Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Above 99% of Canadian towns: 78% of households live in a building of five or more storeys
Households in West End hold 1.6 people on average (Canada’s towns: 2.4). The 2021 Census counted 30,785 residents in 19,640 households. The census found that nearly three in five residents said they have no religion in the neighbourhood. More residents without Canadian citizenship than in 97% of Canadian towns: 26%.
What stands out about the people of West End
A neighbourhood of renters
Renters are 80% of households, more than in 99% of Canadian towns, and 99% of households live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 58%, more than in 99% of Canadian towns, and 17% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
A neighbourhood of high-rises
78% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 36% of homes are condominiums. Homes ↓
A neighbourhood people move to
25% of residents lived at another address a year before the census, 2.2 times the typical share; 54% moved within five years. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Below 99% of Canadian towns: 5.3% of residents are under 15
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
5.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 11% across Canada’s towns. Add to that, the median age in West End is 39.9, lower than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ West End, 39.9. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women.
In West End, 58% of households are one person living alone, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Shared houses stand out: 7.5% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 89% of Canadian towns. On average, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. Here, 2.9% of households are one-parent families.
A smaller share of married residents 15 and over than 94% of Canadian towns: 27%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Common-law partners: 18%, above just over four fifths of Canadian towns. On average, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Above 99% of Canadian towns: 80% of households rent their home
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
Households in single-detached houses: 0.1% here and 64% across Canada’s towns. For comparison, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 22% predate 1961, 8.3% date from 2001 or later.
Half of households earn more than $65,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Half of West End’s households had a total income below $65,000, 24% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within British Columbia’s towns, the household in the middle had $87,000. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 31% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 25%, a higher share than 97% of Canadian towns
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 45%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (43%) and in Europe (34%). Few places have as many immigrants: 37% here, more than in just over four fifths of Canadian towns. Set beside that, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. 40% of immigrants arrived from 2011 to 2021 (typical: 27%), and non-permanent residents make up a further 12% of residents.
More visible minority residents than 72% of Canadian towns: 34%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (4.2%). Typically, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns. At 2.5%, the share of Indigenous residents is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns.
Bilingual residents make up 12% in West End, more than in 65% of Canadian towns
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
Set against 1.5% across Canada’s towns, 3% of residents have French as their mother tongue in West End. 17% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 1.4% speak neither official language. By way of comparison, 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns.
West End: 56% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, above 91% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 2.1%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Measured more widely, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 68% of adults
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, below this 68%.
In its size band (28,904 to 32,167), the 19th youngest of 41 towns
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Median ages climb from 31.3 (Alloa) to 54.4 (Magog) across the group. In age, West End keeps company with Elmira (39.6), Chambly (39.6), Vieux-Lachine - Saint-Pierre (40) and Boisbriand (40).
2 of the 6 nearest towns are older than West End
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West End | 30,785 | — | 39.9 | 17% | 37% |
| Davie Village | 16,833 | 0.7 km | 38.4 | 15% | 37% |
| Coal Harbour | 10,407 | 0.7 km | 40.9 | 18% | 55% |
| Granville Entertainment District | 19,125 | 1.4 km | 36.3 | 10% | 41% |
| Yaletown | 40,297 | 1.8 km | 38.2 | 13% | 39% |
| Kitsilano | 27,320 | 2.6 km | 39 | 16% | 29% |
| Fairview | 33,969 | 2.7 km | 40.7 | 20% | 32% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Built up from dissemination areas: Statistics Canada stops at the municipality. Rounded counts are added together and medians estimated from the published groups. The 2016 areas don’t line up with these, so the change since 2016 isn’t shown.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
Questions about West End’s residents
What is the median income in West End?
$65,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in West End (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of West End?
The 2021 Census counted 30,785 people in West End.
What is the average age in West End?
39.9 is the median age, younger than 65% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 5.3%. 65 and over: 17%.
Is West End bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 12% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 86% speak only English and 0.1% only French; 3% grew up with French.
How diverse is West End?
Immigrants make up 37% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 34% are members of a visible minority, and 2.5% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in West End?
Christian: 30%. No religion: 59%. Another religion: 11%.
Is West End good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 5.3%. 31% of households are couple families and 2.9% one-parent families. Schools near West End 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).