Photo: Globalphotobank · CC BY-SA 4.0In Williams Lake, 24% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 98% of Canadian towns
The figure for residents who moved in within the year is 16% in Williams Lake and 11% across Canada’s towns. The census found that 40% of households rent their home locally. Compared with other places, one-person households are common here: 34%, more than in three quarters of Canadian towns. About 11,462 people lived here in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates.
What stands out about the people of Williams Lake
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 24% of residents, more than in 98% of Canadian towns, and 15% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Slower than most: +2% since 2016, behind 66% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +6% across British Columbia’s towns. The July 2025 estimate adds another 5%.
Williams Lake is younger than 58% of Canadian towns: a median age of 40.8
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
A fifth of residents are 65 or over; across Canada’s towns the figure is 19%. Locally, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Williams Lake, 40.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
A larger share of one-parent families than 75% of Canadian towns: 10%
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
A household here has 2.3 people on average; across Canada’s towns, 2.4. By way of comparison, 8.2% of households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns.
Common-law partners make up 14% in Williams Lake, more than in 72% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
38% of residents 15 and over are married, against 46% across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Only 46% of households live in a single-detached house in Williams Lake
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
8.7% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. By way of comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 12% date from 2001 or later, 9.2% from before 1961.
$76,500 a year: the median household income
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 middle household in Williams Lake had $76,500 before tax, 11% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For British Columbia’s towns, the median household income is $87,000. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 27% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
8.9% 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
Recent arrivals are 30% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. Residents without Canadian citizenship account for 4.3%. Williams Lake has fewer immigrants than 67% of Canadian towns, at 8.9%.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 96% of Canadian towns, at 61%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Sikh (3%). Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 35%. The share of visible minority residents is 8.9%, against 15% across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 88%, and 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
Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%; Williams Lake has 4%. Census figures put residents whose mother tongue is French at 1% locally.
In Williams Lake, 18% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 73% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 16% here, 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.
56% 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 56%, the share in work is about the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
17th highest median age among 41 towns of 11,273 to 11,632
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Milton-Parc is the youngest of them at 30.4; Sechelt, at 57.6, the oldest. By median age, Williams Lake sits among Farnham (40.4), Pelmo Park-Humberlea (40.8), New Toronto (40.9) and Keelesdale-Eglinton West (41).
Every nearby town is older than Williams Lake
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams Lake | 11,462 | — | 40.8 | 20% | 8.9% |
| Electoral Area D, Cariboo | 3,057 | 6.4 km | 47.2 | 21% | 7.7% |
| Electoral Area E, Cariboo | 4,242 | 6.8 km | 45.2 | 21% | 7.4% |
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. 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.
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
Questions about Williams Lake’s residents
What religion are people in Williams Lake?
34% are Christian and 61% have no religion; 5.4% follow another religion.
Is Williams Lake good for families?
Under 15: 17% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 43% of households. One-parent families: 10%. Schools near Williams Lake are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Williams Lake?
The median household in Williams Lake took in $76,500 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Williams Lake?
Williams Lake had about 11,462 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 10,947, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Williams Lake?
A median age of 40.8, younger than 58% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 17%, and people 65 and over 20%.
Is Williams Lake bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 4% are. Another 0% speak only French and 96% only English, and French is the first language of 1%.
How diverse is Williams Lake?
8.9% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 8.9% belong to a visible minority and 24% have an Indigenous identity.
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).