Photo: Ruth Hartnup from Vancouver, Canada · CC BY 2.0Only 9% of residents are 65 or over in Whistler
73% of residents said they have no religion (Canada’s towns: 35%). Compared with other places, households in single-detached houses are scarce here: 30%, fewer than in 84% of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census found 5,595 households in Whistler; by July 2025 the population was about 15,090. On the census count, just over a fifth of residents are not Canadian citizens.
What stands out about the people of Whistler
Growing faster than most
Whistler went from 11,746 people in 2016 to 13,982 in 2021, +19%: faster growth than in 95% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Younger than most towns
Whistler’s median age is 35.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 11% are under 15 and 9% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
A year before the census, 23% of residents lived elsewhere, 2.1 times the typical share; over five years, 55% moved. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A +19% change since 2016: Whistler grew faster than 95% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +6% across British Columbia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 8% higher again.
Younger than 88% of Canadian towns: half of Whistler is under 35.6
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
With children under 15 at 11%, Whistler is behind 92% of Canadian towns on that count. No age band is larger than 25–29: 12% of residents, 2.1 times the share across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Whistler, 35.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 116 men for every 100 women.
More one-person households than 58% of Canadian towns: 29%
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-parent families trails 97% of Canadian towns: 4.1%. For comparison, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. A household here holds 2.4 people on average. Shared houses stand out: 13% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 99% of Canadian towns.
In Whistler, 19% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 83% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 40% of adults, against a typical 27%. 33% of residents 15 and over are married, fewer than in 81% of Canadian towns. The comparison figure for common-law partners is 11% across Canada’s towns.
Whistler: 44% of households rent their home, above 80% of Canadian towns
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
On the census count, 0.3% of households live in a building of five or more storeys. Across Canada’s towns, a typical 25% of households rent; here, 44%.
Median household income here: $99,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Whistler’s median household took in $99,000 before tax, 15% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Among British Columbia’s towns, the typical figure is $87,000. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 48% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 23% in Whistler, more than in 96% of Canadian towns
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 30%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Recent arrivals are 54% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. More immigrants than in 64% of Canadian towns: 25%. Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (46%), then in Asia (26%).
73% said they have no religion, more than say they are Christian
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
1.1% of residents have an Indigenous identity; across Canada’s towns the figure is 2.8%. The census found that 13% of residents belong to a visible minority in Whistler.
16% of residents speak English and French, more than in 71% 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
6.1% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 0.5% speak neither official language. Few places have as many residents whose mother tongue is French: 4.4% here, more than in 71% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%.
Above 73% of Canadian towns: 41% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 1.6% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. Set beside that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 67%
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. 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 67%.
Youngest by rank: 7th of 41 towns of 14,821 to 15,359 people
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
The span goes from 31.2 (Laurel) up to 55.2 (Campbellford). By median age, Whistler sits among Windermere (33.9), Springbrook (35.5), Vales of Castlemore (36.7) and Pointe-Saint-Charles (36.8).
4 in 5 nearby towns have a higher median age than Whistler
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. No closer places have figures: these lie 26–45 km from Whistler.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whistler | 15,090 | — | 35.6 | 9% | 25% |
| Pemberton | 3,620 | 26.4 km | 36.4 | 6.6% | 18% |
| Electoral Area C, Squamish-Lillooet | 2,027 | 27.2 km | 42.8 | 13% | 11% |
| Mount Currie | 1,298 | 32.8 km | 33.2 | 8.9% | 0% |
| Squamish | 28,578 | 43.8 km | 37.6 | 12% | 20% |
| Electoral Area D, Squamish-Lillooet | 1,055 | 45.0 km | 49.2 | 23% | 40% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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.
- 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.
Questions about Whistler’s residents
Is Whistler bilingual?
16% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0.1% speak French only and 84% English only. French is the mother tongue of 4.4%.
How diverse is Whistler?
25% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 13% belong to a visible minority and 1.1% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Whistler?
24% are Christian and 73% have no religion; 2.9% follow another religion.
Is Whistler good for families?
Under 15: 11% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 45% of households. One-parent families: 4.1%. Schools near Whistler are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Whistler?
The median household in Whistler took in $99,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Whistler?
Whistler had about 15,090 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 13,982, 19% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Whistler?
A median age of 35.6, younger than 88% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 11%, and people 65 and over 9%.
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).