Photo: Gerry Thomasen from Nanaimo, Canada · CC BY 2.0Residents with no religion make up 62% in Nanaimo, more than in 97% of Canadian towns
Here 16% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 11%. On residents aged 65 and over, Nanaimo sits higher than 78% of Canadian towns: 25%. Some 111,845 people live here, by the estimate for July 2025. The share of one-person households stands at 31%.
Since 2016, Nanaimo has grown +10%, faster than 82% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. 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%. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across British Columbia’s towns +6%.
Older than 69% of Canadian towns: half of Nanaimo is over 45.2
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Set against 16% across Canada’s towns, 14% of residents are under 15 in Nanaimo. The biggest five-year age group is 65–69, with 7.3% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Nanaimo, 45.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Households here average 2.3 people, below 64% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Here, 8.6% of households are one-parent families.
A lower share of married residents 15 and over than 61% of Canadian towns, at 43%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Across Canada’s towns, 46% of adults are married and 11% live common-law; here, 43% and 12%. Single and never married: 27% of adults, against a typical 27%.
A higher share of households in buildings of five or more storeys than 69% of Canadian towns, at 3.2%
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
Renter households: 33% here and 25% across Canada’s towns. Nanaimo has fewer households in single-detached houses than nearly two thirds of Canadian towns, at 52%. 28% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 13% built before 1961.
Half of households earn more than $75,500 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Nanaimo’s households had a total income below $75,500, 12% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). British Columbia’s towns have a median of $87,000. 27% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (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
Most immigrants were born in Europe (43%) or in Asia (38%). A quarter of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns.
More Indigenous residents than 83% of Canadian towns: 8.1%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Here, 14% of residents belong to a visible minority. The wider picture: 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
86% have English as their mother tongue; 6.8% 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
At home: English 93%, French 0.3%. Nanaimo has fewer residents whose mother tongue is French than 62% of Canadian towns, at 1.2%.
29% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 53% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
8.6% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
An employment rate of 55%
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.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 55%; 25% of residents are 65 or over.
The 7th oldest of 41 towns of 81,611 to 153,865 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The youngest of these towns is Fort McMurray, at 34.4; the oldest, Lindsay, is at 51.6. In age, Nanaimo keeps company with St. Catharines (44.8), Saint-Jérôme (45.2), Saguenay (46) and Chomedey (46.2).
No nearby town is as young as Nanaimo
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nanaimo | 111,845 | — | 45.2 | 25% | 16% |
| Electoral Area C, Nanaimo | 3,733 | 3.4 km | 46.8 | 20% | 11% |
| Lantzville | 4,276 | 9.9 km | 50.8 | 26% | 13% |
| Electoral Area A, Nanaimo | 7,825 | 13.7 km | 51.2 | 25% | 9.9% |
| Electoral Area B, Nanaimo | 4,702 | 14.5 km | 63.2 | 44% | 20% |
| Fairwinds | 7,125 | 17.4 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. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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.
Questions about Nanaimo’s residents
Is Nanaimo bilingual?
English and French: 6.8% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 93%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.2%.
How diverse is Nanaimo?
Immigrants make up 16% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 14% are members of a visible minority, and 8.1% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Nanaimo?
Christian: 32%. No religion: 62%. Another religion: 5.7%.
Is Nanaimo good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 14%. 47% of households are couple families and 8.6% one-parent families. Schools near Nanaimo are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Nanaimo?
$75,500 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Nanaimo (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Nanaimo?
Statistics Canada estimates 111,845 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 99,863 in Nanaimo, 10% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Nanaimo?
45.2 is the median age, older than 69% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 14%. 65 and over: 25%.
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).