Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain71% of residents said they have no religion, a share 99% of Canadian towns don’t reach
6.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier (Canada’s towns: 11%). Households in single-detached houses are more common here than in just over four fifths of Canadian towns. With about 7,825 residents in July 2025, Electoral Area A, Nanaimo counted 3,130 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.4% in the town.
What stands out about the people of Electoral Area A, Nanaimo
Older than most towns
Line Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 51.2; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 25% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Growth of +6% since 2016 puts Electoral Area A, Nanaimo ahead of 62% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across British Columbia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 5% higher again.
Electoral Area A, Nanaimo is older than 88% of Canadian towns: a median age of 51.2
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Compared with 19% across Canada’s towns, 25% of residents are 65 or over here. Locally, 13% of residents are under 15.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area A, Nanaimo, 51.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split.
A lower share of one-person households than 65% of Canadian towns, at 23%
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.
The average household has 2.4 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Fewer one-parent families than in just over three quarters of Canadian towns: 6.6%. The usual figure: 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of common-law partners than 73% of Canadian towns: 14%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Where 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns, Electoral Area A, Nanaimo has 49%. For common-law partners, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
A smaller share of renter households than 73% of Canadian towns: 16%
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, renter households come to 25%. Newer homes outnumber old: 22% date from 2001 or later, 11% from before 1961.
Household income at the median: $86,000 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
At $86,000, the middle household in Electoral Area A, Nanaimo earned close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For British Columbia’s towns, the median household income is $87,000. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 24% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
9.9% of residents are immigrants
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
Of the immigrants living here, 6.2% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. Here, 2.2% of residents are not Canadian citizens. Electoral Area A, Nanaimo has fewer immigrants than 65% of Canadian towns, at 9.9%.
In Electoral Area A, Nanaimo, 7.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 82% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents: 3.5% here and 15% across Canada’s towns. The usual figure: 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 94%, and 5.2% speak French as well
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
Compared with 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 5.2% of residents speak English and French here. Residents whose mother tongue is French account for 1.1%.
In Electoral Area A, Nanaimo, 17% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 76% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 11% here, 9.5% in the typical town. Across the comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 54% of residents 15 and over had a job
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.
At 54%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 25% are 65 or over.
5th highest median age among 41 towns of 7,694 to 7,965
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Median ages here range from 28.6 in La Broquerie to 58.8 in Minden Hills. Next to Electoral Area A, Nanaimo on this scale come Augusta (49.2), Acton Vale (49.6), Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley (54) and Kenora, Unorganized (54.8).
Around Electoral Area A, Nanaimo, 4 of 6 towns have a higher median age
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Nanaimo | 7,825 | — | 51.2 | 25% | 9.9% |
| Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley | 2,761 | 8.3 km | 56 | 32% | 11% |
| Electoral Area B, Nanaimo | 4,702 | 9.5 km | 63.2 | 44% | 20% |
| Ladysmith | 9,926 | 12.5 km | 52.8 | 31% | 13% |
| Nanaimo | 111,845 | 13.7 km | 45.2 | 25% | 16% |
| Electoral Area C, Nanaimo | 3,733 | 15.9 km | 46.8 | 20% | 11% |
| Electoral Area G, Cowichan Valley | 2,597 | 17.4 km | 59.6 | 38% | 12% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across British Columbia’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
Questions about Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s residents
What is the average age in Electoral Area A, Nanaimo?
The median age is 51.2, older than 88% of Canadian towns. 13% are under 15 and 25% 65 or older.
Is Electoral Area A, Nanaimo bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 5.2% are. Another 0% speak only French and 95% only English, and French is the first language of 1.1%.
How diverse is Electoral Area A, Nanaimo?
Immigrants: 9.9% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 3.5%. Indigenous identity: 7.8%.
What religion are people in Electoral Area A, Nanaimo?
71% said they have no religion and 26% that they are Christian; 2.5% named another faith.
Is Electoral Area A, Nanaimo good for families?
13% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 57% of households and one-parent families 6.6%. Schools near Electoral Area A, Nanaimo are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area A, Nanaimo?
Half of Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s households had more than $86,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Electoral Area A, Nanaimo?
About 7,825, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 7,481 people in Electoral Area A, Nanaimo, 6% more than 2016.
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).