NHS Focus on Geography Series – Vancouver

Demographic characteristics of Aboriginal people

In 2011, 2.3% (52,375) of the population of Vancouver had an Aboriginal identity.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 1} Of those, 60.5% (31,675) reported a First Nations identity^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 2} only, 35.3% (18,485) reported a Métis identity only, and 0.7% (385) reported an Inuit identity only. An additional 1,105, or 2.1%, reported other Aboriginal identities and 730, or 1.4%, reported more than one Aboriginal identity.

Table 1 – Population by Aboriginal identity, Vancouver

In general, the Aboriginal population in Canada is younger than the non-Aboriginal population.

In Vancouver, Aboriginal children aged 14 and under represented 23.2% of the total Aboriginal population and 3.4% of all children in Vancouver. Non-Aboriginal children aged 14 and under accounted for 15.4% of the non-Aboriginal population.

The age distribution of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit is shown in table 2.

Table 2 – Age distribution by Aboriginal identity, Vancouver

Living arrangements of Aboriginal children

In Vancouver, 48.3% of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under lived in a family^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 3} with both their parents (biological or adoptive) and 34.6% lived in a lone-parent family.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 4} Other Aboriginal children in that age group were stepchildren,^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 5} grandchildren living in a skip-generation family,^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 6} foster children^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 7} or children living with other relatives.

Living arrangements of First Nations, Métis and Inuit children aged 14 and under are illustrated in table 3.

Table 3 – Percentage distribution of the population aged 14 and under by living arrangement for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Vancouver

Language and Aboriginal peoples

In Vancouver, 1,320 Aboriginal people, or 2.5% of the population who had an Aboriginal identity, responded that they were able to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language. In 2011, the Aboriginal language most frequently reported by Aboriginal people was: Cree languages (230).

In 2011, 1.7% of the Aboriginal identity population reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, defined as the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood.

As well, 1.2% of Aboriginal people reported speaking an Aboriginal language at home: 0.2% spoke it most often while another 0.9% spoke it on a regular basis.

Linguistic characteristics of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit are shown in tables 4 to 6.

Table 4 – Number and proportion of Aboriginal identity population, First Nations people, Métis and Inuit for selected Aboriginal language indicators, Vancouver

In Vancouver, 92.8% of the Aboriginal identity population reported that they were able to conduct a conversation only in English or only in French. Additionally, 7.1% of Aboriginal people reported that they were able to conduct a conversation in both of Canada's official languages. The other 0.1%, or 50, reported that they were not able to conduct a conversation in either of these two languages.

Table 5 – Percentage distribution of the population by knowledge of official languages for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Vancouver

In Vancouver, among the 1,320 Aboriginal people who reported being able to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language, 47.7% reported that same language as their mother tongue. The other 52.7% reported a different language, such as English or French, as mother tongue, which suggests these individuals have acquired an Aboriginal language as a second language.

On the other hand, among the 865 Aboriginal people who reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, 27.2% could no longer conduct a conversation in this language, despite the fact that they still understand it.

Table 6 – Population who reported an ability to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language that is not their mother tongue and population who reported an Aboriginal mother tongue but who could not conduct a conversation in that language, for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Vancouver

Immigrant population

According to the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS), 913,310 (40.0%) of the population of the Vancouver census metropolitan area (CMA) were foreign-born (immigrants), 1,315,695 (57.7%) were Canadian-born (non-immigrants) and 51,690 (2.3%) were non-permanent residents.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, the proportion of the population of British Columbia who were immigrants was 27.6%, 70.9% were non-immigrants, and 1.5% were non-permanent residents.

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Vancouver (CMA)

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Vancouver (CMA)

Of the immigrants living in Vancouver in 2011, 155,125 came to Canada between 2006 and 2011. These recent immigrants made up 17.0% of the immigrants in Vancouver.

The three most common countries of birth of immigrants living in Vancouver were: China (accounting for 17.4% of the immigrant population in Vancouver), India (12.2%) and Philippines (9.6%). In comparison, the top three countries of birth of immigrants living in British Columbia were: China (accounting for 14.1% of the immigrant population in British Columbia), India (12.0%) and United Kingdom (11.0%).

Table 1 – Immigrants by country of birth, Vancouver (CMA)

In 2011, among Vancouver's immigrant population, 46.1% spoke English and/or French most often at home. Meanwhile, the three most frequently reported non-official languages spoken most often at home by immigrants in Vancouver were Cantonese, Panjabi (Punjabi) and Mandarin. This compared to the top three non-official languages for immigrants in British Columbia, which were Panjabi (Punjabi), Cantonese and Mandarin.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 2}

Table 2 – Immigrants by non-official languages spoken most often at home, Vancouver (CMA)

The median age of immigrants in Vancouver was 36.1 years in 2011, compared to 35.7 years for the immigrant population at the provincial level.

Visible minority population and ethnic origins

The 2011 NHS estimated that 1,030,335 individuals in the Vancouver belonged to a visible minority group, accounting for 45.2% of its total population.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, visible minorities comprised 27.3% of British Columbia's population.

The three largest visible minority groups living in Vancouver were Chinese, South Asian and Filipino. In British Columbia, the three largest visible minority groups were Chinese, South Asian and Filipino.

The median age of the visible minority population in Vancouver was 36.1 years in 2011, compared to 35.7 years for the visible minority population at the provincial level.

Table 3 – Population showing visible minority groups, Vancouver (CMA) , British Columbia, and Canada

The three most frequently reported ethnic origins in Vancouver, for people reporting either one or multiple ethnic origins, were English, Chinese and Scottish. This compared to the top three in British Columbia, which were English, Scottish and Canadian.

Table 4 – Most frequently reported ethnic origins, Vancouver (CMA)

Religion

According to the 2011 NHS, 58.5% of the population in the Vancouver reported a religious affiliation, while 41.5% said they had no religious affiliation.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} At the provincial level, 55.9% of the population reported a religious affiliation, while 44.1% had no religious affiliation.

The most frequently reported religious affiliation in Vancouver was Roman Catholic, reported by 376,845 (16.5%) of the population. Other frequently reported religions included: Christian, n.i.e. (7.1%) and Sikh (6.8%). In comparison, the top three most frequently reported religions in British Columbia were: Roman Catholic (reported by 15.0% of the population of British Columbia), Christian, n.i.e. (7.2%) and United Church (5.1%).

Table 5 – Most frequently reported religions, Vancouver (CMA)

Educational attainment ^{Education Footnote 1}

In 2011, 64.8% of the 1,623,295 adults aged 25 years and over in Vancouver had completed some form of postsecondary education, compared with 59.6% at the national level.

Of the population aged 25 years and over in Vancouver, 38.1% had a university certificate or degree. An additional 17.8% had a college diploma and 8.9% had a trades certificate.

The share of the adult population that had completed a high school diploma as their highest level of educational attainment was 23.4%, and 11.8% had completed neither high school nor any postsecondary certificates, diplomas or degrees.

Table 1 – Population aged 25 and over by highest level of educational attainment^{Education Footnote 1}, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia, Canada

Overall, successive generations of Canadians have been completing high school and attaining postsecondary qualifications in increasing proportions. In 2011, 41.7% of Canadians aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential; this compares with 69.5% among adults between the ages of 25 and 44. As well, 35.7% of those aged 65 years and over had not completed any certificate, diploma or degree compared with 9.5% of individuals aged 25 to 44.

In Vancouver, 47.5% of those aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential, compared to 73.1% of adults aged 25 to 44; 27.6% of individuals aged 65 years and over had no certificate, diploma or degree, compared to 5.9% of 25 to 44 year-olds.

Vancouver (CMA) – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Vancouver (CMA) – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Major field of study

Table 2 – Most common fields of study^{Education Footnote 9} for the population aged 25 years and over with postsecondary qualifications by level of educational attainment^{Education Footnote 1}, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia, Canada

Location of study^{Education Footnote 11}

In 2011, there were 1,051,535 residents of Vancouver aged 25 years and over with postsecondary credentials. Of these graduates, 53.7% had studied in British Columbia, 13.9% had studied in another province or territory and 32.4% had studied outside Canada. Nationally, 72.5% of graduates had studied in the same province/territory in which they lived in 2011, 10.4% had studied in another province or territory and 17.1% had studied outside Canada.

In all provinces, individuals with trades or college certificates were more likely than those with university credentials to have earned their highest certificate, diploma or degree in the province in which they lived in 2011.

Table 3 – Population aged 25 years and over with postsecondary qualifications by location of study and by level of educational attainment, Vancouver (CMA)

Labour

In Vancouver, 1,182,390 people were employed and 90,945 were unemployed for a total labour force of 1,273,335 in May 2011. The employment rate was at 61.4% and the unemployment rate was at 7.1%.

Table 1 Total population aged 15 years and over by labour force status, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia

Within Vancouver, 11.8% of the employed labour force was aged 15 to 24 and 15.1% was aged 55 to 64. This compares to 12.4% and 16.5% respectively for British Columbia.

Table 2 Employed labour force by age groups, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia

Within Vancouver, the top occupations were: Retail salespersons; Retail and wholesale trade managers; Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations. For British Columbia as a whole the top occupations were: Retail salespersons; Retail and wholesale trade managers; Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations.

Table 3 Top occupations for the employed labour force, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia

Within Vancouver, the top industries were: Elementary and secondary schools; Full-service restaurants; Hospitals. For British Columbia as a whole the top industries were: Elementary and secondary schools; Hospitals; Full-service restaurants.

Table 4 Top industries for the employed labour force, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia

The number of self-employed in Vancouver amounted to 150,780 or 12.8% of all total employed workers.

Table 5 Employed labour force by class of workers, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia

In 2011, 19.7% of commuters within Vancouver used public transit to get to work. This compares to British Columbia at 12.6%. 65.9% of the population used a car, truck or van as a driver, while 4.9% used a car, truck or van as a passenger. The average commuting time to work in Vancouver was 28.4 minutes, this compares to British Columbia at 25.0 minutes.

Within Vancouver, 78.6% of the employed labour force aged 15 years and over worked at their usual place, 7.5% worked at home and 13.1% had no fixed workplace address.

Table 6 Employed labour force by mode of transportation, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia

Table 7 Average commuting duration for the employed labour force, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia

Table 8 Employed Labour force by time leaving for work, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia

Table 9 Employed labour force by place of work status, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia

In Vancouver, 92.9% (1,260,660) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported English only as the language used most often at work, 0.2% (3,050) reported French only and 0.1% (1,955) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. In addition, 1.7% of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language equally most often at work and 5.0% a non-official language only.

Furthermore, 1.8% (24,670) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported working in English on a regular basis, 0.9% (11,825) in French on a regular basis and 0.0% (15) in the country's two official languages on a regular basis. In addition, 0.2% (2,440) of of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language on a regular basis at work and 5.6% (76,395) a non-official language only.

In British Columbia, 95.5% (2,416,850) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported English only as the language used most often at work, 0.2% (5,390) reported French only and 0.1 (3,060) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. Furthermore, 1.1% of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language equally most often at work.

As for the language used at work on a regular basis in British Columbia, the proportions are as follows: 1.1% (28,865) reported using English; 0.8% (21,425) use French; 0.0% (25) use both official languages; 0.1% (3,265) reported using an official language and a non-official language; and 3.5% (89,720) a non-official language only.

Table 10 Languages used at work, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia

In Vancouver, the non-official languages most used, most often or regularly, with or without an official language, are Chinese languages, Panjabi (Punjabi) and Korean, which account respectively for 3.3% (88,300), 1.2% (31,400) and 0.4% (9,835) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011.

In British Columbia, the non-official languages most used, most often or regularly, with or without an official language, are Chinese languages, Panjabi (Punjabi) and Korean, which account respectively for 1.8% (90,975), 0.8% (41,910) and 0.2% (10,710) of the population aged 15 years and older who worked in 2010 or 2011.

Table 11 Non-official languages used at work, Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia

Income composition

The total income for the population in private households can be broken down into two basic components: market income^{Income Footnote 1} and government transfers.^{Income Footnote 2} In Vancouver, 90.4% of total income was from market income in 2010 and 9.6% was from government transfers. (Aggregate total income for Vancouver was 74.6 billion dollars in 2010.)

Figure 1 Income composition for the population in private households in 2010

Income composition for the population in private households in 2010

Market income's main component was employment income. In Vancouver, it accounted for $85.50 of every $100 of market income, above the figure for British Columbia of $83.40. For the two components of employment income, wages and salaries represented $80.00 and net income from self-employment, $5.50.

The other components of market income were smaller than employment income: in Vancouver, investment income represented $7.00 per $100 of market income, retirement income, $5.60 and $1.90 came from other private sources of money.

The government transfers received in Vancouver were Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan with $28.50 of every $100 of total government transfers received, Old Age Security (OAS) pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement ($28.30), Other income from government sources ($17.60), Employment Insurance benefits ($13.70), and Child benefits ($11.90).

Table 1 – Income composition for the population in private households in 2010, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

High total income

Among the Canadian population in private households aged 15 years and over, ten percent had total incomes of more than $80,400 in 2010. To be in the top five percent, Canadians needed to have a total income of slightly above $102,300 and to be in the top one percent required just over $191,100, nearly seven times the national median income of $27,800.^{Income Footnote 3}

In Vancouver, 5.5% percent of the population aged 15 years and over had total income that put them in the top five percent and 1.2% in the top one percent. This compared with 4.7% and 0.9% in British Columbia and 5.0% and 1.0% in Canada.

Table 2 – Population aged 15 years and over by total income, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

A national map showing the spatial distribution of persons with total income in the top five percent of persons with the highest total income is also available. Canada. Percentage of population in top five percent of total income in 2010 by 2011 census division (CD)

Employment income

Of those persons with employment income in Vancouver, 47.5% worked full year, full time^{Income Footnote 4} in 2010 compared to 45.4% in British Columbia. The median employment income was $50,016 for these workers ($49,143 for those in British Columbia).

The top three most common occupations for those working full-year full-time in 2010 in Vancouver were Retail and wholesale trade managers; Retail salespersons; and Financial auditors and accountants.

Table 3 – Median earnings of the most common full-year, full-time occupations in 2010, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Family income

The median after-tax income of economic families in Vancouver in 2010 was $71,346, the median for couple families was $77,296 and for lone-parent families, $42,648. For persons not in economic families (persons living alone or with non relatives only), the median after-tax income was $27,237.

These compare to the medians in British Columbia of $67,915 for after-tax family income of all economic families, $73,063 for couple families, $40,646 for lone-parent families and $25,958 for persons living alone or without relatives.

Table 4 – Median after-tax income in 2010 for economic families and persons not in economic families, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Figure 2 Median after-tax income in 2010 for Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada

Median after-tax income in 2010 for Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada

Families came in different sizes and larger families may have benefited from pooling of resources and economies of scale. In Vancouver, based on their after-tax income adjusted for family size, 52.1% of the population was in the top half of the income distribution, similar to the rate of 50.4% in British Columbia.

In Vancouver, the percentage of the population in the lowest income decile group^{Income Footnote 6} at 12.4% was similar to that in British Columbia (11.6%). The percentage of the population in the highest decile group was 12.2%, higher than in British Columbia (10.3%).

Table 5 – Population in private households by adjusted after-tax family income in 2010, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Low income^{Income Footnote 7}

In the NHS, a relative measure is used to classify persons by income status: the low-income measure based on after-tax income (LIM-AT). For this measure, the income threshold is half the Canadian median of after-tax household income. The income has been adjusted to account for household size. Persons in households with a household income below this threshold^{Income Footnote 8} were considered to be in low income.

Based on the after-tax income low-income measure, the proportion of the population in low income in Vancouver was 17.4%, above the rate of 16.4% observed in British Columbia. In Vancouver, compared to the population of all ages, for persons under 18, the rate was higher (19.5%) and for the population aged 65 years and over, it was lower at 15.5%.

Table 6 – Income status based on after-tax low-income measure (LIM-AT) in 2010, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

A map showing the proportion of the population in low income within Vancouver CMA is also available.

Housing

The number of households in Vancouver was 891,305. The homeownership rate in Vancouver was 65.5% - which was lower than the British Columbia homeownership rate of 70.0%.

Table 1 – Housing tenure for all households, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver – Affordability^{Housing Footnote 1}

Households in Vancouver that paid 30% or more of household total income toward shelter costs represented 33.5% of non-farm, non-reserve households with total income greater than zero. This proportion was higher than the British Columbia proportion (30.3%).

A lower proportion of owner households paid 30% or more compared to tenant households in Vancouver (27.6% for owners versus 44.7% for renters).

Households in Vancouver paid an average monthly shelter cost of $1,294 – which was higher than the British Columbia amount of $1,156. The average monthly shelter cost for tenant households was $1,054, this was lower than the average monthly shelter cost for owner households of $1,420.

Table 2 – Housing affordability for non-farm, non-reserve households, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver – Need for major repairs^{Housing Footnote 2}

In Vancouver, 6.6% of households reported living in dwellings that required major repairs. This was lower than the British Columbia proportion of 7.2%. The proportion of households reporting major repair requirements was lower for owners than renters (5.9% for owner-occupied dwellings and 8.0% for renter-occupied dwellings).

Table 3 – Need for major repairs by housing tenure, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver – Suitability

In Vancouver, 9.3% of households lived in dwellings that were not suitable; that is, the dwelling was crowded because there were not enough bedrooms based on the National Occupancy Standard.^{Housing Footnote 3} This was higher than the British Columbia proportion of 6.8%. The proportion of households living in dwellings that were not suitable was lower for owners than renters (6.0% for owner households and 15.6% for renter households).

Table 4 – Housing suitability by housing tenure, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver – Condominium by period of construction

Out of the 891,305 households in Vancouver, 279,535 lived in condominium dwellings.

Of dwellings built between 2001 and 2011, 87,105 (53.4%) were condominiums. Of dwellings built between 1991 and 2000, 83,055 (48.4%) were condominiums. Between 1981 and 1990, 50,890 (31.3%) were condominiums, and, for 1980 or before, 58,490 (14.8%) were condominiums.

Vancouver – Condominium by period of construction

Related data

• 2011 NHS Profile – Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia
• 2011 NHS Data Tables – Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia
  • Aboriginal Peoples
  • Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity
  • Mobility and Migration
  • Education and Labour
  • Income and Housing
• 2011 Census Focus on Geography Series – Vancouver (CMA), British Columbia