Photo: rpaterso · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 54.4: Oak Bay is older than 94% of Canadian towns
Here 13% of residents are under 15, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 16%. The 2021 Census found 7,805 households in Oak Bay; by July 2025 the population was about 18,626. In Oak Bay, 58% of residents said they have no religion. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are more common here than in 73% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Oak Bay
Older than most towns
Half of Oak Bay’s residents are under 54.4 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 34% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Many graduates
64% of residents aged 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 96% of Canadian towns; 19% have a master’s. Qualifications ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Oak Bay’s population moved −1% on 2016, less than in 82% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, +6%.
In Oak Bay, 34% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 97% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with nearly one in ten residents, 1.9 times the share across Canada’s towns. Typically, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 11% in Oak Bay.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Oak Bay, 54.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
One-person households: 31%, a higher share than 66% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.3 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. One-person households make up 27% across Canada’s towns. The census found that 5.9% of households are one-parent families in Oak Bay.
Oak Bay sits below 78% of Canadian towns for common-law partners (7.3%)
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Just over a fifth of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Married residents 15 and over account for 54%. Across Canada’s towns, common-law partners come to 11%.
63% of households live in a single-detached house, fewer than in 51% of Canadian towns
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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
Older homes outnumber new: 59% predate 1961, 7.7% date from 2001 or later. Across Canada’s towns, 64% of households live in a single-detached house. Renter households: 26% here and 25% across Canada’s towns.
Median household income: $107,000 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
At $107,000, the middle household in Oak Bay out-earned the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000) by 24%. For British Columbia’s towns, the median household income is $87,000. The pandemic’s benefits: 17% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
In Oak Bay, 22% of residents are immigrants, more than in 59% of Canadian towns
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
14% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (53%), then in Asia (22%).
58% said they have no religion, more than say they are Christian
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Few places have so few Indigenous residents: 2% here, fewer than in 61% of Canadian towns. For Oak Bay, the census puts visible minority residents at 13%.
Oak Bay ranks above 70% of Canadian towns on bilingual residents: 16%
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.4% of the total. Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%.
Oak Bay: 64% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, above 96% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 2.7%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 50% of adults
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 50% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 34% of residents are 65 or over.
Of 41 towns its size (17,940 to 19,305 people), the 1st oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The youngest of these towns is Schmidtville, at 29; the oldest, Oak Bay, is at 54.4. The towns whose median age is nearest to Oak Bay’s: Bracebridge (51.2) and Edmundston (54).
No nearby town is as old as Oak Bay
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Bay | 18,626 | — | 54.4 | 34% | 22% |
| Victoria | 103,888 | 3.2 km | 42.8 | 23% | 20% |
| Saanich | 126,011 | 6.3 km | 44.4 | 23% | 23% |
| Esquimalt | 19,512 | 7.0 km | 43.2 | 21% | 15% |
| New Songhees 1A | 2,052 | 8.5 km | 50 | 28% | 11% |
| View Royal | 12,795 | 10.4 km | 44.8 | 21% | 18% |
| Colwood | 22,794 | 13.2 km | 42.4 | 19% | 13% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
Questions about Oak Bay’s residents
Is Oak Bay bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 16% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 84% speak only English and 0% only French; 1.4% grew up with French.
How diverse is Oak Bay?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 22%. A visible minority makes up 13% and Indigenous residents 2%.
What religion are people in Oak Bay?
Most often Christian (37%) or no religion (58%); other religions make up 5.4%.
Is Oak Bay good for families?
Children under 15 are 13% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 55% of households and one-parent families 5.9%. Schools near Oak Bay are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Oak Bay?
Median total household income in Oak Bay was $107,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Oak Bay?
The latest figure is an estimate: 18,626 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Oak Bay counted 17,990, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Oak Bay?
Half the residents are older than 54.4 and half younger, older than 94% of Canadian towns; 13% are children under 15 and 34% are 65 or over.
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).