Photo: Andre Charland · CC BY 2.0Gold River is older than 96% of Canadian towns: a median age of 56.4
Across Canada’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Gold River, 2. Residents with no religion are more common here than in 98% of Canadian towns. About 1,339 people lived here in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. Here, 6.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
What stands out about the people of Gold River
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
12% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 91% of Canadian towns; 8.4% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Older than most towns
The middle resident of Gold River is 56.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 31% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
From 2016 to 2021, 58% of Canadian towns grew faster than Gold River: +3%
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across British Columbia’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 7% higher again.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 93% of Canadian towns, at 31%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The share of children under 15 trails 87% of Canadian towns: 12%. The usual figure: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 112 men for every 100 women.
Gold River sits above 71% of Canadian towns for one-person households (33%)
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.
Set against 8.2% across Canada’s towns, 6.6% of households are one-parent families in Gold River. The benchmark for one-person households across Canada’s towns: 27%.
Gold River: 15% of residents 15 and over live common-law, above 76% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
19% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%. The census found that 49% of residents 15 and over are married in Gold River.
16% of households rent their home, fewer than in 73% of Canadian towns
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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 one in ten homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. For comparison, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. The share of households in single-detached houses stands at 69%. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
The midpoint household income is $66,500 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 middle household in Gold River had $66,500 before tax, 23% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The middle household across British Columbia’s towns has $87,000 before tax. Pandemic benefits reached 22% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Gold River sits above 86% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (17%)
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
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
Most immigrants were born in Europe (64%) or in the Americas (18%). 11% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 61% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents without Canadian citizenship is 5.8%; Gold River has 3.6%.
Gold River ranks above 91% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 12%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents make up 3.2%, against 15% across Canada’s towns. To put it in context, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
94% have English as their mother tongue; 4.4% also speak French
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Set against 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 4.4% of residents speak English and French in Gold River. Locally, 1.6% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Gold River sits below 94% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (11%)
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
17% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
In work on census day: 46% of adults
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 46%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 31% of residents are 65 or over.
Among its 5 nearest neighbours, 1 are older than Gold River
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. The nearest places to Gold River with figures are 63–71 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold River | 1,339 | — | 56.4 | 31% | 11% |
| Campbell River | 38,300 | 62.6 km | 48 | 26% | 11% |
| Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona | 4,546 | 63.6 km | 52 | 26% | 11% |
| Electoral Area C, Strathcona | 2,981 | 69.0 km | 58.4 | 37% | 19% |
| Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley | 9,803 | 69.2 km | 50.8 | 25% | 11% |
| Tofino | 2,772 | 70.9 km | 36.4 | 12% | 9.9% |
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. “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. 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 Gold River’s residents
How diverse is Gold River?
Immigrants: 11% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 3.2%. Indigenous identity: 12%.
What religion are people in Gold River?
64% said they have no religion and 35% that they are Christian; 1.2% named another faith.
Is Gold River good for families?
12% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 52% of households and one-parent families 6.6%. Schools near Gold River are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Gold River?
Half of Gold River’s households had more than $66,500 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Gold River?
About 1,339, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 1,246 people in Gold River, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Gold River?
The median age is 56.4. 12% are under 15 and 31% 65 or older.
Is Gold River bilingual?
English and French: 4.4% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 95%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.6%.
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).