Photo: Bell and Jeff from Wellington, New Zealand · CC BY 2.0More Indigenous residents than 89% of Canadian towns: 11%
With a median age of 38.4, Vanderhoof is younger than nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. There are 2% fewer residents than in 2016. Residents who moved in within the year account for 16%. Children under 15: 19%, above 81% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Vanderhoof
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 11% of residents, more than in 89% of Canadian towns, and 6.4% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Fewer people than before
Vanderhoof went from 4,434 people in 2016 to 4,346 in 2021, −2%: slower growth than in 88% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
−2% since 2016, a pace below 88% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 5% higher again. Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across British Columbia’s towns, +6%.
Vanderhoof: 13% of residents are aged 15 to 24, above 81% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
10–14 is the most common age band: 6.9% of residents. Across the comparison, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns. At 17%, the share of residents aged 65 and over is lower than in 62% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Vanderhoof, 38.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
More one-person households than 59% of Canadian towns: 29%
Private households by type and size.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
In Vanderhoof the average household is 2.4 people, beside 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Against that, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. Here, 8.1% of households are one-parent families.
50% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 60% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Against a figure of 11% across Canada’s towns, the share of common-law partners in Vanderhoof comes in at 9.7%. The wider picture: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Vanderhoof ranks above 59% of Canadian towns on renter households: 30%
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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. For renter households, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 25%. Newer homes outnumber old: 15% date from 2001 or later, 11% from before 1961. In Vanderhoof, just over two thirds of households live in a single-detached house, beside 64% across Canada’s towns.
The middle household earns $90,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
At $90,000, the middle household in Vanderhoof earned close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across British Columbia’s towns, half of households had more than $87,000 before tax. Pandemic benefits reached 24% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
9.2% of residents are immigrants
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
Across Canada’s towns, the share of immigrants is 17%; Vanderhoof has 9.2%. The largest groups of immigrants were born in the Americas (47%) and in Asia (30%).
49% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 85% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
By its share of visible minority residents (7.1%), Vanderhoof is below 63% of Canadian towns. Across the comparison, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 87%, and 5.4% speak French as well
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Where 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns, Vanderhoof has 5.4%. At home: English 96%, French 0.1%. On residents whose mother tongue is French, Vanderhoof sits lower than 77% of Canadian towns: 0.9%.
Fewer degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 74% of Canadian towns: 18%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 12% here, 9.5% in the typical town. Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 60%
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 60% is above the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Among 41 towns of 4,461 to 4,627 people, the 14th youngest
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Median ages climb from 31.6 (Fairfield Park) to 54.4 (Caraquet) across the group. Closest in median age to Vanderhoof are Wainwright No. 61 (38.4), Sparwood (38.4), Vulcan County (39.2) and Britannia Youngstown (39.6).
Every neighbour of Vanderhoof has an older population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. Distances here run 10–74 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Vanderhoof.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderhoof | 4,545 | — | 38.4 | 17% | 9.2% |
| Electoral Area F, Bulkley-Nechako | 3,643 | 10.0 km | 44 | 18% | 11% |
| Electoral Area C, Bulkley-Nechako | 1,312 | 49.6 km | 50.4 | 22% | 5.8% |
| Electoral Area D, Bulkley-Nechako | 1,772 | 50.0 km | 52.8 | 24% | 13% |
| Fort St. James | 1,542 | 50.4 km | 38.8 | 16% | 11% |
| Electoral Area C, Fraser-Fort George | 3,811 | 73.7 km | 45.6 | 18% | 6.5% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about Vanderhoof’s residents
What is the population of Vanderhoof?
Vanderhoof had about 4,545 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 4,346, 2% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Vanderhoof?
A median age of 38.4, younger than 74% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 19%, and people 65 and over 17%.
Is Vanderhoof bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 5.4% are. Another 0% speak only French and 95% only English, and French is the first language of 0.9%.
How diverse is Vanderhoof?
9.2% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 7.1% belong to a visible minority and 11% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Vanderhoof?
48% are Christian and 49% have no religion; 3.3% follow another religion.
Is Vanderhoof good for families?
Under 15: 19% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 53% of households. One-parent families: 8.1%. Schools near Vanderhoof are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Vanderhoof?
The median household in Vanderhoof took in $90,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).