A median age of 35.6: Telkwa is younger than 88% of Canadian towns
Renter households: 12%, below 85% of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census found 560 households in Telkwa; by July 2025 the population was about 1,544. Locally, 62% of residents said they have no religion. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 22%, fewer than in just over two thirds of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Telkwa
Younger than most towns
Telkwa’s median age is 35.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 24% are under 15 and 13% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Telkwa’s population changed by +11% since 2016, more than in 85% 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
The July 2025 estimate adds another 5%. Across British Columbia’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%.
In Telkwa, 24% of residents are under 15, more than in 96% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 0–4 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents, 1.9 times the share across Canada’s towns. Few places have so few residents aged 65 and over: 13% here, fewer than in 83% of Canadian towns. The usual figure: 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 116 men for every 100 women.
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.
In Telkwa, 8% of households are one-parent families.
Telkwa sits above 80% of Canadian towns for common-law partners (17%)
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: nearly a quarter of adults, against a typical 27%. The share of married residents 15 and over stands at 50%. Common-law partners make up 11% across Canada’s towns.
Households in single-detached houses: 88%, a higher share than 86% 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 22% date from 2001 or later, 18% from before 1961. Across Canada’s towns, 64% of households live in a single-detached house. One in ten homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Median gross household income: $101,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Telkwa had $101,000 before tax, 17% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The median across British Columbia’s towns is $87,000. The pandemic’s benefits: 23% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
Residents who moved in within the year: 9.3%, a lower share than 68% 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 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Set against 5.8% across Canada’s towns, 3.4% of residents are not Canadian citizens in Telkwa. The share of immigrants stands at 9.5%. The usual figure: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Indigenous residents make up 6.5% in Telkwa, more than in 77% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents trails 74% of Canadian towns: 3.4%. Across Canada’s towns, Indigenous residents come to 2.8%.
93% have English as their mother tongue; 6.1% also speak French
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 97%, French 0.3%. On bilingual residents, Telkwa sits lower than 62% of Canadian towns: 6.1%. 1.4% of residents have French as their mother tongue, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
Below 53% of Canadian towns: 26% 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
At the bottom of the ladder, 11% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 64% of residents 15 and over had a job
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
More people work here than in the typical town: 64%, against 58% across Canada’s towns.
Telkwa is younger than every town around it
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telkwa | 1,544 | — | 35.6 | 13% | 9.5% |
| Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako | 5,829 | 10.1 km | 41.2 | 17% | 11% |
| Smithers | 5,627 | 13.3 km | 39.6 | 18% | 13% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of British Columbia’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- 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.
Questions about Telkwa’s residents
Is Telkwa bilingual?
6.1% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 94% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.4%.
How diverse is Telkwa?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 9.5%. A visible minority makes up 3.4% and Indigenous residents 6.5%.
What religion are people in Telkwa?
Most often Christian (35%) or no religion (62%); other religions make up 3.4%.
Is Telkwa good for families?
Children under 15 are 24% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 61% of households and one-parent families 8%. Schools near Telkwa are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Telkwa?
Median total household income in Telkwa was $101,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Telkwa?
The latest figure is an estimate: 1,544 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Telkwa counted 1,474, 11% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Telkwa?
Half the residents are older than 35.6 and half younger; 24% are children under 15 and 13% are 65 or over.
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).