Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available.

Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census subdivision of Nelson, CY - British Columbia ¹

Map of Nelson, CY

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Nelson, CY - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank

Nat. rank

393

In 2011, Nelson (City) had a population of 10,230, representing a percentage change of 10.5% from 2006. This compares to the national average growth of 5.9%.

Land area is 11.93 square kilometres with a population density of 857.7 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, Nelson (City) had 4,627 private dwellings occupied by usual residents. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 11.2%. For Canada as a whole, the number of private dwellings occupied by usual residents increased 7.1%.

Population and dwelling counts

Nelson (City) – Neighbouring census subdivisions

Table 1 Nelson (City) – Neighbouring census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Central Kootenay E, B.C.	RDA	3,781	3,716	1.7
Central Kootenay F, B.C.	RDA	3,976	3,730	6.6
Central Kootenay H, B.C.	RDA	4,289	4,319	-0.7

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

Nelson, CY – Age distribution

Chart C: Nelson, CY - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Nelson, CY - Population by broad age groups

Table 4 Nelson, CY – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
0 to 14	15.8%	16.8%	15.0%
15 to 64	68.8%	69.8%	67.7%
65 and over	15.4%	13.4%	17.2%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Nelson, CY was 15.4%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 68.8% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 15.8%. 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.

Nelson, CY – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 5 Nelson, CY – 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	10,230	9,255	975	10.5
0 to 14	1,620	1,510	110	7.3
15 to 64	7,035	6,355	680	10.7
65 and over	1,575	1,400	175	12.5
Males
Total	4,855	4,450	405	9.1
0 to 14	815	800	15	1.9
15 to 64	3,390	3,085	305	9.9
65 and over	650	560	90	16.1
Females
Total	5,380	4,810	570	11.9
0 to 14	805	700	105	15.0
15 to 64	3,640	3,265	375	11.5
65 and over	925	835	90	10.8

Nelson, CY – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Nelson, CY - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 6 Nelson, CY – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
Total - Age groups	10,230	4,855	5,380
0 to 4 years	535	280	260
5 to 9 years	535	275	260
10 to 14 years	550	260	290
15 to 19 years	665	340	325
20 to 24 years	585	285	295
25 to 29 years	625	300	320
30 to 34 years	745	375	370
35 to 39 years	740	350	400
40 to 44 years	690	340	355
45 to 49 years	745	355	390
50 to 54 years	795	380	415
55 to 59 years	755	340	415
60 to 64 years	695	335	360
65 to 69 years	405	200	205
70 to 74 years	295	110	185
75 to 79 years	275	125	145
80 to 84 years	295	115	185
85 years and over	305	95	210
Median age	40.9	39.5	42.2

Nelson, CY – Median age² of the population

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

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

In 2011, the median age in Nelson, CY was 40.9 years. In comparison, the median age of British Columbia was 41.9 years.

Table 7 Canada, British Columbia and Nelson, CY – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
	Median age
	2006	2011
Canada	39.5	40.6
British Columbia	40.8	41.9
Nelson, CY	40.3	40.9

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families³ in Nelson was 2,670, which represents a change of 10.6% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.

In Nelson, 59.9% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 18.5% were common-law-couples and 21.5% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Nelson - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Nelson - Census families by family structure

Nelson – Family structure

Table 8 Canada, British Columbia, CSD of Nelson, CY 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
Nelson, CY	2,670	1,600	59.9	495	18.5	575	21.5	10.6
Central Kootenay E, RDA	1,160	780	67.2	225	19.4	155	13.4	4.5
Central Kootenay F, RDA	1,220	890	73.0	215	17.6	120	9.8	8.9
Central Kootenay H, RDA	1,275	785	61.6	315	24.7	175	13.7	-2.7

Nelson – Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census subdivision of Nelson, 44.9% 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 *	745
Married couples without children *	855
Common-law-couples with children *	195
Common-law-couples without children *	300

Nelson – Marital status

Chart H description: Nelson - Marital status

In Nelson, 50.0% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (38.4%) or living with a common-law partner (11.5%).

The remaining 50.1% 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 9 Canada, British Columbia, Nelson, CY – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status	Nelson, CY		British Columbia		Canada
Marital status	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Population 15 years and over	8,605	100.0	3,722,690	100.0	27,869,345	100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner	4,300	50.0	2,154,575	57.9	16,084,490	57.7
Married (and not separated)	3,305	38.4	1,832,605	49.2	12,941,965	46.4
Living common-law	990	11.5	321,965	8.6	3,142,525	11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner	4,310	50.1	1,568,120	42.1	11,784,855	42.3
Single (never legally married)	2,670	31.0	1,014,270	27.2	7,816,045	28.0
Separated	310	3.6	102,035	2.7	698,245	2.5
Divorced	775	9.0	246,515	6.6	1,686,035	6.0
Widowed	550	6.4	205,300	5.5	1,584,525	5.7

Nelson – Types of private households

There were 4,625 private households⁴ in Nelson in 2011, a change of 11.2% from 2006. Of these, 19.9% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of 8.9% compared with five years earlier.

Table 10 Canada, British Columbia, Nelson, CY – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type⁵	Nelson, CY		British Columbia		Canada
Household type⁵	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total private households	4,625	100.0	1,764,635	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Couple-family households with children aged 24 and under at home⁶	920	19.9	431,135	24.4	3,524,915	26.5
Couple-family households without children aged 24 and under at home⁷	1,125	24.3	532,995	30.2	3,935,540	29.5
Lone-parent family households⁸	545	11.8	168,530	9.6	1,375,450	10.3
One-person households	1,700	36.8	498,925	28.3	3,673,310	27.6
Multiple family households⁹	40	0.9	50,410	2.9	268,060	2.0
Other households¹⁰	300	6.5	82,640	4.7	543,340	4.1

Nelson – Structural type of dwelling

In Nelson, 54.4% 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, Nelson, CY – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling	Nelson, CY		British Columbia		Canada
Structural type of dwelling	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Structural type of dwelling	4,625	100.0	1,764,640	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Single-detached house	2,515	54.4	842,120	47.7	7,329,150	55.0
Semi-detached house	210	4.5	52,825	3.0	646,240	4.9
Row house	195	4.2	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	1,150	24.9	361,150	20.5	2,397,555	18.0
Apartment, duplex	455	9.8	184,355	10.4	704,485	5.3
Other single-attached house¹¹	10	0.2	2,885	0.2	33,310	0.3
Movable dwelling¹²	95	2.1	46,960	2.7	183,510	1.4

Language

Nelson, CY – Mother tongue

Chart J description: Nelson, CY - 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 Nelson, 88.3% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 2.1% reported French only, and 8.5% 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, 96.3% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.7% spoke only French and 1.8% 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 Nelson, CY – 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	10,030	100.0	10,030	100.0
English	8,855	88.3	9,655	96.3
French	215	2.1	70	0.7
Non-official language	855	8.5	185	1.8
Multiple responses	110	1.1	120	1.2

Table 13 Nelson, CY – 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	99.7	0.1
French	57.4	31.5	25.9
Non-official language	55.5	27.5	28.0

Nelson, CY – Non-official languages

In Nelson, the three most common mother tongues were German (1.6%), Russian (1.3%) and Italian (1.2%), 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 Nelson, CY – 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	165	18.0	1.6
Russian	130	14.2	1.3
Italian	125	13.7	1.2
Dutch	70	7.7	0.7
Chinese, n.o.s.	35	3.8	0.3
Spanish	35	3.8	0.3

Nelson, CY – Bilingualism

Table 15 Nelson, CY – 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	10.7	8.9	93.0	8.8
0 to 19	12.0	10.9	100.0	13.3
20 to 44	14.2	11.5	95.0	15.4
45 to 64	9.0	6.6	92.9	8.5
65 and over	4.2	3.1	75.0	3.4

Table 16 Nelson, CY – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages	Number	Percentage
Total	10,030	100.0
English only	8,890	88.6
French only	5	0.0
English and French	1,110	11.1
Neither English nor French	25	0.2

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

Nelson CY (British Columbia) – This census subdivision 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 subdivision of Nelson, City - British Columbia
2011 Census Highlight tables – Census subdivision of Nelson, City - British Columbia
2011 Census Data Navigator – Census subdivision of Nelson, City - British Columbia
2011 NHS Focus on Geography Series – Census subdivision of Nelson, City - British Columbia

Date modified:: 2019-03-27

Language selection

Search and menus

Search

Archived Content

Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census