Photo: Gerry Thomasen from Nanaimo, Canada · CC BY 2.070% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Compared with 64% across Canada’s towns, 84% of households live in a single-detached house here. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 3,733 residents; the 2021 Census found 1,235 households. Residents who moved in within the year: nearly a tenth of the total. With a median age of 46.8, Electoral Area C, Nanaimo is older than just over three quarters of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Electoral Area C, Nanaimo
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Electoral Area C, Nanaimo went from 2,808 to 3,344 residents (+19%), faster growth than in 96% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A growing town: +19% since 2016, faster than 96% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. 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 12%. Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, +6%.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 10%, a lower share than 65% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Here a fifth of residents are 65 or over, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 19%. On average, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area C, Nanaimo, 46.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women.
Only 19% of households are one person living alone in Electoral Area C, Nanaimo
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Electoral Area C, Nanaimo, 2.6. One-person households make up 27% across Canada’s towns. Locally, 5.7% of households are one-parent families.
A higher share of common-law partners than 72% of Canadian towns, at 14%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
With married residents 15 and over at 52%, Electoral Area C, Nanaimo is ahead of 69% of Canadian towns on that count. The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%.
Renter households make up 16% in Electoral Area C, Nanaimo, less 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. As a reference point, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 44% date from 2001 or later, 7.7% from before 1961.
Household income at the median: $102,000 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
At $102,000, the middle household in Electoral Area C, Nanaimo out-earned the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000) by 19%. The figure for British Columbia’s towns: $87,000. Pandemic benefits reached 26% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
11% of residents are immigrants
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
16% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. What’s more, at 2.3%, the share of residents without Canadian citizenship is lower than in 72% of Canadian towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (60%), then in the Americas (19%).
In Electoral Area C, Nanaimo, 6.5% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 77% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of visible minority residents is 15%; Electoral Area C, Nanaimo has 4.3%. As a reference point, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
93% have English as their mother tongue; 5.8% 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
Nothing unusual on residents whose mother tongue is French: 0.7%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns. On bilingual residents, Electoral Area C, Nanaimo sits lower than 66% of Canadian towns: 5.8%.
22% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 61% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
8.7% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
In work on census day: 57% of adults
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 57%, the share in work is about the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Ranked by age, 13th oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
West Kildonan Industrial is the youngest of them at 31.5; Saint-Tite, at 57.6, the oldest. By median age, Electoral Area C, Nanaimo sits among Dixie (45.4), Golf Course (46.5), Kensington (47) and Westville (47.2).
Among its 5 nearest neighbours, 4 are older than Electoral Area C, Nanaimo
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area C, Nanaimo | 3,733 | — | 46.8 | 20% | 11% |
| Nanaimo | 111,845 | 3.4 km | 45.2 | 25% | 16% |
| Lantzville | 4,276 | 7.7 km | 50.8 | 26% | 13% |
| Fairwinds | 7,125 | 15.2 km | 61.6 | 41% | 18% |
| Electoral Area A, Nanaimo | 7,825 | 15.9 km | 51.2 | 25% | 9.9% |
| Electoral Area B, Nanaimo | 4,702 | 17.8 km | 63.2 | 44% | 20% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
Questions about Electoral Area C, Nanaimo’s residents
How diverse is Electoral Area C, Nanaimo?
11% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 4.3% belong to a visible minority and 6.5% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Electoral Area C, Nanaimo?
29% are Christian and 70% have no religion; 0.6% follow another religion.
Is Electoral Area C, Nanaimo good for families?
Under 15: 15% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 62% of households. One-parent families: 5.7%. Schools near Electoral Area C, Nanaimo are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area C, Nanaimo?
The median household in Electoral Area C, Nanaimo took in $102,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Electoral Area C, Nanaimo?
Electoral Area C, Nanaimo had about 3,733 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 3,344, 19% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area C, Nanaimo?
A median age of 46.8, older than 76% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 15%, and people 65 and over 20%.
Is Electoral Area C, Nanaimo bilingual?
English and French: 5.8% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 94%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 0.7%.
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).