Photo: Buiobuione · CC BY-SA 4.0Residents with no religion: 81%, a higher share than 99% of Canadian towns
47% of households rent their home; across Canada’s towns the figure is 25%. Tofino is home to some 2,772 people (July 2025 estimate), in 945 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 31% of households are one person living alone. Higher than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns: 9.4% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
What stands out about the people of Tofino
Growing faster than most
Tofino went from 1,967 people in 2016 to 2,516 in 2021, +28%: faster growth than in 98% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
A town people move to
27% of residents lived at another address a year before the census, 2.5 times the typical share; 57% moved within five years. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Tofino’s median age is 36.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 13% are under 15 and 12% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A growing town: +28% since 2016, faster than 98% 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 10%. Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +6% across British Columbia’s towns.
Half of Tofino is under 36.4, younger than 85% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Tofino has 10%. On the census count, 12% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Tofino, 36.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Households here average 2.4 people, below 53% 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.
Shared houses stand out: 14% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 99% of Canadian towns. For Tofino, the census puts one-parent families at 5.8%.
Tofino: 17% of residents 15 and over live common-law, above 81% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Against a figure of 46% across Canada’s towns, the share of married residents 15 and over in Tofino comes in at 31%. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
In Tofino, 51% of households live in a single-detached house, fewer than in 67% 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
Newer homes outnumber old: 40% date from 2001 or later, 4.2% from before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Measured more widely, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. 10% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Household income at the median: $85,000 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 Tofino had $85,000 before tax, near the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across British Columbia’s towns, half of households had more than $87,000 before tax. COVID-19 benefits went to 50% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
27% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 98% 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
Recent arrivals are 41% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. At the same time, at 9.9%, the share of immigrants is lower than in 65% of Canadian towns. Across the comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (48%) and in the Americas (23%).
In Tofino, 6.1% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 75% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Where 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, Tofino has 5.8%. By way of comparison, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of residents whose mother tongue is French than 71% of Canadian towns: 4.2%
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 95%, French 1.4%. Tofino has more bilingual residents than 68% of Canadian towns, at 14%. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is 1.5%.
In Tofino, 30% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 57% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 5.1%, against 9.5%. On average, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
75% 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.
The employment rate of 75% is above the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
41 towns of 2,736 to 2,808 people: this is the 4th youngest
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Between Kuujjuaq (28.8) and Cultus Lake (56.8) lies the rest of the group. In age, Tofino keeps company with Rosthern No. 403 (33.6), Downtown West End (36.4), Talbot-Grey (36.5) and Saint-Charles-de-Bellechasse (36.8).
Tofino is younger than every town around it
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. Distances here run 22–79 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Tofino.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tofino | 2,772 | — | 36.4 | 12% | 9.9% |
| Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot | 1,009 | 21.9 km | 38.8 | 17% | 7.4% |
| Ucluelet | 2,452 | 35.0 km | 39.6 | 14% | 12% |
| Electoral Area D, Alberni-Clayoquot | 1,875 | 70.2 km | 58.8 | 33% | 11% |
| Gold River | 1,339 | 70.9 km | 56.4 | 31% | 11% |
| Electoral Area E, Alberni-Clayoquot | 3,069 | 78.7 km | 50.4 | 24% | 7.8% |
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. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
- 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 Tofino’s residents
How diverse is Tofino?
Immigrants make up 9.9% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 5.8% are members of a visible minority, and 6.1% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Tofino?
Christian: 17%. No religion: 81%. Another religion: 2.2%.
Is Tofino good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 13%. 40% of households are couple families and 5.8% one-parent families. Schools near Tofino are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Tofino?
$85,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Tofino (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Tofino?
Statistics Canada estimates 2,772 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 2,516 in Tofino, 28% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Tofino?
36.4 is the median age, younger than 85% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 13%. 65 and over: 12%.
Is Tofino bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 14% are. Another 0% speak only French and 86% only English, and French is the first language of 4.2%.
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).