Photo: A.Davey · CC BY 2.0A median age of 52.8: Ladysmith is older than 91% of Canadian towns
Here three in five residents said they have no religion, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 35%. Its population is up 5% on 2016. Locally, 13% of residents are under 15. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Ladysmith
Older than most towns
Half of Ladysmith’s residents are under 52.8 and half over; 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.
A +5% change since 2016: faster than 58% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, +6%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 10%.
In Ladysmith, 31% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 94% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 7.7%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Ladysmith, 52.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Ladysmith households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 74% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
For Ladysmith, the census puts one-person households at 28%. On one-parent families, Ladysmith sits lower than nearly two thirds of Canadian towns: 7.3%.
More married residents 15 and over than 66% of Canadian towns: 51%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Nearly a fifth of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). Common-law partners account for 12%. To put it in context, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
19% of households rent their home, fewer than in 64% of Canadian towns
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
The share of households in single-detached houses is 68%, against 64% across Canada’s towns. As a yardstick, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 27% date from 2001 or later, 22% from before 1961.
The middle household earns $81,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Ladysmith’s households had a total income below $81,000, 6% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across British Columbia’s towns, half of households had more than $87,000 before tax. COVID-19 benefits went to 20% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
Ladysmith ranks above 62% of Canadian towns on residents who moved in within the year: 12%
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
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (64%) and in the Americas (16%). Lower than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns: 2.9% of residents are not Canadian citizens. As a reference point, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Recent arrivals are 5.8% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns.
Ladysmith: 7.1% of residents have an Indigenous identity, above 79% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
With visible minority residents at 5.4%, Ladysmith is behind 67% of Canadian towns on that count. The comparison figure for Indigenous residents is 2.8% across Canada’s towns.
92% have English as their mother tongue; 6.2% 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
The census found that 1.1% of residents have French as their mother tongue in Ladysmith. Fewer bilingual residents than in 61% of Canadian towns: 6.2%.
23% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 58% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
6.6% have no certificate, diploma or degree (typical: 9.5%). By way of comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 49% of residents 15 and over had a job
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.
49% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 31% are 65 or more.
In its size band (9,787 to 10,080), the 3rd oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest of these towns is Stanley, at 25.6; the oldest, Blind Bay, is at 58.8. By median age, Ladysmith sits among Roberval (52.4), Shediac (52.8), Wiarton (56.8) and Blind Bay (58.8).
Older than Ladysmith: 2 of the 3 towns nearby
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladysmith | 9,926 | — | 52.8 | 31% | 13% |
| Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley | 2,761 | 4.2 km | 56 | 32% | 11% |
| Electoral Area G, Cowichan Valley | 2,597 | 5.5 km | 59.6 | 38% | 12% |
| Electoral Area A, Nanaimo | 7,825 | 12.5 km | 51.2 | 25% | 9.9% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
Questions about Ladysmith’s residents
What religion are people in Ladysmith?
38% are Christian and 60% have no religion; 2.4% follow another religion.
Is Ladysmith good for families?
Under 15: 13% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 55% of households. One-parent families: 7.3%. Schools near Ladysmith are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Ladysmith?
The median household in Ladysmith took in $81,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Ladysmith?
Ladysmith had about 9,926 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 8,990, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Ladysmith?
A median age of 52.8, older than 91% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 13%, and people 65 and over 31%.
Is Ladysmith bilingual?
English and French: 6.2% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 94%. French only: 0.1%. French mother tongue: 1.1%.
How diverse is Ladysmith?
13% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 5.4% belong to a visible minority and 7.1% have an Indigenous identity.
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).