Photo: Kevstan · CC BY-SA 3.016% of residents have an Indigenous identity, a share 94% of Canadian towns don’t reach
The median age in Port Alberni is 49.2, higher than in 83% of Canadian towns. Here, 15% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Some 19,671 people live locally, by the estimate for July 2025. At 2.1 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across Canada’s towns.
What stands out about the people of Port Alberni
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
16% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 94% of Canadian towns; 9% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Many older residents
27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 87% of Canadian towns; 6.3% are 80 or over, and 35% of households are one person living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Slower than most: +3% since 2016, behind 55% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 8% higher again. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across British Columbia’s towns +6%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 27%, a higher share than 87% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Compared with 11% across Canada’s towns, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 here. Typically, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. 60–64 is the most common age band: 8.4% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Port Alberni, 49.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
Port Alberni ranks above 79% of Canadian towns on one-person households: 35%
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
By its share of one-parent families (9.9%), Port Alberni is above nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. As a yardstick, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
Only 41% of residents 15 and over are married in Port Alberni
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Common-law partners: 13% here and 11% across Canada’s towns. Across the comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Renter households make up 31% in Port Alberni, more than in 61% 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
The share of households in buildings of five or more storeys tops 63% of Canadian towns: 1.7%. Against that, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 38% predate 1961, 12% date from 2001 or later.
$62,800 a year: where the middle household sits
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Port Alberni’s households had a total income below $62,800, 27% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The figure for British Columbia’s towns: $87,000. 25% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
10% 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
Where 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, Port Alberni has 10%. Across Port Alberni, 2.4% of residents are not Canadian citizens. 15% lived at another address a year earlier, more than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 98% of Canadian towns, at 63%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
In Port Alberni, 6.2% of residents belong to a visible minority, beside 15% across Canada’s towns. As a yardstick, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
90% have English as their mother tongue; 5.6% 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
The share of bilingual residents trails 68% of Canadian towns: 5.6%. Locally, 1.6% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 14%, a lower share than 85% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 16% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
A job for 47% 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.
The employment rate of 47% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 27% of residents are 65 or over.
Ranked by age, 5th oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
At one end is Mitchell (28.8), at the other Niagara-on-the-Lake (57.2). By median age, Port Alberni sits among Kemptville (46.4), Mont-Saint-Hilaire (47.2), Miramichi (50) and Midland (50).
Every nearby town is older than Port Alberni
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Alberni | 19,671 | — | 49.2 | 27% | 10% |
| Electoral Area F, Alberni-Clayoquot | 2,141 | 3.4 km | 54 | 29% | 7.3% |
| Electoral Area E, Alberni-Clayoquot | 3,069 | 6.0 km | 50.4 | 24% | 7.8% |
| Electoral Area D, Alberni-Clayoquot | 1,875 | 11.9 km | 58.8 | 33% | 11% |
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. 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. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
Questions about Port Alberni’s residents
What is the population of Port Alberni?
Port Alberni had about 19,671 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 18,259, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Port Alberni?
A median age of 49.2, older than 83% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 27%.
Is Port Alberni bilingual?
5.6% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 94% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.6%.
How diverse is Port Alberni?
10% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 6.2% belong to a visible minority and 16% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Port Alberni?
32% are Christian and 63% have no religion; 4.5% follow another religion.
Is Port Alberni good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 44% of households. One-parent families: 9.9%. Schools near Port Alberni are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Port Alberni?
The median household in Port Alberni took in $62,800 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).