Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainA median age of 61.2: Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast is older than 99% of Canadian towns
With residents with no religion at 66%, Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast is ahead of 98% of Canadian towns on that count. Higher than in 78% of Canadian towns: 35% of households are one person living alone. The town is home to some 3,256 people (July 2025 estimate), in 1,565 households at the 2021 Census. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 3.8%.
What stands out about the people of Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 11% of residents, more than in 88% of Canadian towns, and 2.2% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Older than most towns
Line Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 61.2; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 40% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast went from 2,619 to 3,039 residents (+16%), faster growth than in 93% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast has grown +16%, faster than 93% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +6% across British Columbia’s towns. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 7%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 99% of Canadian towns: 40%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Across Canada’s towns, 16% of residents are under 15; in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast, 7.6%. The wider picture: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast, 61.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 111 men for every 100 women.
Households here average 1.9 people, below 94% 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-parent families: 3.8%, below 98% of Canadian towns.
15% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 76% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 17% of adults, against a typical 27%. Locally, 49% of residents 15 and over are married. Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns.
Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast: 89% of households live in a single-detached house, above 87% 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
Renter households make up 16%, against 25% across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. The usual figure: 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. 27% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 10% built before 1961.
Median household income: $64,000 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
At $64,000, the middle household in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast earned 26% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). British Columbia’s towns have a median of $87,000. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 21% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
17% 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
Of the immigrants living here, 9.8% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (61%), then in Asia (18%). Fewer residents without Canadian citizenship than in 63% of Canadian towns: 3.4%.
Above 88% of Canadian towns: 11% of residents have an Indigenous identity
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Set against 15% across Canada’s towns, 5% of residents belong to a visible minority in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast. Typically, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 88%, and 6.4% speak French as well
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
1.5% of residents have French as their mother tongue. Across Canada’s towns, 7.5% of residents speak English and French; in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast, 6.4%.
Only 19% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of 25- to 64-year-olds hold a degree; in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast, 19%, and 30% have a college or trades credential (typical: 29%). Those with no credential make up 15%, next to 9.5% in the typical town.
42% of residents 15 and over were in work
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
42% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 40% are 65 or more.
The 1st oldest of 41 towns of 3,201 to 3,314 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
At one end is Coalhurst (32), at the other Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast (61.2). Next to Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast on this scale come Dalhousie (58) and Greater Madawaska (58.8).
Among its 5 nearest neighbours, 1 are older than Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. No closer places have figures: these lie 16–37 km from Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast | 3,256 | — | 61.2 | 40% | 17% |
| Welcome Beach | 3,130 | 16.0 km | 56.4 | 32% | 14% |
| Sechelt | 11,558 | 25.2 km | 57.6 | 37% | 23% |
| Electoral Area C, qathet | 2,409 | 30.1 km | 56 | 34% | 15% |
| Electoral Area D, qathet | 1,221 | 32.3 km | 62.4 | 43% | 11% |
| Roberts Creek | 3,779 | 36.7 km | 51.2 | 28% | 14% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
Questions about Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast’s residents
Is Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 6.4% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 93% speak only English and 0.2% only French; 1.5% grew up with French.
How diverse is Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast?
Immigrants: 17% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 5%. Indigenous identity: 11%.
What religion are people in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast?
66% said they have no religion and 31% that they are Christian; 2.8% named another faith.
Is Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast good for families?
7.6% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 53% of households and one-parent families 3.8%. Schools near Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast?
Half of Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast’s households had more than $64,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast?
About 3,256, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 3,039 people in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast, 16% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast?
The median age is 61.2, older than 99% of Canadian towns. 7.6% are under 15 and 40% 65 or older.
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).