Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census subdivision of Comox Valley A, RDA - British Columbia ¹

Map of Comox Valley A, RDA

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Comox Valley A, RDA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank

Nat. rank

551

In 2011, Comox Valley A (Regional district electoral area) had a population of 6,899, representing a percentage change of -1.1% from 2006. This compares to the national average growth of 5.9%.

Land area is 492.72 square kilometres with a population density of 14.0 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the provincial land area of 922,509.29 square kilometres with a population density of 4.8 persons per square kilometre.

In 2011, Comox Valley A (Regional district electoral area) had 3,223 private dwellings occupied by usual residents. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 1.2%. For Canada as a whole, the number of private dwellings occupied by usual residents increased 7.1%.

Comox Valley A (Regional district electoral area) is part of the census agglomeration of Courtenay.

Population and dwelling counts

Comox Valley A (Regional district electoral area) – Neighbouring census subdivisions

Table 1 Comox Valley A (Regional district electoral area) – Neighbouring census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Nanaimo G, B.C.	RDA	7,158	7,023	1.9
Nanaimo H, B.C.	RDA	3,509	3,474	1.0
Alberni-Clayoquot B, B.C.	RDA	456	476	-4.2
Alberni-Clayoquot D, B.C.	RDA	1,701	2,027	-16.1
Comox, B.C.	T	13,627	12,385 A	10.0
Courtenay, B.C.	CY	24,099	22,021 A	9.4
Cumberland, B.C.	VL	3,398	2,762	23.0
Comox Valley B (Lazo North), B.C.	RDA	6,939	6,970 A	-0.4
Comox Valley C (Puntledge - Black Creek), B.C.	RDA	8,325	8,099 A	2.8
Powell River D, B.C.	RDA	1,053	1,107	-4.9
Powell River E, B.C.	RDA	426	359	18.7

British Columbia – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the highest population growth

Table 2 British Columbia – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the highest population growth, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Langford	CY	29,228	22,459	30.1
Lake Country	DM	11,708	9,606	21.9
Port Moody	CY	32,975	27,512	19.9
Kent	DM	5,664	4,738 E	19.5
Surrey	CY	468,251	394,976	18.6

British Columbia – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the lowest population growth

Table 3 British Columbia – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the lowest population growth, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Kitimat	DM	8,335	8,987	-7.3
Peace River D	RDA	5,479	5,749	-4.7
Esquimalt	DM	16,209	16,840	-3.7
Hope	DM	5,969	6,185	-3.5
Okanagan-Similkameen D	RDA	5,717	5,913	-3.3

Age and sex

Comox Valley A, RDA – Age distribution

Chart C: Comox Valley A, RDA - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Comox Valley A, RDA - Population by broad age groups

Table 4 Comox Valley A, RDA – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
0 to 14	10.4%	10.3%	10.6%
15 to 64	65.4%	64.8%	66.1%
65 and over	24.1%	25.0%	23.3%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Comox Valley A, RDA was 24.1%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 65.4% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 10.4%. 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.

Comox Valley A, RDA – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 5 Comox Valley A, RDA – Population by broad age groups, 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	6,900	6,975	-75	-1.1
0 to 14	715	885	-170	-19.2
15 to 64	4,515	4,720	-205	-4.3
65 and over	1,665	1,375	290	21.1
Males
Total	3,405	3,450	-45	-1.3
0 to 14	350	450	-100	-22.2
15 to 64	2,205	2,300	-95	-4.1
65 and over	850	705	145	20.6
Females
Total	3,495	3,525	-30	-0.9
0 to 14	370	435	-65	-14.9
15 to 64	2,310	2,420	-110	-4.5
65 and over	815	665	150	22.6

Comox Valley A, RDA – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Comox Valley A, RDA - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 6 Comox Valley A, RDA – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
Total - Age groups	6,900	3,405	3,495
0 to 4 years	205	95	110
5 to 9 years	235	115	120
10 to 14 years	275	140	130
15 to 19 years	315	175	140
20 to 24 years	250	130	120
25 to 29 years	215	105	110
30 to 34 years	255	130	125
35 to 39 years	295	145	150
40 to 44 years	335	160	175
45 to 49 years	545	260	290
50 to 54 years	680	315	365
55 to 59 years	805	365	435
60 to 64 years	825	420	400
65 to 69 years	620	310	310
70 to 74 years	430	225	205
75 to 79 years	320	175	140
80 to 84 years	185	100	90
85 years and over	105	40	75
Median age	53.9	54.1	53.7

Comox Valley A, RDA – Median age² of the population

Chart E: Canada, British Columbia and Comox Valley A, RDA - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, British Columbia and Comox Valley A, RDA - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

In 2011, the median age in Comox Valley A, RDA was 53.9 years. In comparison, the median age of British Columbia was 41.9 years.

Table 7 Canada, British Columbia and Comox Valley A, RDA – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
	Median age
	2006	2011
Canada	39.5	40.6
British Columbia	40.8	41.9
Comox Valley A, RDA	50.0	53.9

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families³ in Comox Valley A was 2,235, which represents a change of 0.0% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.

In Comox Valley A, 70.0% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 18.3% were common-law-couples and 11.4% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Comox Valley A - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Comox Valley A - Census families by family structure

Comox Valley A – Family structure

Table 8 Canada, British Columbia, CSD of Comox Valley A, RDA and neighbouring census subdivisions – 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
Comox Valley A, RDA	2,235	1,565	70.0	410	18.3	255	11.4	0.0
Nanaimo G, RDA	2,505	2,020	80.6	250	10.0	230	9.2	5.3
Nanaimo H, RDA	1,170	860	73.5	195	16.7	110	9.4	4.0
Alberni-Clayoquot B, RDA	145	105	72.4	20	13.8	20	13.8	-6.5
Alberni-Clayoquot D, RDA	560	430	76.8	85	15.2	45	8.0	-11.8
Comox, T	4,110	3,090	75.2	500	12.2	525	12.8	8.9
Courtenay, CY	6,935	4,605	66.4	1,045	15.1	1,285	18.5	8.9
Cumberland, VL	965	530	54.9	240	24.9	200	20.7	30.4
Comox Valley B (Lazo North), RDA	2,195	1,670	76.1	290	13.2	240	10.9	0.5
Comox Valley C (Puntledge - Black Creek), RDA	2,635	1,935	73.4	405	15.4	300	11.4	5.6
Powell River D, RDA	330	225	68.2	70	21.2	30	9.1	-1.5
Powell River E, RDA	120	60	50.0	40	33.3	15	12.5	20.0

Comox Valley A – Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census subdivision of Comox Valley A, 25.5% 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.

Presence of children within couple families
* Children aged 24 and under at home
Married couples with children *	405
Married couples without children *	1,165
Common-law-couples with children *	100
Common-law-couples without children *	310

Comox Valley A – Marital status

Chart H description: Comox Valley A - Marital status

In Comox Valley A, 65.2% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (51.8%) or living with a common-law partner (13.3%).

The remaining 34.8% 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 9 Canada, British Columbia, Comox Valley A, RDA – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status	Comox Valley A, RDA		British Columbia		Canada
Marital status	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Population 15 years and over	6,185	100.0	3,722,690	100.0	27,869,345	100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner	4,030	65.2	2,154,575	57.9	16,084,490	57.7
Married (and not separated)	3,205	51.8	1,832,605	49.2	12,941,965	46.4
Living common-law	825	13.3	321,965	8.6	3,142,525	11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner	2,150	34.8	1,568,120	42.1	11,784,855	42.3
Single (never legally married)	1,175	19.0	1,014,270	27.2	7,816,045	28.0
Separated	155	2.5	102,035	2.7	698,245	2.5
Divorced	510	8.2	246,515	6.6	1,686,035	6.0
Widowed	310	5.0	205,300	5.5	1,584,525	5.7

Comox Valley A – Types of private households

There were 3,220 private households⁴ in Comox Valley A in 2011, a change of 1.1% from 2006. Of these, 15.1% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of -19.8% compared with five years earlier.

Table 10 Canada, British Columbia, Comox Valley A, RDA – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type⁵	Comox Valley A, RDA		British Columbia		Canada
Household type⁵	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total private households	3,220	100.0	1,764,635	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Couple-family households with children aged 24 and under at home⁶	485	15.1	431,135	24.4	3,524,915	26.5
Couple-family households without children aged 24 and under at home⁷	1,425	44.3	532,995	30.2	3,935,540	29.5
Lone-parent family households⁸	230	7.1	168,530	9.6	1,375,450	10.3
One-person households	910	28.3	498,925	28.3	3,673,310	27.6
Multiple family households⁹	45	1.4	50,410	2.9	268,060	2.0
Other households¹⁰	125	3.9	82,640	4.7	543,340	4.1

Comox Valley A – Structural type of dwelling

In Comox Valley A, 93.0% 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 11 Canada, British Columbia, Comox Valley A, RDA – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling	Comox Valley A, RDA		British Columbia		Canada
Structural type of dwelling	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Structural type of dwelling	3,220	100.0	1,764,640	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Single-detached house	2,995	93.0	842,120	47.7	7,329,150	55.0
Semi-detached house	40	1.2	52,825	3.0	646,240	4.9
Row house	15	0.5	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	15	0.5	361,150	20.5	2,397,555	18.0
Apartment, duplex	30	0.9	184,355	10.4	704,485	5.3
Other single-attached house¹¹	5	0.2	2,885	0.2	33,310	0.3
Movable dwelling¹²	120	3.7	46,960	2.7	183,510	1.4

Language

Comox Valley A, RDA – Mother tongue

Chart J description: Comox Valley A, RDA - 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 Comox Valley A, 91.9% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 2.2% reported French only, and 5.5% reported a non-official language only, 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, 98.2% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.5% spoke only French and 0.8% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 80.5% for only English, 0.4% for only French and 15.4% for only a non-official language.

Table 12 Comox Valley A, RDA – 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	6,895	100.0	6,900	100.0
English	6,335	91.9	6,775	98.2
French	150	2.2	35	0.5
Non-official language	380	5.5	55	0.8
Multiple responses	35	0.5	40	0.6

Table 13 Comox Valley A, RDA – 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	99.8	99.8	0.1
French	45.5	18.2	27.3
Non-official language	43.8	18.8	25.0

Comox Valley A, RDA – Non-official languages

In Comox Valley A, the three most common mother tongues were German (2.1%), Dutch (0.7%) and Polish (0.4%), 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 14 Comox Valley A, RDA – 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.
German	145	36.3	2.1
Dutch	50	12.5	0.7
Polish	25	6.3	0.4
Danish	15	3.8	0.2
Swedish	15	3.8	0.2
Japanese	15	3.8	0.2
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino)	15	3.8	0.2

Comox Valley A, RDA – Bilingualism

Table 15 Comox Valley A, RDA – 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	7.3	5.3	83.3	9.3
0 to 19	6.8	5.9	100.0	0.0
20 to 44	7.9	5.6	71.4	8.3
45 to 64	7.4	5.0	86.7	10.3
65 and over	6.6	5.1	66.7	9.1

Table 16 Comox Valley A, RDA – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages	Number	Percentage
Total	6,900	100.0
English only	6,380	92.5
French only	0	0.0
English and French	515	7.5
Neither English nor French	0	0.0

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.

Note(s):

Comox Valley A, RDA (British Columbia) – This census subdivision has the following data quality indicators (commonly referred to as data quality flags):

2006 adjusted count; most of these are the result of boundary changes.
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'.
Census family: Refers to a married couple (with or without children), a common-law couple (with or without children) or a lone parent family.
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.
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.
Couple-family households with children: Refers to couple households with at least one child aged 24 and under.
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.
Lone-parent-family households: Refers to all lone-parent family households regardless of age of children.
Multiple-family households: Refers to a household in which two or more census families (with or without additional persons) occupy the same private dwelling.
Other households: Refers to two or more people who share a private dwelling, but who do not constitute a census family.
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).
Movable dwelling includes mobile homes and other movable dwellings such as houseboats and railroad cars.
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.

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.