Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainElectoral Area C, East Kootenay sits below 93% of Canadian towns for renter households (8.6%)
With a median age of 49.6, Electoral Area C, East Kootenay is older than 84% of Canadian towns. The town is home to some 7,006 people (July 2025 estimate), in 2,595 households at the 2021 Census. Across Electoral Area C, East Kootenay, 8.7% of residents have an Indigenous identity. 12% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns.
Electoral Area C, East Kootenay grew +9% from 2016 to 2021, faster than 75% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, +6%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 7%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 23%, a higher share than 73% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Where just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns, Electoral Area C, East Kootenay has 9.5%. As a reference point, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area C, East Kootenay, 49.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women.
20% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 76% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
A household here has 2.5 people on average; across Canada’s towns, 2.4. 5.6% of households are one-parent families, a lower share than in 87% of Canadian towns. The wider picture: 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of married residents 15 and over than 83% of Canadian towns: 56%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Where just over one in ten residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns, Electoral Area C, East Kootenay has 13%. A fifth of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%).
A larger share of households in single-detached houses than 78% of Canadian towns: 83%
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
Just over a fifth of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 7.1% built before 1961. As a yardstick, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
A median household income of $100,000 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Electoral Area C, East Kootenay’s, at $100,000, is 16% higher. British Columbia’s towns have a median of $87,000. In 2020, 21% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
9.1% of residents are immigrants
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
Compared with 17% across Canada’s towns, nearly one in ten residents are immigrants here. 2.4% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
59% of residents said they have no religion, a share 96% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
1.2% of residents belong to a visible minority and 8.7% have an Indigenous identity, against 15% and 2.8% across Canada’s towns. The benchmark for residents with no religion across Canada’s towns: 35%.
94% have English as their mother tongue; 5.4% 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
Against a figure of 7.5% across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents in Electoral Area C, East Kootenay comes in at 5.4%. In Electoral Area C, East Kootenay, 1.2% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Below 75% of Canadian towns: 18% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 7.3% have 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.
An employment rate of 56%
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 56% is close to the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
In its size band (6,827 to 7,190), the 11th oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Fairwinds is the oldest at 61.6, Edgeley the youngest at 31.2. Yarmouth (48.8), Merritt (49.2), Stephenville (50.8) and Rhatigan Ridge (50.9): the towns nearest Electoral Area C, East Kootenay in median age.
Among its 5 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Electoral Area C, East Kootenay
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. Distances here run 4–50 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Electoral Area C, East Kootenay.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area C, East Kootenay | 7,006 | — | 49.6 | 23% | 9.1% |
| Cranbrook | 22,703 | 4.4 km | 45.2 | 24% | 8.7% |
| Kimberley | 9,037 | 27.4 km | 45.2 | 24% | 8.4% |
| Electoral Area B, East Kootenay | 2,221 | 35.2 km | 51.2 | 26% | 5.2% |
| Electoral Area E, East Kootenay | 1,881 | 38.6 km | 54 | 29% | 7.8% |
| Fernie | 7,086 | 50.0 km | 38 | 15% | 14% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- 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. 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.
Questions about Electoral Area C, East Kootenay’s residents
What is the median income in Electoral Area C, East Kootenay?
Half of Electoral Area C, East Kootenay’s households had more than $100,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Electoral Area C, East Kootenay?
About 7,006, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 6,536 people in Electoral Area C, East Kootenay, 9% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area C, East Kootenay?
The median age is 49.6, older than 84% of Canadian towns. 15% are under 15 and 23% 65 or older.
Is Electoral Area C, East Kootenay bilingual?
5.4% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 95% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.2%.
How diverse is Electoral Area C, East Kootenay?
Immigrants: 9.1% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 1.2%. Indigenous identity: 8.7%.
What religion are people in Electoral Area C, East Kootenay?
59% said they have no religion and 39% that they are Christian; 2.1% named another faith.
Is Electoral Area C, East Kootenay good for families?
15% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 65% of households and one-parent families 5.6%. Schools near Electoral Area C, East Kootenay 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).