Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 58: Oliver is older than 98% of Canadian towns
Where just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns, Oliver has 6.9%. At 47%, the share of residents with no religion is higher than in 83% of Canadian towns. This British Columbia town had about 5,262 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 2,310 households at the 2021 Census. The share of one-person households stands at 31%.
What stands out about the people of Oliver
Older than most towns
Oliver’s median age is 58; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 37% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Oliver’s population moved +3% on 2016, less than in 54% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, by more than +6%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 99% of Canadian towns: 37%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
In Oliver, just over one in ten residents are under 15, beside 16% across Canada’s towns. The wider picture: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Oliver, 58. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 74% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
7.8% of households are one-parent families.
Married residents 15 and over: 53%, a higher share than 74% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Just over one in ten residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns, against 8.3% in Oliver.
Only 22% of households rent their home in Oliver
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
Against a figure of 64% across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses in Oliver comes in at 67%. By way of comparison, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Just over a quarter of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 19% built before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns.
$68,500 a year: where the middle household sits
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Oliver: half had less than $68,500, 20% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Household incomes across British Columbia’s towns have a median of $87,000. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 18% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
A larger share of immigrants than 54% of Canadian towns: 19%
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 25%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Most immigrants were born in Asia (41%) or in Europe (39%). A year before the census, 12% lived somewhere else: more than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns. Set beside that, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. 7% of residents are not Canadian citizens (Canada’s towns: 5.8%).
Oliver sits above 71% of Canadian towns for Indigenous residents (5.2%)
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Sikh (7.6%). On average, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. There is little gap on visible minority residents: 15%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 80%, and 4.8% speak French as well
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
9.3% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 2.3% speak neither official language. On bilingual residents, Oliver sits lower than 77% of Canadian towns: 4.8%. Residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.5%, near enough the figure across Canada’s towns.
Oliver ranks below 79% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 16%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 13%, against 9.5%. Measured more widely, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 46% of adults
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
46% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 37% are 65 or more.
Ranked by age, 1st oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Between Rundle Heights (32.9) and Oliver (58) lies the rest of the group. In age, Oliver keeps company with Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac (52.8) and Central Frontenac (55.6).
2 of the 4 nearest towns are older than Oliver
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver | 5,262 | — | 58 | 37% | 19% |
| Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen | 4,103 | 3.6 km | 57.6 | 34% | 22% |
| Osoyoos 1 | 1,484 | 4.4 km | 58.8 | 36% | 0% |
| Electoral Area B, Okanagan-Similkameen | 1,190 | 13.4 km | 50.4 | 27% | 18% |
| Osoyoos | 5,724 | 18.9 km | 63.2 | 46% | 20% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about Oliver’s residents
What religion are people in Oliver?
Christian: 43%. No religion: 47%. Another religion: 9.5%.
Is Oliver good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 12%. 52% of households are couple families and 7.8% one-parent families. Schools near Oliver are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Oliver?
$68,500 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Oliver (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Oliver?
Statistics Canada estimates 5,262 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 5,094 in Oliver, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Oliver?
58 is the median age, older than 98% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 12%. 65 and over: 37%.
Is Oliver bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 4.8% are. Another 0.1% speak only French and 93% only English, and French is the first language of 1.5%.
How diverse is Oliver?
Immigrants make up 19% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 15% are members of a visible minority, and 5.2% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
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).