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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census agglomeration of Williams Lake, British Columbia

Map of Williams Lake

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

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

Prov. rank

Nat. rank

110

In 2011, the population of Williams Lake census agglomeration (CA) was 18,490, representing a percentage change of -1.4% from 2006. This compares to the national growth of 5.9% and to the average growth among all CAs of 4.2%.

In Williams Lake, the land area is 2,656.73 square kilometres with a population density of 7.0 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 7,630 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in Williams Lake in 2011. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 1.1%. 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 Williams Lake CA

Table 1 Williams Lake CA – Census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	Type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	Type	2011	2006	% change
Williams Lake	CY	10,832	10,744	0.8
Cariboo E	RDA	4,129	4,336	-4.8
Cariboo D	RDA	2,988	3,073	-2.8
Alkali Lake 1	IRI	353	363	-2.8
Dog Creek 1	IRI	80	109	-26.6
Soda Creek 1	IRI	33	47	-29.8
Dog Creek 2	IRI	30	48	-37.5
Johny Sticks 2	IRI	20	15	33.3
Little Springs	IRI	10	15 A	-33.3
Sandy Harry 4	IRI	5	0	···
Swan Lake 3	IRI	5	5	0.0
Alkali Lake 4A	IRI	5	5	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
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

Williams Lake – Age distribution

Chart C: Williams Lake - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Williams Lake - Population by broad age groups

Table 3 Williams Lake – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
0 to 14	17.6%	17.9%	17.3%
15 to 64	68.7%	69.1%	68.3%
65 and over	13.8%	13.1%	14.4%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Williams Lake was 13.8%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 68.7% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 17.6%. 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.

Williams Lake – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 4 Williams Lake – 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	18,475	18,760	-285	-1.5
0 to 14	3,245	3,520	-275	-7.8
15 to 64	12,685	13,095	-410	-3.1
65 and over	2,545	2,145	400	18.6
Males
Total	9,215	9,365	-150	-1.6
0 to 14	1,645	1,770	-125	-7.1
15 to 64	6,365	6,555	-190	-2.9
65 and over	1,205	1,035	170	16.4
Females
Total	9,260	9,400	-140	-1.5
0 to 14	1,605	1,745	-140	-8.0
15 to 64	6,325	6,540	-215	-3.3
65 and over	1,335	1,110	225	20.3

Williams Lake – Population by five-year age groups and sex

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

Table 5 Williams Lake – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
Total - Age groups	18,475	9,215	9,260
0 to 4 years	1,070	535	530
5 to 9 years	1,060	545	510
10 to 14 years	1,120	570	555
15 to 19 years	1,265	630	630
20 to 24 years	1,085	570	520
25 to 29 years	1,115	560	550
30 to 34 years	1,080	530	555
35 to 39 years	1,120	530	595
40 to 44 years	1,235	610	625
45 to 49 years	1,415	695	725
50 to 54 years	1,550	790	760
55 to 59 years	1,475	740	735
60 to 64 years	1,345	705	640
65 to 69 years	845	445	395
70 to 74 years	605	280	325
75 to 79 years	470	230	245
80 to 84 years	345	160	180
85 to 89 years	180	65	115
90 to 94 years	70	15	55
95 to 99 years	25	5	15
100 years and over	5	0	5
Median age	41.2	41.0	41.5

Williams Lake – Median age¹ of the population

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

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

The median age in Williams Lake was 41.2 years. In comparison, the median age of British Columbia was 41.9 years.

Table 6 Canada, British Columbia and Williams Lake – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
	Median age
	2006	2011
Canada	39.5	40.6
British Columbia	40.8	41.9
Williams Lake	39.2	41.2

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families² in Williams Lake was 5,400, which represents a change of -1.0% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.

In Williams Lake, 63.9% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 18.9% were common-law-couples and 17.3% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Williams Lake - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Williams Lake - Census families by family structure

Williams Lake – Family structure

Table 7 Canada, British Columbia, Williams Lake – 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
Williams Lake	5,400	3,450	63.9	1,020	18.9	935	17.3	-1.0

Williams Lake – Presence of children within couple families

Married couples		Common-law-couples
with children	without children	with children	without children
1,380 (30.9%)	2,065 (46.2%)	460 (10.3%)	565 (12.7%)

Chart G description: Williams Lake - Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census agglomeration of Williams Lake, 41.2% 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 Williams Lake, 81.8% were intact families, that is, in which all children were the biological or adopted children of both parents, while 17.9% 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.

Williams Lake – Marital status

Chart H description: Williams Lake - Marital status

In Williams Lake, 59.6% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (46.2%) or living with a common-law partner (13.4%).

The remaining 40.4% 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, Williams Lake – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status	Williams Lake		British Columbia		Canada
Marital status	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Population 15 years and over	15,230	100.0	3,722,690	100.0	27,869,345	100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner	9,080	59.6	2,154,575	57.9	16,084,490	57.7
Married (and not separated)	7,035	46.2	1,832,605	49.2	12,941,965	46.4
Living common-law	2,045	13.4	321,965	8.6	3,142,525	11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner	6,150	40.4	1,568,120	42.1	11,784,855	42.3
Single (never legally married)	3,880	25.5	1,014,270	27.2	7,816,045	28.0
Separated	485	3.2	102,035	2.7	698,245	2.5
Divorced	940	6.2	246,515	6.6	1,686,035	6.0
Widowed	850	5.6	205,300	5.5	1,584,525	5.7

Williams Lake – Types of private households

There were 7,630 private households³ in Williams Lake in 2011, a change of 1.1% from 2006. Of these, 23.3% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of -9.2% compared with five years earlier.

Table 9 Canada, British Columbia, Williams Lake – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type⁴	Williams Lake		British Columbia		Canada
Household type⁴	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Private households	7,630	100.0	1,764,635	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Couple-family households with children aged 24 and under at home⁵	1,775	23.3	431,135	24.4	3,524,915	26.5
Couple-family households without children aged 24 and under at home⁶	2,520	33.0	532,995	30.2	3,935,540	29.5
Lone-parent family households⁷	835	10.9	168,530	9.6	1,375,450	10.3
One-person households	2,065	27.1	498,925	28.3	3,673,310	27.6
Multiple-family households⁸	130	1.7	50,410	2.9	268,060	2.0
Other households⁹	295	3.9	82,640	4.7	543,340	4.1

Williams Lake – Structural type of dwelling

In Williams Lake, 58.3% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 0.0% 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, Williams Lake – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling	Williams Lake		British Columbia		Canada
Structural type of dwelling	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Structural type of dwelling	7,630	100.0	1,764,640	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Single-detached house	4,445	58.3	842,120	47.7	7,329,150	55.0
Semi-detached house	280	3.7	52,825	3.0	646,240	4.9
Row house	365	4.8	130,370	7.4	791,600	5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys	0	0.0	143,970	8.2	1,234,770	9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys	820	10.7	361,150	20.5	2,397,555	18.0
Apartment, duplex	490	6.4	184,355	10.4	704,485	5.3
Other single-attached house¹⁰	40	0.5	2,885	0.2	33,310	0.3
Movable dwelling¹¹	1,195	15.7	46,960	2.7	183,510	1.4

Language

Williams Lake – Mother tongue

Chart J description: Williams Lake - 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 Williams Lake, 89.6% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 1.5% reported French only, and 8.2% 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, 95.7% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.2% spoke only French and 3.0% 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 Williams Lake – 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	18,300	100.0	18,300	100.0
English	16,405	89.6	17,515	95.7
French	275	1.5	40	0.2
Non-official language	1,495	8.2	545	3.0
Multiple responses	130	0.7	190	1.0

Table 12 Williams Lake – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue	Mother-tongue retention¹² (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	99.8	99.8	0.1
French	25.4	13.6	11.9
Non-official language	65.3	41.6	23.8

Williams Lake – Non-official languages

In Williams Lake, the three most common mother tongues were Panjabi (Punjabi) (2.0%), German (1.7%) and Chilcotin (0.9%), 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 Williams Lake – 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)	375	23.4	2.0
German	320	20.0	1.7
Chilcotin	165	10.3	0.9
Shuswap (Secwepemctsin)	120	7.5	0.7
Dutch	65	4.1	0.4

Williams Lake – Bilingualism

Table 14 Williams Lake – 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	3.9	2.7	81.5	3.4
0 to 19	3.9	3.7	200.0	3.6
20 to 44	4.0	3.1	83.3	4.3
45 to 64	3.1	1.6	81.0	2.6
65 and over	5.0	1.6	80.0	2.3

Table 15 Williams Lake – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages	Number	Percentage
Total	18,300	100.0
English only	17,485	95.5
French only	5	0.0
English and French	725	4.0
Neither English nor French	80	0.4

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

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 1 referrer

Footnote 2

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 2 referrer

Footnote 3

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 3 referrer

Footnote 4

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 4 referrer

Footnote 5

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

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Footnote 6

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 6 referrer

Footnote 7

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

Return to footnote 7 referrer

Footnote 8

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 8 referrer

Footnote 9

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

Return to footnote 9 referrer

Footnote 10

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 10 referrer

Footnote 11

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

Return to footnote 11 referrer

Footnote 12

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 12 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 Williams Lake
2011 Census Highlight tables – Census agglomeration of Williams Lake
2011 NHS Focus on Geography Series – Census agglomeration of Williams Lake

Date modified:: 2019-03-27

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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census