Above 99% of Canadian towns: 70% of residents said they have no religion
Compared with 11% across Canada’s towns, 6.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24 here. Its population is much the same as in 2016. Locally, 40% of households are one person living alone. Households in single-detached houses are more common here than in 61% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Salmo
Older than most towns
Line Salmo’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 50.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 28% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Salmo changed by ±0% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 78% 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
Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, by more than +6%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 15% higher again.
Salmo is older than 86% of Canadian towns: a median age of 50.4
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across Canada’s towns. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 28%. On children under 15, Salmo sits lower than 72% of Canadian towns: 14%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Smaller households than 90% of Canadian towns: 2 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, couple families are 53% of households and one-parent families 8.2%; here, 45% and 7%.
More common-law partners than 80% of Canadian towns: 16%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: nearly a quarter of adults, against a typical 27%. Salmo has fewer married residents 15 and over than 70% of Canadian towns, at 39%. Across Canada’s towns, common-law partners come to 11%.
Salmo: 29% of households rent their home, above 58% 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. The benchmark for renter households across Canada’s towns: 25%. Older homes outnumber new: 35% predate 1961, 12% date from 2001 or later. Just over one in ten homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
The middle household earns $54,400 a year
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
Salmo’s median household took in $54,400 before tax, 37% less than 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 23% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
6.6% 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
Compared with 17% across Canada’s towns, 6.6% of residents are immigrants here. What’s more, 0.9% of residents are not Canadian citizens, a lower share than in 91% of Canadian towns. For Salmo, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 11%.
A larger share of Indigenous residents than 83% of Canadian towns: 8.4%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
5.3% of residents belong to a visible minority (Canada’s towns: 15%). To put it in context, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
93% have English as their mother tongue; 4.4% 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 82% of Canadian towns: 4.4%. The census found that 1.8% of residents have French as their mother tongue in Salmo.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64 make up 18% in Salmo, less than in 73% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 9.5% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
In work on census day: 44% of adults
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 44%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 28% of residents are 65 or over.
The towns around Salmo are all younger
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. Distances here run 8–29 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Salmo.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salmo | 1,310 | — | 50.4 | 28% | 6.6% |
| Electoral Area G, Central Kootenay | 1,795 | 8.0 km | 46 | 18% | 9.7% |
| Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary | 2,008 | 20.8 km | 49.2 | 23% | 2.8% |
| Fruitvale | 2,068 | 21.4 km | 50 | 27% | 7.1% |
| Montrose | 1,072 | 25.8 km | 44.8 | 24% | 6.9% |
| Castlegar | 9,465 | 29.0 km | 45.6 | 25% | 8.6% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town 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 Salmo’s residents
What is the population of Salmo?
Salmo had about 1,310 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 1,140, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Salmo?
A median age of 50.4. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 28%.
Is Salmo bilingual?
4.4% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 95% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.8%.
How diverse is Salmo?
6.6% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 5.3% belong to a visible minority and 8.4% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Salmo?
28% are Christian and 70% have no religion; 1.7% follow another religion.
Is Salmo good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 45% of households. One-parent families: 7%. Schools near Salmo are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Salmo?
The median household in Salmo took in $54,400 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).