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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census metropolitan area of Vancouver, British Columbia

Map of Vancouver, CMA (shaded in green), British Columbia

Map of Vancouver

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A: Vancouver, CMA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Vancouver, CMA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank
1
Nat. rank
3

In 2011, the population of Vancouver census metropolitan area (CMA) was 2,313,328, representing a percentage change of 9.3% from 2006. This compares to the national growth of 5.9% and to the average growth among all CMAs of 7.4%.

In Vancouver, the land area is 2,882.55 square kilometres with a population density of 802.5 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 CMAs is 92,648.98 square kilometres with 249.58 persons per square kilometre.

In total, there were 891,336 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in Vancouver in 2011. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 9.1%. 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 Vancouver CMA

Table 1 Vancouver CMA – Census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name Type Population
2011 2006 % change
Vancouver CY 603,502 578,041 4.4
Surrey CY 468,251 394,976 18.6
Burnaby CY 223,218 202,799 10.1
Richmond CY 190,473 174,461 9.2
Coquitlam CY 126,456 114,565 10.4
Langley DM 104,177 93,726 11.2
Delta DM 99,863 96,635 A 3.3
North Vancouver DM 84,412 82,562 2.2
Maple Ridge DM 76,052 68,949 10.3
New Westminster CY 65,976 58,549 12.7
Port Coquitlam CY 56,342 52,687 6.9
North Vancouver CY 48,196 45,165 6.7
West Vancouver DM 42,694 42,131 1.3
Port Moody CY 32,975 27,512 19.9
Langley CY 25,081 23,606 E 6.2
White Rock CY 19,339 18,755 3.1
Pitt Meadows CY 17,736 15,623 13.5
Greater Vancouver A RDA 13,035 11,050 18.0
Bowen Island IM 3,402 3,362 1.2
Capilano 5 IRI 2,700 2,492 8.3
Anmore VL 2,092 1,785 17.2
Musqueam 2 IRI 1,569 1,371 14.4
Burrard Inlet 3 IRI 1,472 1,405 4.8
Lions Bay VL 1,318 1,328 -0.8
Tsawwassen IRI 720 762 A -5.5
Belcarra VL 644 676 -4.7
Mission 1 IRI 574 569 0.9
Matsqui 4 IRI 498 426 16.9
Katzie 1 IRI 229 246 -6.9
Semiahmoo IRI 108 109 -0.9
Seymour Creek 2 IRI 107 75 42.7
McMillan Island 6 IRI 68 63 7.9
Coquitlam 1 IRI 39 24 62.5
Musqueam 4 IRI 5 5 0.0
Coquitlam 2 IRI 5 5 0.0
Katzie 2 IRI 0 37 -100.0
Barnston Island 3 IRI 0 49 -100.0
Langley 5 IRI 0 0  ···
Whonnock 1 IRI 0 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
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

Vancouver – Age distribution

Chart C: Vancouver - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Vancouver - Population by broad age groups

Table 3 Vancouver – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
0 to 14 15.3% 16.1% 14.5%
15 to 64 71.2% 71.4% 70.9%
65 and over 13.5% 12.5% 14.5%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Vancouver was 13.5%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 71.2% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 15.3%. 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.

Vancouver – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 4 Vancouver – Population by broad age groups and sex, and population change between 2006 and 2011, 2006 to 2011 censuses
Broad age groups by sex Population
2011 2006 change % change
Both sexes
Total 2,313,325 2,116,580 196,745 9.3
0 to 14 354,450 345,745 8,705 2.5
15 to 64 1,645,980 1,499,370 146,610 9.8
65 and over 312,900 271,465 41,435 15.3
Males
Total 1,130,375 1,032,445 97,930 9.5
0 to 14 182,365 178,190 4,175 2.3
15 to 64 807,195 734,970 72,225 9.8
65 and over 140,815 119,285 21,530 18.0
Females
Total 1,182,955 1,084,135 98,820 9.1
0 to 14 172,085 167,555 4,530 2.7
15 to 64 838,780 764,405 74,375 9.7
65 and over 172,090 152,175 19,915 13.1

Vancouver – Population by five-year age groups and sex

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

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

Table 5 Vancouver – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups Both sexes Males Females
Total - Age groups 2,313,325 1,130,375 1,182,955
0 to 4 years 115,180 59,280 55,905
5 to 9 years 114,390 58,730 55,660
10 to 14 years 124,880 64,365 60,520
15 to 19 years 145,190 75,075 70,115
20 to 24 years 159,085 80,620 78,465
25 to 29 years 170,065 83,960 86,105
30 to 34 years 160,010 77,900 82,105
35 to 39 years 161,245 76,660 84,590
40 to 44 years 180,540 86,310 94,225
45 to 49 years 192,085 93,760 98,330
50 to 54 years 182,430 88,700 93,730
55 to 59 years 158,565 77,600 80,970
60 to 64 years 136,760 66,615 70,150
65 to 69 years 94,860 46,120 48,740
70 to 74 years 72,890 34,215 38,675
75 to 79 years 58,150 26,990 31,160
80 to 84 years 44,235 19,045 25,190
85 to 89 years 27,605 10,055 17,555
90 to 94 years 11,555 3,470 8,090
95 to 99 years 3,140 815 2,320
100 years and over 460 95 360
Median age 40.2 39.3 40.9

Vancouver – Median age1 of the population

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

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

The median age in Vancouver was 40.2 years. In comparison, the median age of British Columbia was 41.9 years.

Table 6 Canada, British Columbia and Vancouver – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
  Median age
2006 2011
Canada 39.5 40.6
British Columbia 40.8 41.9
Vancouver 39.1 40.2

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families2 in Vancouver was 633,460, which represents a change of 9.2% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.


In Vancouver, 73.8% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 10.7% were common-law-couples and 15.5% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Vancouver - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Vancouver - Census families by family structure

Vancouver – Family structure

Table 7 Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver – 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
number % number % number %
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
Vancouver 633,460 467,335 73.8 67,845 10.7 98,280 15.5 9.2

Vancouver – Presence of children within couple families

Chart G: Vancouver - Presence of children within couple families
Married couples Common-law-couples
with children without children with children without children
245,835 (45.9%) 221,500 (41.4%) 18,745 ( 3.5%) 49,095 ( 9.2%)

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

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census metropolitan area of Vancouver, 49.4% 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 metropolitan area of Vancouver, 91.6% were intact families, that is, in which all children were the biological or adopted children of both parents, while 8.4% 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.

Vancouver – Marital status

Chart H: Vancouver - Marital status

Chart H description: Vancouver - Marital status

In Vancouver, 56.5% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (49.5%) or living with a common-law partner (6.9%).

The remaining 43.5% 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, Vancouver – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status Vancouver British Columbia Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Population 15 years and over 1,958,880 100.0 3,722,690 100.0 27,869,345 100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner 1,106,580 56.5 2,154,575 57.9 16,084,490 57.7
Married (and not separated) 970,585 49.5 1,832,605 49.2 12,941,965 46.4
Living common-law 135,995 6.9 321,965 8.6 3,142,525 11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner 852,300 43.5 1,568,120 42.1 11,784,855 42.3
Single (never legally married) 586,885 30.0 1,014,270 27.2 7,816,045 28.0
Separated 48,835 2.5 102,035 2.7 698,245 2.5
Divorced 119,565 6.1 246,515 6.6 1,686,035 6.0
Widowed 97,010 5.0 205,300 5.5 1,584,525 5.7

Vancouver – Types of private households

There were 891,335 private households3 in Vancouver in 2011, a change of 9.1% from 2006. Of these, 26.9% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of 2.8% compared with five years earlier.

Table 9 Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type4 Vancouver British Columbia Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Private households 891,335 100.0 1,764,635 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Couple-family households with children
aged 24 and under at home5		 239,770 26.9 431,135 24.4 3,524,915 26.5
Couple-family households without children
aged 24 and under at home6		 235,750 26.4 532,995 30.2 3,935,540 29.5
Lone-parent family households7 85,650 9.6 168,530 9.6 1,375,450 10.3
One-person households 251,745 28.2 498,925 28.3 3,673,310 27.6
Multiple-family households8 34,315 3.8 50,410 2.9 268,060 2.0
Other households9 44,100 4.9 82,640 4.7 543,340 4.1

Vancouver – Structural type of dwelling

In Vancouver, 33.8% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 14.5% 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, Vancouver – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling Vancouver British Columbia Canada
number % number % number %
Total - Structural type of dwelling 891,335 100.0 1,764,640 100.0 13,320,615 100.0
Single-detached house 301,140 33.8 842,120 47.7 7,329,150 55.0
Semi-detached house 19,300 2.2 52,825 3.0 646,240 4.9
Row house 80,500 9.0 130,370 7.4 791,600 5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys 129,255 14.5 143,970 8.2 1,234,770 9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys 228,585 25.6 361,150 20.5 2,397,555 18.0
Apartment, duplex 126,610 14.2 184,355 10.4 704,485 5.3
Other single-attached house10 965 0.1 2,885 0.2 33,310 0.3
Movable dwelling11 4,990 0.6 46,960 2.7 183,510 1.4

Language

Vancouver – Mother tongue

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

Chart J description: Vancouver - 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 Vancouver, 56.0% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 1.1% reported French only, and 40.3% 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, 68.4% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.4% spoke only French and 25.4% 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 Vancouver – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages Mother tongue Language spoken most often at home
number % number %
Total 2,292,115 100.0 2,292,115 100.0
English 1,282,500 56.0 1,568,165 68.4
French 24,780 1.1 8,410 0.4
Non-official language 923,825 40.3 582,110 25.4
Multiple responses 61,015 2.7 133,430 5.8
Table 12 Vancouver – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue Mother-tongue retention12
(in percentage)
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 99.2 98.2 1.0
French 54.0 29.4 24.6
Non-official language 84.4 66.6 17.8

Vancouver – Non-official languages

In Vancouver, the three most common mother tongues were Panjabi (Punjabi) (6.4%), Cantonese (5.8%) and Chinese, n.o.s. (5.0%), 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 Vancouver – 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) 147,725 15.1 6.4
Cantonese 133,405 13.6 5.8
Chinese, n.o.s. 115,635 11.8 5.0
Mandarin 92,420 9.4 4.0
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) 68,285 7.0 3.0
Korean 45,305 4.6 2.0
Persian (Farsi) 35,725 3.6 1.6
Spanish 34,590 3.5 1.5
German 28,590 2.9 1.2
Hindi 26,165 2.7 1.1

Vancouver – Bilingualism

Table 14 Vancouver – Rate of English-French bilingualism by mother tongue and age groups, 2011 Census
Age groups Mother tongue
Total English French Non-official language
Note: Counts for mother tongue include single responses only. Consequently, the total excludes multiple responses.
Total 7.0 7.8 88.1 3.7
0 to 19 9.0 9.6 83.1 6.5
20 to 44 8.1 9.8 92.3 3.8
45 to 64 5.4 5.5 89.1 2.7
65 and over 4.4 3.7 81.0 2.4
Table 15 Vancouver – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages Number Percentage
Total 2,292,115 100.0
English only 1,997,605 87.2
French only 1,265 0.1
English and French 164,785 7.2
Neither English nor French 128,460 5.6

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.


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.
 

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