Photo: Doug Hay derivative work: MrPanyGoff · CC BY 2.0Older than 95% of Canadian towns: half of Duncan is over 55.6
Set against 25% across Canada’s towns, 42% of households rent their home in Duncan. For Duncan, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 7.2%. Few places have as many residents with no religion: 60% here, more than in 96% of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census found 2,455 households here; by July 2025 the population was about 5,745.
What stands out about the people of Duncan
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
16% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 95% of Canadian towns; 10% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Older than most towns
Line Duncan’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 55.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 36% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
48% of households are one person living alone, more than in 95% of Canadian towns; 36% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Duncan’s population moved +2% on 2016, less than in 63% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 14% higher again. For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across British Columbia’s towns.
Duncan: 36% of residents are 65 or over, above 98% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
More residents are 85+ than any other five-year age: 9.2% of residents, 4.6 times the share across Canada’s towns. Measured more widely, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Locally, 13% of residents are under 15.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Duncan, 55.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
56% women, 44% men
About 79 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Duncan ranks above 95% of Canadian towns on one-person households: 48%
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Duncan, 1.9. Compared with other places, one-parent families are common here: 9.8%, more than in 73% of Canadian towns. Typically, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
34% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 78% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
25% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Elsewhere, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. For Duncan, the census puts common-law partners at 11%.
Only 42% of households live in a single-detached house in Duncan
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 74% of Canadian towns. To put it in context, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 27% predate 1961, 11% date from 2001 or later.
Median gross household income: $53,200 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Duncan: half had less than $53,200, 38% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across British Columbia’s towns, half of households had more than $87,000 before tax. 24% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
Residents who moved in within the year make up 16% in Duncan, more than in 85% 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
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (56%) and in the Americas (18%). Across the comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. 2.3% of residents are not Canadian citizens, fewer than in 72% of Canadian towns. What’s more, of the immigrants living here, 9.8% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
Indigenous residents make up 16% in Duncan, more than in 95% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents: 5.7% here and 15% across Canada’s towns. Elsewhere, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
90% have English as their mother tongue; 6.1% 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
At home: English 97%, French 0.2%. Lower than in 62% of Canadian towns: 6.1% of residents speak English and French. There is little gap on residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.4%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
16% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 78% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 15% (typical 9.5%). As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 45% of adults
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 45% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 36% of residents are 65 or over.
3rd highest median age among 41 towns of 5,663 to 5,843
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
At one end is Montcalm (27.8), at the other Osoyoos (63.2). The closest ages to Duncan’s belong to Havelock (54.4), Seguin (54.8), Chertsey (56) and Osoyoos (63.2).
Duncan is younger than 1 of its 6 nearest neighbours
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duncan | 5,745 | — | 55.6 | 36% | 11% |
| Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley | 4,482 | 1.5 km | 46 | 21% | 7.7% |
| Cowichan | 2,509 | 1.5 km | 30.2 | 9.3% | 0% |
| North Cowichan | 34,525 | 3.6 km | 51.2 | 29% | 14% |
| Cowichan Bay | 3,713 | 7.8 km | 51.6 | 27% | 14% |
| Cobble Hill | 5,074 | 13.2 km | 58.8 | 38% | 16% |
| Shawnigan | 9,903 | 14.7 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. Each comparison is its own median: over British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
- 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.
- 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 Duncan’s residents
How diverse is Duncan?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 11%. A visible minority makes up 5.7% and Indigenous residents 16%.
What religion are people in Duncan?
Most often Christian (34%) or no religion (60%); other religions make up 6%.
Is Duncan good for families?
Children under 15 are 13% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 34% of households and one-parent families 9.8%. Schools near Duncan are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Duncan?
Median total household income in Duncan was $53,200 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Duncan?
The latest figure is an estimate: 5,745 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Duncan counted 5,047, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Duncan?
Half the residents are older than 55.6 and half younger, older than 95% of Canadian towns; 13% are children under 15 and 36% are 65 or over.
Is Duncan bilingual?
English and French: 6.1% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 94%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.4%.
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).