Photo: waferboard · CC BY 2.0Older than 97% of Canadian towns: half of Sechelt is over 57.6
Here 6.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 11%. Compared with other places, one-person households are common here: 35%, more than in 77% of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 11,558 residents; the 2021 Census found 5,125 households. For Sechelt, the census puts residents with no religion at 56%.
What stands out about the people of Sechelt
Older than most towns
Line Sechelt’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 57.6; 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.
Sechelt grew +6% from 2016 to 2021, faster than 64% 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
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 7%. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across British Columbia’s towns +6%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 98% of Canadian towns: 37%
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Across Canada’s towns, 16% of residents are under 15; in Sechelt, 12%. Against that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Sechelt, 57.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Sechelt households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 83% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families; in Sechelt, 6%.
Above 61% of Canadian towns: 50% of residents 15 and over are married
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
The share of common-law partners is 12%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. To put it in context, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
2.7% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, more than in 67% of Canadian towns
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 single-detached houses make up 75%, against 64% across Canada’s towns. On the census count, 19% of households rent their home.
Median household income: $73,500 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
At $73,500, the middle household in Sechelt earned 15% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within British Columbia’s towns, the household in the middle had $87,000. Pandemic benefits reached 21% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
15% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 79% of Canadian towns
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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 immigrants were born in Europe (50%) or in Asia (29%). As a reference point, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. At 23%, the share of immigrants is higher than in three fifths of Canadian towns. Recent arrivals are 16% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns.
Indigenous residents make up 4.9% in Sechelt, more than in 69% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
For Sechelt, the census puts visible minority residents at 12%. To put it in context, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 85%, and 6.9% 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 94%, French 0.3%. Residents whose mother tongue is French make up 1.6%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 7.8%, against 9.5%.
In work on census day: 49% of adults
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
49% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 37% are 65 or more.
1st highest median age among 41 towns of 11,326 to 11,782
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The span goes from 30.4 (Milton-Parc) up to 57.6 (Sechelt). The closest ages to Sechelt’s belong to Hawkesbury (54.8) and Chester (55.6).
The towns around Sechelt are all younger
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sechelt | 11,558 | — | 57.6 | 37% | 23% |
| Welcome Beach | 3,130 | 10.9 km | 56.4 | 32% | 14% |
| Roberts Creek | 3,779 | 11.6 km | 51.2 | 28% | 14% |
| Electoral Area E, Sunshine Coast | 4,279 | 18.2 km | 50.8 | 26% | 15% |
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. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across British Columbia’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
Questions about Sechelt’s residents
What religion are people in Sechelt?
Most often Christian (38%) or no religion (56%); other religions make up 6.1%.
Is Sechelt good for families?
Children under 15 are 12% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 50% of households and one-parent families 6%. Schools near Sechelt are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Sechelt?
Median total household income in Sechelt was $73,500 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Sechelt?
The latest figure is an estimate: 11,558 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Sechelt counted 10,847, 6% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Sechelt?
Half the residents are older than 57.6 and half younger, older than 97% of Canadian towns; 12% are children under 15 and 37% are 65 or over.
Is Sechelt bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 6.9% are. Another 0% speak only French and 93% only English, and French is the first language of 1.6%.
How diverse is Sechelt?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 23%. A visible minority makes up 12% and Indigenous residents 4.9%.
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).