Photo: starkerry · CC BY-SA 3.0Older than 99% of Canadian towns: half of Electoral Area G, Nanaimo is over 60.8
9.4% of residents are under 15; across Canada’s towns the figure is 16%. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 8,412 residents; the 2021 Census found 3,575 households. Locally, nearly one in ten households rent their home. Higher than in 94% of Canadian towns: 57% of residents said they have no religion.
What stands out about the people of Electoral Area G, Nanaimo
Older than most towns
Half of Electoral Area G, Nanaimo’s residents are under 60.8 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 41% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A growing town: +8% since 2016, faster than 71% 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 4%.
Electoral Area G, Nanaimo: 41% of residents are 65 or over, above 99% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Compared with 11% across Canada’s towns, 6.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24 here. On average, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area G, Nanaimo, 60.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Fewer one-person households than 72% of Canadian towns: 21%
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.
Households average 2.2 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Elsewhere, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. Here, 5% of households are one-parent families.
Above 96% of Canadian towns: 61% of residents 15 and over are married
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
For Electoral Area G, Nanaimo, the census puts common-law partners at 9.9%. The wider picture: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
In Electoral Area G, Nanaimo, 85% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 80% 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 74% of Canadian towns. The benchmark for households in single-detached houses across Canada’s towns: 64%. Just over a third of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 4.1% built before 1961.
$85,000 a year: where the middle household sits
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
Half of Electoral Area G, Nanaimo’s households had a total income above $85,000 and half below, close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The provincial yardstick is $87,000, the median across British Columbia’s towns. COVID-19 benefits went to 19% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
16% 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
7.1% of immigrants arrived from 2011 to 2021 (typical: 27%), and non-permanent residents make up a further 0.4% of residents. Locally, 2.7% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
Electoral Area G, Nanaimo sits above 65% of Canadian towns for Indigenous residents (4.3%)
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
4% of residents belong to a visible minority (Canada’s towns: 15%). Measured more widely, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
91% have English as their mother tongue; 6.1% 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
Residents whose mother tongue is French are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 1%. On bilingual residents, Electoral Area G, Nanaimo sits lower than 62% of Canadian towns: 6.1%.
21% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, below 64% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Holding no credential: 7.3% (typical 9.5%). The wider picture: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 41% of residents 15 and over had a job
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 41% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 41% of residents are 65 or over.
Ranked by age, 1st oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The span goes from 30.2 (Garneau) up to 60.8 (Electoral Area G, Nanaimo). Muskoka Lakes (57.2) and Electoral Area A, Comox Valley (58): the towns nearest Electoral Area G, Nanaimo in median age.
3 of the 4 nearest towns are older than Electoral Area G, Nanaimo
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area G, Nanaimo | 8,412 | — | 60.8 | 41% | 16% |
| Parksville | 15,371 | 3.5 km | 62 | 44% | 17% |
| Qualicum Beach | 9,640 | 5.2 km | 67.5 | 56% | 20% |
| Electoral Area F, Nanaimo | 8,810 | 7.6 km | 49.6 | 23% | 11% |
| Fairwinds | 7,125 | 15.1 km | 61.6 | 41% | 18% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- 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. Each comparison is its own median: over British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
Questions about Electoral Area G, Nanaimo’s residents
Is Electoral Area G, Nanaimo good for families?
9.4% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 65% of households and one-parent families 5%. Schools near Electoral Area G, Nanaimo are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo?
Half of Electoral Area G, Nanaimo’s households had more than $85,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Electoral Area G, Nanaimo?
About 8,412, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 8,109 people in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo, 8% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo?
The median age is 60.8, older than 99% of Canadian towns. 9.4% are under 15 and 41% 65 or older.
Is Electoral Area G, Nanaimo bilingual?
English and French: 6.1% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 94%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1%.
How diverse is Electoral Area G, Nanaimo?
Immigrants: 16% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 4%. Indigenous identity: 4.3%.
What religion are people in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo?
57% said they have no religion and 41% that they are Christian; 3% named another faith.
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).