Photo: Jd.101 · CC BY-SA 3.0Kelowna: 54% of residents said they have no religion, above 91% of Canadian towns
Residents who moved in within the year make up 18%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 167,654 residents; the 2021 Census found 62,210 households. Locally, 43% of households live in a single-detached house. Higher than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns: 21% of residents are 65 or over.
What stands out about the people of Kelowna
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Kelowna went from 127,390 to 144,576 residents (+14%), faster growth than in 90% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
+14% since 2016, a pace 90% of Canadian towns didn’t match
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
The July 2025 estimate adds another 16%. For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across British Columbia’s towns.
Below 77% of Canadian towns: 14% of residents are under 15
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
25–29 is the most common age band: 7.4% of residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. Across Kelowna, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24. With a median age of 42.4, Kelowna is older than 52% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Kelowna, 42.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women.
A higher share of one-person households than 65% of Canadian towns, at 31%
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.
Shared houses stand out: 7.2% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 88% of Canadian towns. On average, 2.3 people share a household. Across the comparison, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. The share of one-parent families is 7.1%, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
Married residents 15 and over make up 45% in Kelowna, less than in 55% of Canadian towns
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 28% of adults (typical: 27%). As a reference point, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. The share of common-law partners stands at 11%.
Kelowna sits above 71% of Canadian towns for households in buildings of five or more storeys (3.9%)
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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
25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns, against 35% in Kelowna. Newer homes outnumber old: 37% date from 2001 or later, 6.4% from before 1961.
Half above, half below $82,000 a year in household income
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000, and Kelowna’s, at $82,000, is close to it. For British Columbia’s towns, the median household income is $87,000. Pandemic benefits reached 28% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Above 58% of Canadian towns: 7.4% of residents are not Canadian citizens
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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 (43%), then in Asia (37%). Against that, 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens across Canada’s towns. 28% of immigrants arrived from 2011 to 2021 (typical: 27%), and non-permanent residents make up a further 2.8% of residents.
In Kelowna, 5.6% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 73% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Sikh (2.6%). The wider picture: 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority; in Kelowna, 14%.
83% have English as their mother tongue; 7.5% also speak French
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home, 6.1% mostly speak another language; 0.8% speak neither English nor French. Residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.5%, near enough the figure across Canada’s towns.
Kelowna sits above 58% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (31%)
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
6.5% have no certificate, diploma or degree (typical: 9.5%). Across Canada’s towns, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.
In work on census day: 60% of adults
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
More people work here than in the typical town: 60%, against 58% across Canada’s towns.
Of 41 towns its size (105,520 to 243,107 people), the 16th oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Cape Breton is the oldest at 50.4, Milton the youngest at 36. By median age, Kelowna sits among St. John's (42), Strathcona County (42.4), Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury (43.2) and Richmond Hill (43.6).
The towns around Kelowna are all older
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelowna | 167,654 | — | 42.4 | 21% | 15% |
| Tsinstikeptum 10 | 2,081 | 6.9 km | 52 | 25% | 11% |
| Central Okanagan | 4,784 | 9.0 km | 51.6 | 25% | 12% |
| West Kelowna | 40,274 | 11.6 km | 44 | 21% | 14% |
| Tsinstikeptum 9 | 10,514 | 11.9 km | 58.4 | 37% | 12% |
| Duck Lake 7 | 2,091 | 15.2 km | 60 | 37% | 12% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of British Columbia’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about Kelowna’s residents
Is Kelowna good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 48% of households. One-parent families: 7.1%. Schools near Kelowna are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Kelowna?
The median household in Kelowna took in $82,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Kelowna?
Kelowna had about 167,654 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 144,576, 14% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Kelowna?
A median age of 42.4, older than 52% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 21%.
Is Kelowna bilingual?
English and French: 7.5% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 92%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.5%.
How diverse is Kelowna?
15% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 14% belong to a visible minority and 5.6% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Kelowna?
40% are Christian and 54% have no religion; 6.5% follow another religion.
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).