Photo: Holger Steinhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0Residents with no religion make up 65% in Fernie, more than in 98% of Canadian towns
Of the immigrants living here, 42% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. With about 7,086 residents in July 2025, Fernie counted 2,595 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.4% here. Residents who moved in within the year are more common here than in 77% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Fernie
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Fernie went from 5,396 to 6,320 residents (+17%), faster growth than in 94% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A growing town: +17% since 2016, faster than 94% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
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.
Half of Fernie is under 38, younger than 77% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 19%; Fernie has 15%. The largest age band is 30–34: 10% of residents, 1.6 times the share across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Fernie, 38. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
2.4 people per household, fewer than in 53% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
5.6% of households are one-parent families (Canada’s towns: 8.2%). Here, 26% of households are one person living alone.
17% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 81% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 26% of adults, against a typical 27%. The share of common-law partners across Canada’s towns is 11%. Across Fernie, 46% of residents 15 and over are married.
Fernie sits above 54% of Canadian towns for renter households (28%)
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
Nearly a quarter of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 22% built before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. For comparison, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. In Fernie, 62% of households live in a single-detached house, beside 64% across Canada’s towns.
Median gross household income: $107,000 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Fernie’s median household took in $107,000 before tax, 24% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Among British Columbia’s towns, the typical figure is $87,000. 27% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
Residents without Canadian citizenship make up 10% in Fernie, more than in 68% 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
Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (54%), then in Oceania or elsewhere (16%). Across the comparison, 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens across Canada’s towns. 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, against 14% in Fernie.
Above 66% of Canadian towns: 4.4% of residents have an Indigenous identity
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 15% across Canada’s towns, the share of visible minority residents in Fernie comes in at 7.1%. Indigenous residents: 2.8% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Fernie ranks above 67% of Canadian towns on bilingual residents: 13%
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
Residents whose mother tongue is French: 3.3% here and 1.5% across Canada’s towns. The share of bilingual residents across Canada’s towns is 7.5%.
A larger share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 69% of Canadian towns: 38%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
A job for 65% of residents aged 15 and over
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Employment runs above the middle of Canada’s towns (58%), at 65%.
10th lowest median age among 41 towns of 6,965 to 7,259
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Edgeley is the youngest of them at 31.2; Fairwinds, at 61.6, the oldest. In age, Fernie keeps company with Saint-Paul (38), Erin Woods (38), Saint-Honoré (38.4) and Inglewood (38.7).
Every neighbour of Fernie has an older population
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. Distances here run 11–29 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Fernie.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernie | 7,086 | — | 38 | 15% | 14% |
| Electoral Area A, East Kootenay | 2,092 | 10.9 km | 42.8 | 18% | 6.7% |
| Electoral Area B, East Kootenay | 2,221 | 23.3 km | 51.2 | 26% | 5.2% |
| Sparwood | 4,486 | 28.6 km | 38.4 | 14% | 6.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- 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.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
Questions about Fernie’s residents
Is Fernie good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 18%. 56% of households are couple families and 5.6% one-parent families. Schools near Fernie are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Fernie?
$107,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Fernie (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Fernie?
Statistics Canada estimates 7,086 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 6,320 in Fernie, 17% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Fernie?
38 is the median age, younger than 77% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 18%. 65 and over: 15%.
Is Fernie bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 13% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 87% speak only English and 0.1% only French; 3.3% grew up with French.
How diverse is Fernie?
Immigrants make up 14% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 7.1% are members of a visible minority, and 4.4% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Fernie?
Christian: 33%. No religion: 65%. Another religion: 2.5%.
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).