Photo: The original uploader was Damieng at English Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 3.0A larger share of residents with no religion than 99% of Canadian towns: 70%
Compared with 19% across Canada’s towns, 12% of residents are 65 or over here. Squamish is home to some 28,578 people (July 2025 estimate), in 9,190 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.4% in the town. 6.9% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, a higher share than in 76% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Squamish
Growing faster than most
Squamish went from 19,497 people in 2016 to 23,819 in 2021, +22%: faster growth than in 97% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
A town people move to
19% of residents lived at another address a year before the census, 1.7 times the typical share; 52% moved within five years. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Squamish grew +22% from 2016 to 2021, faster than 97% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
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 20% higher again.
A median age of 37.6: Squamish is younger than 79% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 35–39, with just over one in ten residents, 1.7 times the share across Canada’s towns. Few places have as many children under 15: 19% here, more than in just over three quarters of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Squamish, 37.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
2.6 people per household, more than in 67% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Compared with 27% across Canada’s towns, 24% of households are one person living alone here. 6% of households are one-parent families, fewer than in 83% of Canadian towns.
19% of residents 15 and over live common-law, a share 83% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Where 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns, Squamish has 44%. For common-law partners, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Squamish ranks below 77% of Canadian towns on households in single-detached houses: 41%
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
Renter households: 30% here and 25% across Canada’s towns. As a yardstick, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 42% date from 2001 or later, 4% from before 1961.
Households here have a median income of $111,000 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 middle household in Squamish had $111,000 before tax, 29% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within British Columbia’s towns, the household in the middle had $87,000. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 30% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
Residents who moved in within the year: 19%, a higher share than 91% of Canadian towns
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 25%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, against 20% in Squamish. On the census count, one in ten residents are not Canadian citizens. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Above 62% of Canadian towns: 3.9% of residents have an Indigenous identity
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Sikh (5.4%). Measured more widely, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. Visible minority residents are about as common here as across Canada’s towns, at 15%.
More bilingual residents than 68% of Canadian towns: 13%
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
At home: English 89%, French 1.4%. 3.2% of residents have French as their mother tongue, a higher share than in 69% of Canadian towns. Bilingual residents: 7.5% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
A higher share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 73% of Canadian towns, at 41%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 4.4% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
72% of residents 15 and over were in work
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, below this 72%.
In its size band (27,253 to 29,960), the 13th youngest of 41 towns
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Median ages here range from 31.3 in Alloa to 56.8 in Picton. Next to Squamish on this scale come Parc-Extension (36.9), Golfdale-Cedarbrae-Woburn (37.1), Argyle (38) and Vieux-Rosemont (38.5).
Every nearby town is older than Squamish
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. Squamish has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 4–43 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squamish | 28,578 | — | 37.6 | 12% | 20% |
| Electoral Area D, Squamish-Lillooet | 1,055 | 4.1 km | 49.2 | 23% | 40% |
| Lions Bay | 1,375 | 30.8 km | 50.4 | 25% | 35% |
| Electoral Area F, Sunshine Coast | 2,691 | 41.2 km | 55.6 | 31% | 19% |
| Bowen Island | 4,501 | 43.4 km | 50 | 25% | 23% |
| West Vancouver | 47,929 | 43.5 km | 50.8 | 29% | 46% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
- 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.
Questions about Squamish’s residents
How diverse is Squamish?
Immigrants: 20% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 15%. Indigenous identity: 3.9%.
What religion are people in Squamish?
70% said they have no religion and 22% that they are Christian; 8.2% named another faith.
Is Squamish good for families?
19% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 54% of households and one-parent families 6%. Schools near Squamish are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Squamish?
Half of Squamish’s households had more than $111,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Squamish?
About 28,578, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 23,819 people in Squamish, 22% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Squamish?
The median age is 37.6, younger than 79% of Canadian towns. 19% are under 15 and 12% 65 or older.
Is Squamish bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 13% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 86% speak only English and 0.1% only French; 3.2% grew up with French.
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).