British Columbia Demographics

There are 5,000,880 residents in British Columbia, with an average age of 43.1. Males make up 49.1% of the population, while females account for 50.9%. Locals over 65 years old represent the largest age group in British Columbia (1,016,365 individuals), followed by those aged under 14 (716,900 people).

A total of 1,202,625 people in British Columbia have never been married (which represents 28.1% of the population). Wedded people in British Columbia (2,036,165 locals) account for 47.5% of the resident pool. Meanwhile, approximately 10% of locals live common law (that’s a total of 427,970 people).

British Columbia has an unemployment rate of 8.4%. Regarding the most common jobs in British Columbia, people working in Sales and service account for the largest share of the local workforce (666,705 individuals), followed by those in Trades and transport (469,450 individuals) and Business, finance and administration (446,160 individuals).

The majority of British Columbia residents (that’s 95.3%) speak English.

The median household income in British Columbia is $85,000, while the median after-tax household income sits at $76,000 per year.

There is a total of 2,041,830 households in British Columbia, 66.8% of which are owner-occupied and 32.8% of which have renters living in them. Meanwhile, the average household size in British Columbia is 2.4 people. Of the total households here, those with 2 people living in them account for the largest share of the market (719,865 households), followed by establishments occupied by 1 person (600,705 households). Moreover, families whose primary maintainer is over 65 years old represent the largest percentage of the total households in British Columbia, at 29.2%.

Single-detached houses account for 42.4% of the residential buildings in British Columbia. Apartments make up 10.9% of the British Columbia housing market. Meanwhile, the median home value here is $785,000 and the average figure sits at $983,000. Of all the properties in British Columbia, 2 bedrooms units include 569,180 (the highest share) and 4 or more bedrooms units have 547,870 (second-highest share). Regarding year of construction, properties built between 1971 and 1980 and between 1991 and 2000 hold the highest counts, at 354,410 and 336,315, respectively. Notably, when it comes to the condition of these homes, most of them require regular maintenance (72.4%) and minor repairs (21.8%).

Approximately 29.5% of the population in British Columbia has a high school diploma (that’s 1,238,000 residents). British Columbia locals holding a college diploma (711,810 people) account for 17% of the resident pool. Additionally, 28.6% of them hold a university degree (1,199,710 people).

Most employed people in British Columbia (637,130 individuals) travel 15 to 29 min to get to work, followed by those who commute less than 15 min (595,470 individuals). All in all, the average commute time in British Columbia is 24 min. The preferred commuting mode here is by car, truck or van and most employed British Columbia locals commute within the same municipality to get to work.