80% of residents belong to a visible minority, a share 97% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Against a figure of 27% across Canada’s towns, the share of one-person households in Sullivan comes in at 14%. Meanwhile, residents without Canadian citizenship are more common here than in 95% of Canadian towns. At the 2021 Census, 42,135 people lived here, in 12,275 households. Households in single-detached houses account for 26%.
What stands out about the people of Sullivan
A mix of backgrounds
80% of residents belong to a visible minority, more than in 97% of Canadian towns; 48% are immigrants. Identity & religion ↓
More immigrants than most towns
48% of residents are immigrants, against 16% across British Columbia’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (83%), then in Europe (5.1%); 32% of them arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Sullivan’s median age is 35.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 19% are under 15 and 11% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Half of Sullivan is under 35.6, younger than 88% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The largest age band is 35–39: 8.6% of residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. 15% of residents are aged 15 to 24. On residents aged 65 and over, Sullivan sits lower than 89% of Canadian towns: 11%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Sullivan, 35.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
3.4 people per household, more than in 97% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-parent families make up 7% of households and couple families 51%, against 8.2% and 53% across Canada’s towns.
Common-law partners make up 3.2% in Sullivan, less than in 97% of Canadian towns
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Set against 46% across Canada’s towns, 59% of residents 15 and over are married in Sullivan. For common-law partners, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 11%.
A higher share of renter households than 58% of Canadian towns, at 30%
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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
74% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 0.5% built before 1961. Across the comparison, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
$115,600 a year: the median household income
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Sullivan’s households had a total income above $115,600, 34% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The provincial yardstick is $87,000, the median across British Columbia’s towns. 34% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
48% of residents are immigrants, a share 91% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 55%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (83%), then in Europe (5.1%). 15% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 81% of Canadian towns. As a yardstick, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. Recent arrivals are nearly a third of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns.
A lower share of residents with no religion than 89% of Canadian towns, at 18%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Sikh (43%), Hindu (7.8%) and Muslim (6.8%). Measured more widely, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. 1.4% of residents have an Indigenous identity, fewer than in 73% of Canadian towns.
Beyond English and French: 64% grew up with another language
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
39% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 7.4% speak neither official language. Few places have so few bilingual residents: 3.3% here, fewer than in 92% of Canadian towns. On top of that, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French trails 95% of Canadian towns: 0.4%.
Above 64% of Canadian towns: 35% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 11% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. For comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 65% of residents 15 and over had a job
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Employment runs above the middle of Canada’s towns (58%), at 65%.
Of 41 towns its size (37,408 to 47,562 people), the 3rd youngest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The span goes from 34.8 (Malton) up to 52 (Penticton). The closest ages to Sullivan’s belong to Malton (34.8), Prince Albert (35.2), Spruce Grove (36) and Leduc (36.8).
Sullivan sits below 5 of its 6 closest neighbours on median age
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sullivan | 42,135 | — | 35.6 | 11% | 48% |
| Panorama Ridge | 36,473 | 2.7 km | 35.7 | 13% | 52% |
| Newton | 51,222 | 3.1 km | 36.2 | 15% | 48% |
| Fleetwood | 63,957 | 4.0 km | 39.5 | 17% | 51% |
| Surrey Centre | 16,482 | 4.4 km | 39 | 15% | 28% |
| Colebrook | 3,617 | 4.8 km | 48 | 23% | 42% |
| Strawberry Hill | 37,037 | 5.1 km | 35.2 | 14% | 51% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada publishes the census for municipalities, not neighbourhoods, so these figures add up the dissemination areas inside the neighbourhood. Counts are sums of StatCan’s rounded counts; the median age and income are worked out from the published age and income groups; and 2016 areas don’t add up to these, so there is no 2016 count.
- What these tables don’t give. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about Sullivan’s residents
What is the median income in Sullivan?
Median total household income in Sullivan was $115,600 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Sullivan?
The 2021 Census counted 42,135 people in Sullivan.
What is the average age in Sullivan?
Half the residents are older than 35.6 and half younger, younger than 88% of Canadian towns; 19% are children under 15 and 11% are 65 or over.
Is Sullivan bilingual?
3.3% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 89% English only. French is the mother tongue of 0.4%.
How diverse is Sullivan?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 48%. A visible minority makes up 80% and Indigenous residents 1.4%.
What religion are people in Sullivan?
Most often Christian (22%) or no religion (18%); other religions make up 59%.
Is Sullivan good for families?
Children under 15 are 19% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 51% of households and one-parent families 7%. Schools near Sullivan are on its Schools page.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. 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).