List of population centres in British Columbia

Population centre, in Canadian census data, is a populated place, or a cluster of interrelated populated places, which meets the demographic characteristics of an urban area, having a population of at least 1,000 people and a population density of no fewer than 400 persons per square km².[1]

The term was first introduced in the Canada 2011 Census; prior to that, Statistics Canada used the term urban area.[1]

In the 2016 census, Statistics Canada listed 107 population centres in the province of British Columbia.[2]

List

Rank	Population centre[2]	Size group[2]	Population (2016)[2]	Population (2011)[2]	% Change[2]
1	Vancouver	Large urban	2,264,823	2,124,443	+6.6%
2	Victoria	Large urban	335,696	314,596	+6.7%
3	Kelowna	Large urban	151,957	140,131	+8.4%
4	Abbotsford	Large urban	121,279	115,011	+5.4%
5	White Rock	Medium	93,729	85,062	+7.8%
6	Nanaimo	Medium	92,004	85,357	+10.2%
7	Kamloops	Medium	78,026	72,755	+7.2%
8	Chilliwack	Medium	73,161	67,374	+8.6%
9	Prince George	Medium	65,510	62,623	+4.6%
10	Vernon	Medium	48,073	46,125	+4.2%
11	Courtenay	Medium	45,018	43,346	+3.9%
12	Campbell River	Medium	35,138	33,448	+5.1%
13	Penticton	Medium	33,617	32,823	+2.4%
14	Mission	Medium	33,261	31,109	+6.9%
15	Parksville	Small	23,574	22,493	+4.8%
16	Duncan	Small	23,278	22,179	+3.3%
17	Ladner	Small	22,193	22,539	+0.1%
18	Tsawwassen	Small	21,588	21,439	+0.7%
19	Port Alberni	Small	20,712	20,823	-0.5%
20	Fort St. John	Small	19,897	18,572	+7.1%
21	Cranbrook	Small	19,259	18,761	+2.7%
22	Squamish	Small	17,587	15,554	+13.1%
23	Terrace	Small	13,663	13,395	+2.0%
24	Salmon Arm	Small	12,875	12,218	+5.4%
25	Trail-Fruitvale	Small	12,643	12,427	+1.7%
26	Powell River	Small	12,384	12,374	+0.1%
27	Quesnel	Small	12,064	12,216	-1.2%
28	Aldergrove	Small	12,007	12,083	-0.6%
29	Prince Rupert	Small	11,733	11,985	-2.1%
30	Dawson Creek	Small	11,574	10,987	+5.3%
31	Nelson	Small	10,664	10,347	+3.1%
32	Ladysmith	Small	10,637	9,904	+7.4%
33	Williams Lake	Small	10,508	10,902	-3.6%
34	Sooke	Small	9,269	8,238	+12.5%
35	Gibsons	Small	9,132	8,767	+4.2%
36	Castlegar	Small	9,023	8,815	+2.4%
37	Sechelt	Small	8,832	8,060	+9.6%
38	Summerland	Small	8,742	8,456	+3.4%
39	Whistler	Small	8,713	7,176	+21.4%
40	Shawnigan-Mill Bay	Small	7,021	6,543	+7.3%
41	Duck Lake	Small	6,982	6,764	+3.2%
42	Revelstoke	Small	6,719	6,298	+6.7%
43	Kitimat	Small	6,394	6,633	-3.6%
44	Smithers	Small	5,351	5,400	-0.9%
45	Merritt	Small	5,321	5,447	-2.3%
46	Oliver	Small	5,279	5,037	+4.8%
47	Creston	Small	5,226	5,159	+1.3%
48	Armstrong	Small	5,114	4,830	+5.9%
49	Fernie	Small	4,850	4,156	+16.7%
50	Peachland	Small	4,698	4,527	+3.8%
51	Osoyoos	Small	4,520	4,210	+7.4%
52	Kimberley	Small	4,513	4,178	+8.0%
53	Dallas	Small	4,479	4,445	+0.8%
54	Hope	Small	4,067	3,911	+4.0%
55	Grand Forks	Small	3,953	3,892	+1.6%
56	Kent	Small	3,802	3,399	+11.9%
57	Port Hardy	Small	3,643	3,552	+2.6%
58	Cumberland	Small	3,600	3,271	+10.1%
59	Cobble Hill	Small	3,580	3,337	+7.3%
60	Aldergrove East	Small	3,491	2,383	+46.5%
61	Sparwood	Small	3,490	3,511	-0.6%
62	Fort Nelson	Small	3,366	3,561	-5.5%
63	Mackenzie	Small	3,262	3,087	+5.7%
64	Golden	Small	3,240	3,262	-0.7%
65	Rossland	Small	3,219	3,134	+2.7%
66	Chemainus	Small	3,021	2,914	+3.7%
67	Lake Cowichan	Small	3,013	2,848	+5.8%
68	Enderby	Small	2,964	2,932	+1.1%
69	Invermere	Small	2,882	2,537	+13.6%
70	Princeton	Small	2,745	2,579	+6.4%
71	Cowichan Bay	Small	2,394	2,108	+13.6%
72	Chase	Small	2,263	2,463	-8.1%
73	Okanagan Falls	Small	2,167	2,080	+4.2%
74	Houston	Small	2,126	2,120	+0.3%
75	Port McNeill	Small	2,064	2,186	-5.6%
76	Tumbler Ridge	Small	1,982	2,700	-26.6%
77	Vanderhoof	Small	1,979	1,980	-0.1%
78	Blind Bay	Small	1,976	1,915	+3.2%
79	Pemberton	Small	1,957	1,738	+12.6%
80	Rayleigh	Small	1,951	2,014	-3.1%
81	Burns Lake	Small	1,932	1,771	-13.1%
82	Roberts Creek	Small	1,848	2,222	+4.3%
83	One Hundred Mile House	Small	1,811	1,721	+5.2%
84	Sicamous	Small	1,786	1,843	-3.1%
85	Elkford	Small	1,752	1,791	-2.2%
86	Rosedale	Small	1,741	1,744	-0.2%
87	Keremeos	Small	1,714	1,479	+15.9%
88	Cedar	Small	1,674	1,595	+5.0%
89	Ucluelet	Small	1,576	1,525	+3.3%
90	Lillooet	Small	1,560	1,545	+1.0%
91	Fort St. James	Small	1,510	1,393	+8.4%
92	Puntledge	Small	1,387	1,358	+2.1%
93	Crofton	Small	1,373	1,322	+3.9%
94	Lions Bay	Small	1,334	1,318	+1.2%
95	Lumby	Small	1,303	1,248	+2.0%
96	Harrison Hot Springs	Small	1,242	1,248	-0.5%
97	Logan Lake	Small	1,208	1,245	-3.0%
98	Telkwa	Small	1,160	1,163	-0.3%
99	Fairwinds	Small	1,147	1,060	+8.2%
100	Salmo	Small	1,141	1,139	+0.2%
101	Nakusp	Small	1,130	1,094	+3.3%
102	Welcome Beach	Small	1,125	1,155	-2.6%
103	Miller's Landing	Small	1,097	1,113	-1.4%
104	Ashcroft	Small	1,084	1,151	-5.8%
105	Canoe	Small	1,081	1,149	-5.9%
106	Cultus Lake	Small	1,053	1,071	-1.7%
107	Naramata	Small	1,003	915	+9.6%

References

1. "From urban areas to population centres" Archived 2012-12-13 at the Wayback Machine. Statistics Canada, May 5, 2011.
2. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and population centres, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (British Columbia)". Statistics Canada. February 20, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2020.