Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Older than 98% of Canadian towns: half of White Rock is over 58
At 1.9 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 7.4%. More residents with no religion than in 83% of Canadian towns: 48%. White Rock had about 25,057 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 10,735 households at the 2021 Census.
What stands out about the people of White Rock
Older than most towns
Line White Rock’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 58; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 37% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 44%, more than in 93% of Canadian towns, and 37% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Since 2016, White Rock has grown +10%, faster than 81% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 14% higher again. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across British Columbia’s towns +6%.
In White Rock, 37% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The figure for children under 15 is 9% in White Rock and 16% across Canada’s towns. By way of comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ White Rock, 58. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 83 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
44% of households are one person living alone, a share 93% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-parent families is 6.8%, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns. Elsewhere, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns.
8% of residents 15 and over live common-law, below 72% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: 22% of adults (typical: 27%). The comparison figure for common-law partners is 11% across Canada’s towns. On the census count, 44% of residents 15 and over are married.
In White Rock, 24% of households live in a single-detached house, fewer than in 87% of Canadian towns
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
25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns, against 35% in White Rock. On households in buildings of five or more storeys, White Rock sits higher than 83% of Canadian towns: 15%. Across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses is 64%. Newer homes outnumber old: 27% date from 2001 or later, 9.1% from before 1961.
Median household income: $73,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in White Rock: half had less than $73,000, 15% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For British Columbia’s towns, the median household income is $87,000. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 23% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
16% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a share 82% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Residents without Canadian citizenship: 8% here and 5.8% across Canada’s towns. Set beside that, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Immigrants: 29% of the total.
In White Rock, 24% of residents belong to a visible minority, more than in 60% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Sikh (4.4%). As a yardstick, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns. At 3.1%, the share of Indigenous residents is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 74%, and 8.1% 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
At home, 11% mostly speak another language; 1.9% speak neither English nor French. Residents whose mother tongue is French are about as common here as across Canada’s towns: 1.3%.
White Rock: 35% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, above 63% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 5.1% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
49% of residents 15 and over were in work
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 37% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 49% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
1st highest median age among 41 towns of 23,858 to 26,305
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The span goes from 31.1 (Wellington Place) up to 58 (White Rock). Port Perry (49.2) and Huntsville (49.6): the towns nearest White Rock in median age.
No nearby town is as old as White Rock
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Rock | 25,057 | — | 58 | 37% | 29% |
| Semiahmoo Town Centre | 13,381 | 0.9 km | 52.9 | 33% | 34% |
| Sunnyside | 16,784 | 2.6 km | 43.4 | 23% | 36% |
| South Surrey | 6,431 | 3.5 km | 48.3 | 25% | 41% |
| Grandview | 16,947 | 3.7 km | 39.9 | 16% | 37% |
| Ocean Park | 10,845 | 3.9 km | 49.7 | 26% | 34% |
| Douglas | 4,555 | 4.4 km | 42.8 | 19% | 20% |
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. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
Questions about White Rock’s residents
What religion are people in White Rock?
48% said they have no religion and 43% that they are Christian; 9.6% named another faith.
Is White Rock good for families?
9% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 41% of households and one-parent families 6.8%. Schools near White Rock are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in White Rock?
Half of White Rock’s households had more than $73,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of White Rock?
About 25,057, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 21,939 people in White Rock, 10% more than 2016.
What is the average age in White Rock?
The median age is 58, older than 98% of Canadian towns. 9% are under 15 and 37% 65 or older.
Is White Rock bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 8.1% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 90% speak only English and 0% only French; 1.3% grew up with French.
How diverse is White Rock?
Immigrants: 29% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 24%. Indigenous identity: 3.1%.
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).