Photo: James O'Brien · CC BY-SA 4.0A median age of 52: Lake Cowichan is older than 90% of Canadian towns
3.9% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Lake Cowichan had about 3,757 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 1,490 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 8% here. Higher than in 99% of Canadian towns: 69% of residents said they have no religion.
What stands out about the people of Lake Cowichan
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 13% of residents, more than in 91% of Canadian towns, and 1.5% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Lake Cowichan’s residents are under 52 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 28% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Lake Cowichan’s population moved +3% on 2016, less than in 56% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 13% higher again. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across British Columbia’s towns +6%.
28% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 89% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Children under 15: 13%, below 81% of Canadian towns. Against that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Lake Cowichan, 52. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Lake Cowichan 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.
Across Lake Cowichan, 28% of households are one person living alone. At 7.7%, the share of one-parent families is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns.
Lake Cowichan sits above 74% of Canadian towns for common-law partners (14%)
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: 22% of adults (typical: 27%). For Lake Cowichan, the census puts married residents 15 and over at 46%. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
15% of households rent their home, fewer than in 75% of Canadian towns
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. 78% of households live in a single-detached house. The share of renter households across Canada’s towns is 25%.
Median gross household income: $68,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Lake Cowichan’s households had a total income below $68,000, 21% 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 26% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
7.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 89% of Canadian towns
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
The share of immigrants trails 71% of Canadian towns: 7.7%. On the census count, 1.2% of residents are not Canadian citizens. The usual figure: just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Indigenous residents make up 13% in Lake Cowichan, more than in 91% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents trails 73% of Canadian towns: 3.8%. For comparison, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 93%, and 4.5% speak French as well
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
Set against 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 4.5% of residents speak English and French in Lake Cowichan. At home: English 98%, French 0.2%.
In Lake Cowichan, 11% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 95% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 14%, against 9.5%. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 46% of adults
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 46%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 28% are 65 or over.
Oldest by rank: 5th of 41 towns of 3,698 to 3,813 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Clareview Town Centre is the youngest of them at 32.1; Georgian Bay, at 58.4, the oldest. The towns whose median age is nearest to Lake Cowichan’s: Roberts Creek (51.2), Cowichan Bay (51.6), Alnwick (53.6) and Maniwaki (54.4).
The towns around Lake Cowichan are all older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Cowichan | 3,757 | — | 52 | 28% | 7.7% |
| Electoral Area F, Cowichan Valley | 1,837 | 5.3 km | 52.8 | 25% | 7.6% |
| Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley | 1,521 | 11.5 km | 58 | 31% | 8.2% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Two medians frame each figure: one for British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town 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.
Questions about Lake Cowichan’s residents
What religion are people in Lake Cowichan?
Most often Christian (29%) or no religion (69%); other religions make up 1.8%.
Is Lake Cowichan good for families?
Children under 15 are 13% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 52% of households and one-parent families 7.7%. Schools near Lake Cowichan are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Lake Cowichan?
Median total household income in Lake Cowichan was $68,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Lake Cowichan?
The latest figure is an estimate: 3,757 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Lake Cowichan counted 3,325, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Lake Cowichan?
Half the residents are older than 52 and half younger, older than 90% of Canadian towns; 13% are children under 15 and 28% are 65 or over.
Is Lake Cowichan bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 4.5% are. Another 0% speak only French and 95% only English, and French is the first language of 1.7%.
How diverse is Lake Cowichan?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 7.7%. A visible minority makes up 3.8% and Indigenous residents 13%.
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).