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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census agglomeration of Squamish, British Columbia ¹

Map of Squamish

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Squamish, CA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank

Nat. rank

116

In 2011, the population of Squamish census agglomeration (CA) was 17,479, representing a percentage change of 14.6% from 2006. This compares to the national growth of 5.9% and to the average growth among all CAs of 4.2%.

In Squamish, the land area is 105.59 square kilometres with a population density of 165.5 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the national land area of 8,965,121.42 square kilometres with a population density of 3.7 persons per square kilometre. The land area of all CAs is 232,264.62 square kilometres with 18.56 persons per square kilometre.

In total, there were 6,626 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in Squamish in 2011. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 16.0%. For Canada as a whole, the number of private dwellings occupied by usual residents increased 7.1%.

Population and dwelling counts

Census subdivisions in the Squamish CA

Table 1 Squamish CA – Census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	Type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	Type	2011	2006	% change
Squamish	DM	17,158	14,949	14.8
Waiwakum 14	IRI	111	103	7.8
Stawamus 24	IRI	97	96	1.0
Seaichem 16	IRI	53	54	-1.9
Kowtain 17	IRI	37	34	8.8
Yekwaupsum 18	IRI	23	20	15.0

Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) or census agglomerations (CAs) in British Columbia

Table 2 British Columbia – Metropolitan areas, population rank and population change, 2006 to 2011
CMA or CA name	Type	Population			Rank
CMA or CA name	Type	2011	2006	% change	Nat.	Prov.
Vancouver	CMA	2,313,328	2,116,581	9.3	3	1
Victoria †	CMA	344,615	330,088	4.4	15	2
Kelowna	CMA	179,839	162,276	10.8	22	3
Abbotsford - Mission	CMA	170,191	159,020	7.0	23	4
Kamloops	CA	98,754	92,797 A	6.4	37	5
Nanaimo	CA	98,021	92,361	6.1	38	6
Chilliwack	CA	92,308	82,465 A	11.9	42	7
Prince George	CA	84,232	83,225	1.2	46	8
Vernon	CA	58,584	55,418	5.7	56	9
Courtenay	CA	55,213	51,383 A	7.5	58	10
Duncan	CA	43,252	41,387	4.5	68	11
Penticton	CA	42,361	41,303 A	2.6	71	12
Campbell River	CA	36,096	34,707 A	4.0	77	13
Parksville	CA	27,822	26,518	4.9	92	14
Fort St. John	CA	26,380	25,136	4.9	96	15
Port Alberni	CA	25,465	25,343 A	0.5	99	16
Cranbrook	CA	25,037	24,138	3.7	100	17
Quesnel	CA	22,096	21,049 A	5.0	104	18
Williams Lake	CA	18,490	18,760	-1.4	110	19
Salmon Arm	CA	17,683	16,205	9.1	114	20
Squamish	CA	17,479	15,256	14.6	116	21
Powell River	CA	16,689	16,537	0.9	119	22
Terrace	CA	15,569	15,420 A	1.0	124	23
Prince Rupert	CA	13,052	13,392	-2.5	131	24
Dawson Creek	CA	11,583	10,994	5.4	145	25

Age and sex

Squamish – Age distribution

Chart C: Squamish - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Squamish - Population by broad age groups

Table 3 Squamish – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
0 to 14	19.4%	19.7%	19.0%
15 to 64	71.1%	71.4%	70.9%
65 and over	9.5%	9.0%	10.1%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Squamish was 9.5%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 71.1% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 19.4%. In comparison, the national percentages were 68.5% for the population aged 15 to 64 and 16.7% for the population aged 0 to 14.

Squamish – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 4 Squamish – Population by broad age groups and sex, and population change between 2006 and 2011, 2006 to 2011 censuses
Broad age groups by sex	Population
Broad age groups by sex	2011	2006	change	% change
Both sexes
Total	17,480	15,260	2,220	14.5
0 to 14	3,385	3,130	255	8.1
15 to 64	12,430	10,775	1,655	15.4
65 and over	1,665	1,350	315	23.3
Males
Total	8,885	7,800	1,085	13.9
0 to 14	1,750	1,685	65	3.9
15 to 64	6,340	5,485	855	15.6
65 and over	800	635	165	26.0
Females
Total	8,595	7,455	1,140	15.3
0 to 14	1,635	1,445	190	13.1
15 to 64	6,095	5,295	800	15.1
65 and over	865	720	145	20.1

Squamish – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Squamish - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 5 Squamish – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
Total - Age groups	17,480	8,885	8,595
0 to 4 years	1,360	710	655
5 to 9 years	1,055	530	525
10 to 14 years	965	515	455
15 to 19 years	1,100	610	495
20 to 24 years	895	475	415
25 to 29 years	1,150	550	600
30 to 34 years	1,610	760	840
35 to 39 years	1,705	865	840
40 to 44 years	1,480	765	715
45 to 49 years	1,355	700	650
50 to 54 years	1,255	635	610
55 to 59 years	1,055	525	530
60 to 64 years	835	445	390
65 to 69 years	550	305	240
70 to 74 years	410	195	215
75 to 79 years	305	135	175
80 to 84 years	195	95	105
85 to 89 years	135	50	85
90 to 94 years	50	15	35
95 to 99 years	15	5	15
100 years and over	0	0	0
Median age	36.8	36.7	36.8

Squamish – Median age² of the population

Chart E: Canada, British Columbia and Squamish - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, British Columbia and Squamish - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

The median age in Squamish was 36.8 years. In comparison, the median age of British Columbia was 41.9 years.

Table 6 Canada, British Columbia and Squamish – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
	Median age
	2006	2011
Canada	39.5	40.6
British Columbia	40.8	41.9
Squamish	35.9	36.8

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families³ in Squamish was 4,935, which represents a change of 13.4% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.

In Squamish, 65.0% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 20.1% were common-law-couples and 14.8% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Squamish - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Squamish - Census families by family structure

Squamish – Family structure

Table 7 Canada, British Columbia, Squamish – Distribution of census families by family structure, 2011 Census
Geographic name	Total families	Married-couple families		Common-law-couple families		Lone-parent families		% change, census families, 2006 to 2011
Geographic name	Total families	number	%	number	%	number	%	% change, census families, 2006 to 2011
Canada †	9,389,695	6,293,950	67.0	1,567,905	16.7	1,527,840	16.3	5.5
British Columbia †	1,238,155	887,990	71.7	160,360	13.0	189,805	15.3	6.6
Squamish	4,935	3,210	65.0	990	20.1	730	14.8	13.4

Squamish – Presence of children within couple families

Married couples		Common-law-couples
with children	without children	with children	without children
1,740 (41.4%)	1,475 (35.1%)	375 ( 8.9%)	615 (14.6%)

Chart G description: Squamish - Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census agglomeration of Squamish, 50.2% were couples with children aged 24 and under at home. In comparison, as a whole, 46.9% of couples in Canada had children aged 24 and under at home.

Among couples with children aged 24 and under at home in the census agglomeration of Squamish, 87.2% were intact families, that is, in which all children were the biological or adopted children of both parents, while 13.0% were stepfamilies, in which there was at least one child was the biological or adopted child of only one married spouse or common-law partner. For Canada as a whole in 2011, 12.6% of couples with children aged 24 and under were stepfamilies.

Squamish – Marital status

Chart H description: Squamish - Marital status

In Squamish, 60.9% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (46.7%) or living with a common-law partner (14.2%).

The remaining 39.1% were not married and not living with a common-law partner, including those who were single (never-married), separated, divorced or widowed.

Note: Percentages may not total 100 percent due to random rounding.

Table 8 Canada, British Columbia, Squamish – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status	Squamish		British Columbia		Canada
Marital status	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Population 15 years and over	14,090	100.0	3,722,690	100.0	27,869,345	100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner	8,580	60.9	2,154,575	57.9	16,084,490	57.7
Married (and not separated)	6,580	46.7	1,832,605	49.2	12,941,965	46.4
Living common-law	2,005	14.2	321,965	8.6	3,142,525	11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner	5,515	39.1	1,568,120	42.1	11,784,855	42.3
Single (never legally married)	3,665	26.0	1,014,270	27.2	7,816,045	28.0
Separated	430	3.1	102,035	2.7	698,245	2.5
Divorced	860	6.1	246,515	6.6	1,686,035	6.0
Widowed	565	4.0	205,300	5.5	1,584,525	5.7

Squamish – Types of private households

There were 6,625 private households⁴ in Squamish in 2011, a change of 15.7% from 2006. Of these, 29.8% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of 13.5% compared with five years earlier.

Table 9 Canada, British Columbia, Squamish – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type⁵	Squamish		British Columbia		Canada
Household type⁵	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Private households	6,625	100.0	1,764,635	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Couple-family households with children aged 24 and under at home⁶	1,975	29.8	431,135	24.4	3,524,915	26.5
Couple-family households without children aged 24 and under at home⁷	1,885	28.5	532,995	30.2	3,935,540	29.5
Lone-parent family households⁸	650	9.8	168,530	9.6	1,375,450	10.3
One-person households	1,550	23.4	498,925	28.3	3,673,310	27.6
Multiple-family households⁹	200	3.0	50,410	2.9	268,060	2.0
Other households¹⁰	365	5.5	82,640	4.7	543,340	4.1

Squamish – Structural type of dwelling

In Squamish, 49.5% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 1.0% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 10 Canada, British Columbia, Squamish – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling	Squamish		British Columbia		Canada
Structural type of dwelling	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Structural type of dwelling	6,625	100.0	1,764,640	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Single-detached house	3,280	49.5	842,120	47.7	7,329,150	55.0
Semi-detached house	510	7.7	52,825	3.0	646,240	4.9
Row house	915	13.8	130,370	7.4	791,600	5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys	65	1.0	143,970	8.2	1,234,770	9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys	1,140	17.2	361,150	20.5	2,397,555	18.0
Apartment, duplex	355	5.4	184,355	10.4	704,485	5.3
Other single-attached house¹¹	5	0.1	2,885	0.2	33,310	0.3
Movable dwelling¹²	355	5.4	46,960	2.7	183,510	1.4

Language

Squamish – Mother tongue

Chart J description: Squamish - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Note: Counts for mother tongue as well as those for language spoken most often at home include single responses only.

In Squamish, 80.9% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 2.8% reported French only, and 14.7% reported only a non-official language, in 2011. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 70.3% for English only, 1.3% for French only and 26.5% for only non-official languages.

In 2011, 88.8% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 1.0% spoke only French and 8.0% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 80.5% for English only, 0.4% for French only and 15.4% for only a non-official language.

Table 11 Squamish – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages	Mother tongue		Language spoken most often at home
Selected languages	number	%	number	%
Total	17,395	100.0	17,390	100.0
English	14,070	80.9	15,440	88.8
French	480	2.8	170	1.0
Non-official language	2,565	14.7	1,390	8.0
Multiple responses	280	1.6	395	2.3

Table 12 Squamish – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue	Mother-tongue retention¹³ (in percentage)
Mother tongue	Total retention; language spoken at home at least on a regular basis	Complete retention; language spoken most often at home	Partial retention; language spoken at home on a regular basis
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
English	99.5	99.3	0.3
French	62.5	31.3	31.3
Non-official language	78.2	58.9	19.3

Squamish – Non-official languages

In Squamish, the three most common mother tongues were Panjabi (Punjabi) (6.9%), German (1.8%) and Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) (1.1%), in 2011. In comparison, the most common mother tongues at the provincial / territorial level were Panjabi (Punjabi) (4.5%), Cantonese (3.2%) and Chinese, n.o.s. (2.9%).

Table 13 Squamish – The most common non-official-language mother tongues, 2011 Census
Mother tongue	Number	Percentage of non-official language mother-tongue population	Percentage of total population
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
Panjabi (Punjabi)	1,195	42.7	6.9
German	310	11.1	1.8
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino)	190	6.8	1.1
Spanish	135	4.8	0.8
Japanese	115	4.1	0.7

Squamish – Bilingualism

Table 14 Squamish – Rate of English-French bilingualism by mother tongue and age groups, 2011 Census
Age groups	Mother tongue
Age groups	Total	English	French	Non-official language
Note: Counts for mother tongue include single responses only. Consequently, the total excludes multiple responses.
Total	10.6	9.1	85.4	5.1
0 to 19	11.8	11.5	70.0	6.7
20 to 44	13.1	10.8	90.2	5.2
45 to 64	7.2	5.0	88.5	3.6
65 and over	6.6	5.1	66.7	4.4

Table 15 Squamish – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages	Number	Percentage
Total	17,390	100.0
English only	15,250	87.7
French only	20	0.1
English and French	1,880	10.8
Neither English nor French	245	1.4

Symbols:

···: not applicable
†: excludes census data for one or more incompletely enumerated Indian reserves or Indian settlements. For further information, refer to Notes.
¶: incompletely enumerated Indian reserve or Indian settlement. For further information, refer to Notes.
A: adjusted figure due to boundary change. For further information, refer to Content considerations.
E: use with caution. For further information, refer to Cautionary note.

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Squamish – This census agglomeration has the following data quality indicators (commonly referred to as data quality flags):

Data quality index showing a global non response rate higher than or equal to 5% but lower than 10%.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Median age: Age 'x' that divides a population in two groups of the same population size, one group being older than age 'x' and the other group being younger than age 'x'.

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

Census family: Refers to a married couple (with or without children), a common-law couple (with or without children) or a lone parent family.

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

Household, private: Refers to a person or a group of persons (other than foreign residents) who occupy a private dwelling and do not have a usual place of residence elsewhere in Canada.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Footnote 5

Household type: Refers to the basic division of private households into family and non-family households. Family household refers to a household that contains at least one census family, that is, a married couple with or without children, or a couple living in common-law with or without children or a lone parent living with one or more children.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Footnote 6

Couple-family households with children: Refers to couple households with at least one child aged 24 and under.

Return to footnote 6 referrer

Footnote 7

Couple-family households without children: Refers to couple households without children aged 24 and under. Includes couple households with all children aged 25 and over.

Return to footnote 7 referrer

Footnote 8

Lone-parent-family households: Refers to all lone-parent family households regardless of age of children.

Return to footnote 8 referrer

Footnote 9

Multiple-family households: Refers to a household in which two or more census families (with or without additional persons) occupy the same private dwelling.

Return to footnote 9 referrer

Footnote 10

Other households: Refers to two or more people who share a private dwelling, but who do not constitute a census family.

Return to footnote 10 referrer

Footnote 11

Other single-attached house: A single dwelling that is attached to another building and that does not fall into any of the other categories, such as a single dwelling attached to a non-residential structure (e.g., a store or a church) or occasionally to another residential structure (e.g., an apartment building).

Return to footnote 11 referrer

Footnote 12

Movable dwelling includes mobile homes and other movable dwellings such as houseboats and railroad cars.

Return to footnote 12 referrer

Footnote 13

Mother-tongue retention: Retention refers to the situation where people speak their mother tongue at home. Retention is defined as 'complete' when the mother tongue is the language spoken most often and 'partial' when it is spoken on a regular basis but not most often. The (complete or partial) retention rate refers to the proportion of the population with a given mother tongue that speaks that language at home most often or on a regular basis. The retention rate provides an indication of a group's linguistic vitality, particularly the importance of transmitting languages between generations.

Return to footnote 13 referrer

Source:

Statistics Canada. 2012. Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-310-XWE2011004. Ottawa, Ontario. Analytical products, 2011 Census. Last updated October 24, 2012.

Related data:

2011 Census Topic-based tabulations – Census agglomeration of Squamish
2011 Census Highlight tables – Census agglomeration of Squamish
2011 NHS Focus on Geography Series – Census agglomeration of Squamish

Date modified:: 2019-03-27

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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census