Photo: Michal Klajban · CC BY-SA 4.0Older than 96% of Canadian towns: half of Saltspring Island is over 56.4
Compared with 35% across Canada’s towns, 67% of residents said they have no religion here. The 2021 Census found 5,120 households in Saltspring Island; by July 2025 the population was about 12,429. Locally, 6.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24. On households in single-detached houses, Saltspring Island sits higher than three quarters of Canadian towns: 81%.
What stands out about the people of Saltspring Island
Older than most towns
Half of Saltspring Island’s residents are under 56.4 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 35% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Growth of +10% since 2016 puts Saltspring Island ahead of 82% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, +6%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 7% higher again.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 97% of Canadian towns: 35%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
12% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%). For comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Saltspring Island, 56.4. 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.
Saltspring Island households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 74% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-person households: 31% here and 27% across Canada’s towns. The census found that 6.2% of households are one-parent families in Saltspring Island.
14% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 73% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 21% of adults, against a typical 27%. Set beside that, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
In Saltspring Island, 19% of households rent their home, fewer than in 65% of Canadian towns
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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. Typically, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. A fifth of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 11% built before 1961.
Households here have a median income of $77,500 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Saltspring Island’s, at $77,500, is 10% lower. Household incomes across British Columbia’s towns have a median of $87,000. In 2020, 26% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
A larger share of immigrants than 59% of Canadian towns: 22%
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
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: 13% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). On average, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. Here, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
3.7% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 60% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Buddhist (2.1%). Visible minority residents are rarer here than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns. On average, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
More bilingual residents than 67% of Canadian towns: 13%
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 97%, French 0.4%. By way of comparison, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns. On residents whose mother tongue is French, Saltspring Island sits higher than 62% of Canadian towns: 2.1%.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 37%, a higher share than 67% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 4.1% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. Against that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
53% of adults were employed in May 2021
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 53%; 35% of residents are 65 or over.
Among 41 towns of 12,194 to 12,707 people, the 2nd oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
They run from Blackfalds, at 31.8, to Elliot Lake, at 60.4. By median age, Saltspring Island sits among Meaford (54.4), Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine (54.8) and Elliot Lake (60.4).
Saltspring Island and its 6 nearest towns: 1 of them are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saltspring Island | 12,429 | — | 56.4 | 35% | 22% |
| North Cowichan | 34,525 | 14.5 km | 51.2 | 29% | 14% |
| Cowichan Bay | 3,713 | 15.6 km | 51.6 | 27% | 14% |
| Cowichan | 2,509 | 16.6 km | 30.2 | 9.3% | 0% |
| Duncan | 5,745 | 16.7 km | 55.6 | 36% | 11% |
| Southern Gulf Islands | 6,691 | 17.3 km | 61.6 | 42% | 21% |
| Electoral Area E, Cowichan Valley | 4,482 | 17.7 km | 46 | 21% | 7.7% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Provincial and national yardsticks: British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
Questions about Saltspring Island’s residents
What religion are people in Saltspring Island?
27% are Christian and 67% have no religion; 5.8% follow another religion.
Is Saltspring Island good for families?
Under 15: 12% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 50% of households. One-parent families: 6.2%. Schools near Saltspring Island are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Saltspring Island?
The median household in Saltspring Island took in $77,500 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Saltspring Island?
Saltspring Island had about 12,429 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 11,635, 10% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Saltspring Island?
A median age of 56.4, older than 96% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 12%, and people 65 and over 35%.
Is Saltspring Island bilingual?
13% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 87% English only. French is the mother tongue of 2.1%.
How diverse is Saltspring Island?
22% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 5.9% belong to a visible minority and 3.7% have an Indigenous identity.
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).