Photo: 36reasons · Public domainWest Kelowna sits above 93% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (56%)
Of the immigrants living here, 16% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. Statistics Canada puts West Kelowna’s population at 40,274 for July 2025. Here, 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. Just over a fifth of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 75% of Canadian towns.
+11% since 2016, a pace 83% of Canadian towns didn’t match
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 12%. Across British Columbia’s towns the median is +6%, and across Canada’s towns +4%.
Older than 62% of Canadian towns: half of West Kelowna is over 44
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Across Canada’s towns, nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over; in West Kelowna, 21%. One in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, a lower share than in 63% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ West Kelowna, 44. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
2.6 people per household, more than in 67% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-parent families: 6.5% here and 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
West Kelowna ranks above 76% of Canadian towns on married residents 15 and over: 54%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up just over a fifth of adults, beside a typical 27%. On the census count, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
West Kelowna sits below 68% of Canadian towns for renter households (17%)
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
Newer homes outnumber old: 37% date from 2001 or later, 2.2% from before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, renter households come to 25%. Against a figure of 64% across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses in West Kelowna comes in at 68%.
$99,000 a year is the median household income here
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run high in West Kelowna: half had more than $99,000, 15% above 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 25% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
14% of residents are immigrants
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
Most immigrants were born in Europe (59%) or in Asia (20%). West Kelowna has fewer residents without Canadian citizenship than just over three fifths of Canadian towns, at 3.7%. Where 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, West Kelowna has 14%.
6.1% of residents have an Indigenous identity, a share 75% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority: 7.3% (Canada’s towns: 15%). The benchmark for Indigenous residents across Canada’s towns: 2.8%.
87% have English as their mother tongue; 5.7% also speak French
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
Against a figure of 7.5% across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents in West Kelowna comes in at 5.7%. Locally, 1.3% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Below 60% of Canadian towns: 23% 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
Without any certificate: 6.4% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
An employment rate of 59%
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
59% of residents 15 and over have a job, in line with the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Oldest by rank: 12th of 41 towns of 36,393 to 43,877 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Sorel-Tracy is the oldest at 53.2, Malton the youngest at 34.8. In age, West Kelowna keeps company with Anjou (43.9), LaSalle (44), Erin Mills (44.7) and Côte-Saint-Luc (44.8).
A younger town than 3 of the 4 around it: West Kelowna
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Kelowna | 40,274 | — | 44 | 21% | 14% |
| Tsinstikeptum 9 | 10,514 | 1.0 km | 58.4 | 37% | 12% |
| Tsinstikeptum 10 | 2,081 | 5.6 km | 52 | 25% | 11% |
| Kelowna | 167,654 | 11.6 km | 42.4 | 21% | 15% |
| Peachland | 6,302 | 12.9 km | 60 | 38% | 16% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- 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. 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.
Questions about West Kelowna’s residents
Is West Kelowna good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 16%. 61% of households are couple families and 6.5% one-parent families. Schools near West Kelowna are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in West Kelowna?
$99,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in West Kelowna (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of West Kelowna?
Statistics Canada estimates 40,274 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 36,078 in West Kelowna, 11% more than 2016.
What is the average age in West Kelowna?
44 is the median age, older than 62% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 16%. 65 and over: 21%.
Is West Kelowna bilingual?
5.7% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 94% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.3%.
How diverse is West Kelowna?
Immigrants make up 14% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 7.3% are members of a visible minority, and 6.1% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in West Kelowna?
Christian: 42%. No religion: 56%. Another religion: 2.6%.
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).