Photo: The original uploader was IDuke at English Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 2.5Esquimalt ranks above 97% of Canadian towns on residents with no religion: 62%
Set against 11% across Canada’s towns, 16% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Esquimalt. Locally, nearly two in five households are one person living alone. 12% of residents are under 15, a lower share than in 86% of Canadian towns. With about 19,512 residents in July 2025, Esquimalt counted 8,565 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of Esquimalt
A town of renters
51% of households rent their home, more than in 86% of Canadian towns; 64% live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
−1% since 2016, a pace below 83% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 11%. Across British Columbia’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 85% of Canadian towns, at 8.6%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
With a median age of 43.2, Esquimalt is older than 57% of Canadian towns. In Esquimalt, 21% of residents are 65 or over. As a reference point, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Esquimalt, 43.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Households here average 2 people, below 90% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Shared houses stand out: 7.4% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 89% of Canadian towns. Census figures put one-parent families at 7.1% in Esquimalt.
Above 77% of Canadian towns: 15% of residents 15 and over live common-law
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 30% of adults, beside a typical 27%. At 37%, the share of married residents 15 and over is lower than in 74% of Canadian towns. The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%.
51% of households rent their home, more than in 86% of Canadian towns
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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
By its share of households in buildings of five or more storeys (6.9%), Esquimalt is above just over three quarters of Canadian towns. Measured more widely, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Here, 23% of households live in a single-detached house.
$76,000 a year: where the middle household sits
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Esquimalt: half had less than $76,000, 12% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The provincial yardstick is $87,000, the median across British Columbia’s towns. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 25% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
6.4% of residents are not Canadian citizens, more than in 53% of Canadian towns
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
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 (38%) and in Asia (36%). As a reference point, 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens across Canada’s towns. Here 15% of residents are immigrants, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 17%.
5.6% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 73% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents account for 14%. As a reference point, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
Esquimalt: 13% of residents speak English and French, above 68% of Canadian towns
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 92%, French 1.4%. 3.1% of residents have French as their mother tongue, more than in 68% of Canadian towns. Against that, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 59% of Canadian towns: 32%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
In work on census day: 61% of adults
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 61% is above the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Among 41 towns of 19,050 to 19,988 people, the 13th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The span goes from 28.8 (Mitchell) up to 50.4 (Pelham). Tétreaultville (42.2), Louis-Riel (43.1), Stittsville (44.1) and Beaconsfield (44.8): the towns nearest Esquimalt in median age.
Esquimalt is younger than 4 of its 6 nearest neighbours
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esquimalt | 19,512 | — | 43.2 | 21% | 15% |
| New Songhees 1A | 2,052 | 1.9 km | 50 | 28% | 11% |
| Victoria | 103,888 | 3.9 km | 42.8 | 23% | 20% |
| View Royal | 12,795 | 4.0 km | 44.8 | 21% | 18% |
| Saanich | 126,011 | 5.5 km | 44.4 | 23% | 23% |
| Colwood | 22,794 | 6.3 km | 42.4 | 19% | 13% |
| Oak Bay | 18,626 | 7.0 km | 54.4 | 34% | 22% |
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. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
Questions about Esquimalt’s residents
What is the median income in Esquimalt?
Half of Esquimalt’s households had more than $76,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Esquimalt?
About 19,512, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 17,533 people in Esquimalt, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Esquimalt?
The median age is 43.2, older than 57% of Canadian towns. 12% are under 15 and 21% 65 or older.
Is Esquimalt bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 13% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 86% speak only English and 0.1% only French; 3.1% grew up with French.
How diverse is Esquimalt?
Immigrants: 15% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 14%. Indigenous identity: 5.6%.
What religion are people in Esquimalt?
62% said they have no religion and 32% that they are Christian; 6.1% named another faith.
Is Esquimalt good for families?
12% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 42% of households and one-parent families 7.1%. Schools near Esquimalt 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).