Photo: Ken Walker · CC BY-SA 2.5A median age of 67.5: Qualicum Beach is older than 99% of Canadian towns
4.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24 (Canada’s towns: 11%). There are 4% more residents than in 2016. The census found that 53% of residents said they have no religion in Qualicum Beach. Few places have so few renter households: 13% here, fewer than in four fifths of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Qualicum Beach
Older than most towns
Half of Qualicum Beach’s residents are under 67.5 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 56% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Qualicum Beach changed by +4% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 51% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
More residents aged 65 and over than 99% of Canadian towns: 56%
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with 15% of residents, 3.1 times the share across Canada’s towns. For comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Qualicum Beach, 67.5. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 82 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Households here average 2 people, below 90% 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.
One-person households: 29% here and 27% across Canada’s towns. Across Qualicum Beach, 4.6% of households are one-parent families.
Qualicum Beach: 59% of residents 15 and over are married, above 92% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: just over one in ten adults, against a typical 27%. On the census count, 8.6% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
Qualicum Beach sits above 72% of Canadian towns for households in single-detached houses (79%)
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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 nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. For comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 19% date from 2001 or later, 6.3% from before 1961.
Before tax, the median household income is $76,500 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
Household incomes run lower in Qualicum Beach: half had less than $76,500, 11% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within British Columbia’s towns, the household in the middle had $87,000. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 15% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
More immigrants than 56% of Canadian towns: 20%
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (78%) and in the Americas (10%). Few places have so few residents without Canadian citizenship: 2.6% here, fewer than in 69% of Canadian towns. To put it in context, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. 4.7% of immigrants arrived from 2011 to 2021 (typical: 27%), and non-permanent residents make up a further 0.2% of residents.
3.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 55% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority: 3.3% (Canada’s towns: 15%). Across Canada’s towns, the share of Indigenous residents is 2.8%.
English is the mother tongue of 91%, and 7% speak French as well
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 98%, French 0.3%. Residents whose mother tongue is French are about as common here as across Canada’s towns, at 1.5%.
More degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 52% of Canadian towns: 28%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 5.3% here, 9.5% in the typical town. As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 32%
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 32%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 56% of residents are 65 or over.
In its size band (9,439 to 9,852), the 1st oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest of these towns is Oromocto, at 31.8; the oldest, Qualicum Beach, is at 67.5. Nearest to Qualicum Beach in age: Shediac (52.8) and Wiarton (56.8).
The towns around Qualicum Beach are all younger
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualicum Beach | 9,640 | — | 67.5 | 56% | 20% |
| Electoral Area G, Nanaimo | 8,412 | 5.2 km | 60.8 | 41% | 16% |
| Electoral Area F, Nanaimo | 8,810 | 6.8 km | 49.6 | 23% | 11% |
| Parksville | 15,371 | 8.6 km | 62 | 44% | 17% |
| Electoral Area H, Nanaimo | 4,815 | 18.6 km | 60 | 37% | 16% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of British Columbia’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- 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.
Questions about Qualicum Beach’s residents
How diverse is Qualicum Beach?
Immigrants make up 20% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 3.3% are members of a visible minority, and 3.2% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Qualicum Beach?
Christian: 46%. No religion: 53%. Another religion: 1.7%.
Is Qualicum Beach good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 6.8%. 61% of households are couple families and 4.6% one-parent families. Schools near Qualicum Beach are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Qualicum Beach?
$76,500 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Qualicum Beach (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Qualicum Beach?
Statistics Canada estimates 9,640 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 9,303 in Qualicum Beach, 4% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Qualicum Beach?
67.5 is the median age, older than 99% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 6.8%. 65 and over: 56%.
Is Qualicum Beach bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 7% are. Another 0% speak only French and 93% only English, and French is the first language of 1.5%.
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).