Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainA median age of 58: Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen is older than 98% of Canadian towns
6.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across Canada’s towns the figure is 11%. With about 2,429 residents in July 2025, Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen counted 875 households at the 2021 Census. On the census count, 91% of households live in a single-detached house. Compared with other places, residents with no religion are common here: 48%, more than in 83% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen
Older than most towns
Line Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 58; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 34% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen went from 1,858 people in 2016 to 2,139 in 2021, +15%: faster growth than in 92% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A +15% change since 2016: Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen grew faster than 92% 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
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 14%. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across British Columbia’s towns +6%.
Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen: 34% of residents are 65 or over, above 97% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
9.3% of residents are under 15; across Canada’s towns the figure is 16%. Against that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women.
Below 73% of Canadian towns: 21% of households are one person living alone
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
In Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen the average household is 2.4 people, beside 2.4 across Canada’s towns. The town has fewer one-parent families than 91% of Canadian towns, at 5.1%. One-person households: 27% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
59% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 91% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Common-law partners: 9.6% here and 11% across Canada’s towns. To put it in context, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
In Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen, 16% of households rent their home, fewer 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 74% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of renter households is 25%. Newer homes outnumber old: 33% date from 2001 or later, 14% from before 1961.
Half of households earn more than $82,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
At $82,000, the middle household in Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen earned close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For British Columbia’s towns, the median household income is $87,000. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 21% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen: 26% of residents are immigrants, above 65% of Canadian towns
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 30%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Most recent wave: 7.5% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). On the census count, 9.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Elsewhere, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of visible minority residents than 54% of Canadian towns, at 18%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Sikh (16%). For visible minority residents, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 15%. At 3.1%, Indigenous residents sit close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
69% have English as their mother tongue; 5.5% 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 80%, French 0.5%. Set against 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 5.5% of residents speak English and French in Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen.
Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen sits below 72% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (18%)
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
10% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
A job for 50% of residents aged 15 and over
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.
50% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 34% are 65 or more.
The towns around Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen are all older
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
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. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- 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.
Questions about Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen’s residents
What is the average age in Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen?
Half the residents are older than 58 and half younger; 9.3% are children under 15 and 34% are 65 or over.
Is Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen bilingual?
English and French: 5.5% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 90%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.9%.
How diverse is Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 26%. A visible minority makes up 18% and Indigenous residents 3.1%.
What religion are people in Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen?
Most often Christian (36%) or no religion (48%); other religions make up 16%.
Is Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen good for families?
Children under 15 are 9.3% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 60% of households and one-parent families 5.1%. Schools near Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen?
Median total household income in Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen was $82,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen?
The latest figure is an estimate: 2,429 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen counted 2,139, 15% more than 2016.
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).