Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainElectoral Area F, Nanaimo sits above 99% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (68%)
Most recent wave: nearly one in ten immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). With a median age of 49.6, Electoral Area F, Nanaimo is older than 84% of Canadian towns. Some 8,810 people live in the town, by the estimate for July 2025. Locally, 23% of residents are 65 or over.
Faster growth than 65% of Canadian towns: Electoral Area F, Nanaimo changed by +6% since 2016
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 7%. For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across British Columbia’s towns.
In Electoral Area F, Nanaimo, 8.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 88% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
No age band is larger than 60–64: just over one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across Canada’s towns. 14% of residents are under 15.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area F, Nanaimo, 49.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split.
Electoral Area F, Nanaimo 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.
27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns, against 30% in Electoral Area F, Nanaimo. In Electoral Area F, Nanaimo, 7.6% of households are one-parent families.
Above 78% of Canadian towns: 16% of residents 15 and over live common-law
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: nearly a quarter of adults, against a typical 27%. The wider picture: 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of households in single-detached houses than 69% of Canadian towns, at 78%
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 nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, households in single-detached houses come to 64%. 28% of households rent their home.
$69,000 a year: where the middle household sits
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 middle household in Electoral Area F, Nanaimo had $69,000 before tax, 20% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $87,000 is the median household income across British Columbia’s towns. The pandemic’s benefits: 29% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
Electoral Area F, Nanaimo ranks below 68% of Canadian towns on residents who moved in within the year: 9.3%
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 (61%) and in the Americas (17%). Compared with other places, residents without Canadian citizenship are scarce here: 2.9%, fewer than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%.
7.1% of residents have an Indigenous identity, a share 79% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents: 2.7%, below nearly four fifths of Canadian towns. By way of comparison, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 93%, and 5.5% 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
Across Canada’s towns, 7.5% of residents speak English and French; in Electoral Area F, Nanaimo, 5.5%. The census found that 1.7% of residents have French as their mother tongue locally.
Fewer degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 85% of Canadian towns: 14%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 13% here, 9.5% in the typical town. As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 53% of residents aged 15 and over
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 23% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 53% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
6th highest median age among 41 towns of 8,612 to 9,016
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
At one end is Iqaluit (32.8), at the other Renfrew (54). Closest in median age to Electoral Area F, Nanaimo are Kings County, Subdivision C (48.8), Hanover (49.2), Manotick (50) and Drummond/North Elmsley (50.8).
The towns around Electoral Area F, Nanaimo are all older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area F, Nanaimo | 8,810 | — | 49.6 | 23% | 11% |
| Qualicum Beach | 9,640 | 6.8 km | 67.5 | 56% | 20% |
| Electoral Area G, Nanaimo | 8,412 | 7.6 km | 60.8 | 41% | 16% |
| Parksville | 15,371 | 8.9 km | 62 | 44% | 17% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- 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. 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 Electoral Area F, Nanaimo’s residents
How diverse is Electoral Area F, Nanaimo?
11% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2.7% belong to a visible minority and 7.1% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Electoral Area F, Nanaimo?
29% are Christian and 68% have no religion; 2.9% follow another religion.
Is Electoral Area F, Nanaimo good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 51% of households. One-parent families: 7.6%. Schools near Electoral Area F, Nanaimo are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area F, Nanaimo?
The median household in Electoral Area F, Nanaimo took in $69,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Electoral Area F, Nanaimo?
Electoral Area F, Nanaimo had about 8,810 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 8,216, 6% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area F, Nanaimo?
A median age of 49.6, older than 84% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 23%.
Is Electoral Area F, Nanaimo bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 5.5% are. Another 0% speak only French and 94% only English, and French is the first language of 1.7%.
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).