Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainA median age of 56.4: Welcome Beach is older than 96% of Canadian towns
With residents with no religion at 63%, Welcome Beach is ahead of 97% of Canadian towns on that count. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 3,130 residents; the 2021 Census found 1,370 households. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 6.4%. Lower than in 71% of Canadian towns: 17% of households rent their home. The census figures here are for the whole of Sunshine Coast B, the municipality that includes Welcome Beach.
What stands out about the people of Welcome Beach
Older than most towns
Half of Welcome Beach’s residents are under 56.4 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 32% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
From 2016 to 2021, Welcome Beach outgrew 77% of Canadian towns: +9%
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across British Columbia’s towns +6%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 5%.
In Welcome Beach, 32% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 95% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Children under 15: 12%, below 86% of Canadian towns. To put it in context, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Welcome Beach, 56.4. 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.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 74% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
4.4% of households are one-parent families; across Canada’s towns the figure is 8.2%. One-person households: 29% of the total.
In Welcome Beach, 15% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 77% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
16% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). In Welcome Beach, 54% of residents 15 and over are married. The comparison figure for common-law partners is 11% across Canada’s towns.
96% of households live in a single-detached house, a share 97% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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 nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Elsewhere, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 26% date from 2001 or later, 7% from before 1961.
Median household income here: $75,000 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Welcome Beach’s, at $75,000, is 13% lower. The middle household across British Columbia’s towns has $87,000 before tax. In 2020, 22% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
A smaller share of residents who moved in within the year than 65% of Canadian towns: 9.5%
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
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (49%) and in the Americas (24%). Residents without Canadian citizenship are rarer here than in 62% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%. 14% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of Indigenous residents than 78% of Canadian towns: 6.6%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Buddhist (2%). Typically, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. 8% of residents belong to a visible minority, a lower share than in 61% of Canadian towns.
English is the mother tongue of 89%, and 7.4% 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
Locally, 1.5% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Welcome Beach ranks below 51% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 26%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 5.5% here, 9.5% in the typical town. Elsewhere, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
49% of adults were employed in May 2021
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 49%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 32% are 65 or over.
In its size band (3,078 to 3,184), the 6th oldest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Between La Loche (25.6) and Valhalla (66) lies the rest of the group. By median age, Welcome Beach sits among Saint-Gabriel (53.6), Paspébiac (56.4), Sudbury, Unorganized, North Part (56.8) and Percé (57.6).
No nearby town is as young as Welcome Beach
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome Beach | 3,130 | — | 56.4 | 32% | 14% |
| Sechelt | 11,558 | 10.9 km | 57.6 | 37% | 23% |
| Electoral Area A, Sunshine Coast | 3,256 | 16.0 km | 61.2 | 40% | 17% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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. 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 Welcome Beach’s residents
What is the average age in Welcome Beach?
A median age of 56.4, older than 96% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 12%, and people 65 and over 32%.
Is Welcome Beach bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 7.4% are. Another 0% speak only French and 92% only English, and French is the first language of 1.5%.
How diverse is Welcome Beach?
14% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 8% belong to a visible minority and 6.6% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Welcome Beach?
33% are Christian and 63% have no religion; 4.4% follow another religion.
Is Welcome Beach good for families?
Under 15: 12% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 59% of households. One-parent families: 4.4%. Schools near Welcome Beach are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Welcome Beach?
The median household in Welcome Beach took in $75,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Welcome Beach?
Welcome Beach had about 3,130 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 2,969, 9% more than 2016.
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).