 | 23% | 9.1% |
| Kimberley | 9,037 | 23.7 km | 45.2 | 24% | 8.4% |
| Electoral Area E, East Kootenay | 1,881 | 34.2 km | 54 | 29% | 7.8% |
| Electoral Area B, East Kootenay | 2,221 | 37.2 km | 51.2 | 26% | 5.2% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
Questions about Cranbrook’s residents
What is the median income in Cranbrook?
$80,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Cranbrook (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Cranbrook?
Statistics Canada estimates 22,703 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 20,499 in Cranbrook, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Cranbrook?
45.2 is the median age, older than 69% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 15%. 65 and over: 24%.
Is Cranbrook bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4.3% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 96% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.9% grew up with French.
How diverse is Cranbrook?
Immigrants make up 8.7% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 6.9% are members of a visible minority, and 9.9% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Cranbrook?
Christian: 41%. No religion: 56%. Another religion: 3%.
Is Cranbrook good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 15%. 51% of households are couple families and 8.8% one-parent families. Schools near Cranbrook are on its Schools page.
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).