Photo: Kristina D.C. Hoeppner from Wellington, New Zealand · CC BY-SA 2.0In Vancouver, 31% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, more than in 91% of Canadian towns
Across Canada’s towns, the share of children under 15 is 16%; Vancouver has 11%. On the census count, 56% of residents said they have no religion. Few places have as many one-person households: 39% here, more than in 87% of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census found 305,335 households here; by July 2025 the population was about 740,454.
What stands out about the people of Vancouver
More immigrants than most towns
Immigrants make up 42% of residents; the medians are 16% across British Columbia’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. Most immigrants were born in Asia (71%) or in Europe (16%), and 25% arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
A city of high-rises
Buildings of five storeys or more hold 31% of households, more than in 91% of Canadian towns, and 37% of homes are condos. Homes ↓
A city of renters
Renters are 55% of households, more than in 88% of Canadian towns, and 80% of households live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Growth of +5% since 2016 puts Vancouver ahead of 55% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
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 12% higher again.
Half of Vancouver is under 39.6, younger than 66% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Across Canada’s towns, 19% of residents are 65 or over; in Vancouver, 17%. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 11%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 83% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Shared houses stand out: 7.8% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 91% of Canadian towns. In Vancouver, 6.6% of households are one-parent families.
Married residents 15 and over make up 39% in Vancouver, less than in 70% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
37% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Across Canada’s towns, 46% of residents 15 and over are married. The share of common-law partners stands at 11%.
A higher share of renter households than 88% of Canadian towns, at 55%
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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: 30% date from 2001 or later, 20% from before 1961. Vancouver has fewer households in single-detached houses than 92% of Canadian towns, at 15%. The usual figure: a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
The median household brings in $82,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000, and Vancouver’s, at $82,000, is close to it. Within British Columbia’s towns, the household in the middle had $87,000. COVID-19 benefits went to 30% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
42% of residents are immigrants, a share 87% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 50%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Most immigrants were born in Asia (71%) or in Europe (16%). Set beside that, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. A year before the census, 18% lived somewhere else: more than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns. A quarter of immigrants arrived from 2011 to 2021 (typical: 27%), and non-permanent residents make up a further 6.6% of residents.
In Vancouver, 55% of residents belong to a visible minority, more than in 88% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Buddhist (4%), Muslim (2.8%) and Sikh (2.5%). Visible minority residents: 15% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Indigenous residents: 2.3%, near enough the figure across Canada’s towns.
9.3% of residents speak English and French, more than in 59% of Canadian towns
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
25% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 5.8% speak neither official language. Across Canada’s towns, bilingual residents come to 7.5%. There is little gap on residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.5%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
Above 88% of Canadian towns: 53% 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 5.4% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Across Canada’s towns, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.
A job for 62% of residents aged 15 and over
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, below this 62%.
From a median age of 36 in Granville Entertainment District to 47 in Arbutus Ridge
The city’s 29 neighbourhoods, youngest first; each links its own page.
Arbutus Ridge is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Granville Entertainment District the youngest (median age 36). Victoria-Fraserview has the largest immigrant share, 58%. Davie Village has the most renters: 84% of households.
Vancouver and its 6 nearest towns: 2 of them are older
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | 740,454 | — | 39.6 | 17% | 42% |
| Riley Park | 23,682 | 0.8 km | 39.6 | 16% | 34% |
| Mount Pleasant | 37,091 | 1.1 km | 36.3 | 9.9% | 30% |
| South Cambie | 9,846 | 1.3 km | 38.6 | 17% | 37% |
| Little Saigon | 11,086 | 1.5 km | 37.9 | 13% | 36% |
| Fairview | 33,969 | 2.3 km | 40.7 | 20% | 32% |
| Shaughnessy | 8,034 | 2.6 km | 45.1 | 22% | 46% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- 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 Vancouver’s residents
Is Vancouver bilingual?
9.3% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0.1% speak French only and 85% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.5%.
How diverse is Vancouver?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 42%. A visible minority makes up 55% and Indigenous residents 2.3%.
What religion are people in Vancouver?
Most often Christian (30%) or no religion (56%); other religions make up 14%.
Is Vancouver good for families?
Children under 15 are 11% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 40% of households and one-parent families 6.6%. Schools near Vancouver are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Vancouver?
Median total household income in Vancouver was $82,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Vancouver?
The latest figure is an estimate: 740,454 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Vancouver counted 662,248, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Vancouver?
Half the residents are older than 39.6 and half younger; 11% are children under 15 and 17% 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).