Photo: Ruth Hartnup from Vancouver, Canada · CC BY 2.081% of residents said they have no religion, a share 99% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Across Canada’s towns, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; in Cumberland, 7.4%. The median age locally is 39.2, lower than in 69% of Canadian towns. Some 4,974 people live locally, by the estimate for July 2025. Residents who moved in within the year account for 16%.
What stands out about the people of Cumberland
Growing faster than most
Cumberland went from 3,753 people in 2016 to 4,447 in 2021, +19%: faster growth than in 95% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
+19% since 2016, a pace 95% of Canadian towns didn’t match
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 12% higher again. Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +6% across British Columbia’s towns.
Above 84% of Canadian towns: 20% of residents are under 15
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
35–39 is the most common age band: 11% of residents, 1.6 times the share across Canada’s towns. On residents aged 65 and over, Cumberland sits lower than 70% of Canadian towns: 15%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Cumberland, 39.2. 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.
Smaller households than 53% of Canadian towns: 2.4 people on average
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.
28% of households are one person living alone. Little separates the share of one-parent families here, 8.4%, from the figure across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of common-law partners than 82% of Canadian towns, at 18%
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: 24% of adults (typical: 27%). In Cumberland, 42% of residents 15 and over are married. Across Canada’s towns, the share of common-law partners is 11%.
28% of households rent their home, more than in 55% of Canadian towns
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: 42% date from 2001 or later, 26% from before 1961. Across Canada’s towns, a quarter of households rent their home. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. In Cumberland, 65% of households live in a single-detached house, beside 64% across Canada’s towns.
The midpoint household income is $86,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
At $86,000, the middle household in Cumberland earned close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across British Columbia’s towns, half of households had more than $87,000 before tax. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 30% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
9.6% of residents are immigrants
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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 2.9% of residents are not Canadian citizens in Cumberland. Immigrants are rarer here than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns.
More Indigenous residents than 82% of Canadian towns: 8%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
4.5% of residents belong to a visible minority; across Canada’s towns the figure is 15%. Measured more widely, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
Bilingual residents: 9.9%, a higher share than 61% of Canadian towns
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: 2.4%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns. At home: English 98%, French 0.8%. The share of bilingual residents across Canada’s towns is 7.5%.
In Cumberland, 31% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 57% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 7.9%, against 9.5%. For comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 65%
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
65% of residents 15 and over have a job; across Canada’s towns the typical share is 58%.
Among 41 towns of 4,876 to 5,076 people, the 9th youngest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Between Westdale South (31.1) and Northern Bruce Peninsula (61.6) lies the rest of the group. Nearest to Cumberland in age: Westmount (37.1), Highland Park (38.4), Lemoyne (39.3) and Altona (40).
No nearby town is as young as Cumberland
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland | 4,974 | — | 39.2 | 15% | 9.6% |
| Courtenay | 32,869 | 8.8 km | 48.8 | 28% | 14% |
| Comox | 15,884 | 10.1 km | 52.4 | 32% | 12% |
| Electoral Area A, Comox Valley | 8,415 | 11.1 km | 58 | 34% | 15% |
| Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley | 7,830 | 13.8 km | 54 | 29% | 12% |
| Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley | 9,803 | 17.7 km | 50.8 | 25% | 11% |
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. The middle of British Columbia’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Cumberland’s residents
Is Cumberland bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 9.9% are. Another 0% speak only French and 90% only English, and French is the first language of 2.4%.
How diverse is Cumberland?
Immigrants make up 9.6% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 4.5% are members of a visible minority, and 8% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Cumberland?
Christian: 17%. No religion: 81%. Another religion: 2.2%.
Is Cumberland good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 20%. 52% of households are couple families and 8.4% one-parent families. Schools near Cumberland are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Cumberland?
$86,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Cumberland (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Cumberland?
Statistics Canada estimates 4,974 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 4,447 in Cumberland, 19% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Cumberland?
39.2 is the median age, younger than 69% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 20%. 65 and over: 15%.
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).