British Columbia · Census Metropolitan Area
Vancouver by the numbers
Vancouver is Canada's 3rd largest metro area, home to about 3.09M people, growing faster than the country since 2021 (+11.4% vs +9.3%). A two-bedroom rents for about $2,364, the median age is 40.8 and January averages 4°C.
People
Population of Vancouver
The Vancouver census metropolitan area had an estimated 3,088,036 people on July 1, 2025, up +11.4% since 2021 (Canada grew +9.3%). The 2021 Census counted 2,642,825 people, +7.3% more than in 2016.
The City of Vancouver itself had an estimated 740,454 residents in 2025.
Municipalities in the Vancouver area
| Municipality | 2025 estimate | 2021 Census | 2016–21 growth | People / km² |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | 740,454 | 662,248 | +4.9% | 5,750 |
| Surrey | 703,531 | 568,322 | +9.7% | 1,798 |
| Burnaby | 299,682 | 249,125 | +7.0% | 2,751 |
| Richmond | 239,584 | 209,937 | +5.9% | 1,629 |
| Coquitlam | 173,599 | 148,625 | +6.7% | 1,217 |
| Langley | 163,885 | 132,603 | +13.1% | 432 |
| Delta | 124,670 | 108,455 | +6.1% | 604 |
| Maple Ridge | 105,925 | 90,990 | +10.6% | 340 |
| North Vancouver | 97,845 | 88,168 | +2.9% | 549 |
| New Westminster | 92,124 | 78,916 | +11.2% | 5,052 |
| Port Coquitlam | 67,724 | 61,498 | +4.9% | 2,109 |
| North Vancouver | 66,624 | 58,120 | +9.9% | 4,913 |
| West Vancouver | 47,929 | 44,122 | +3.9% | 506 |
| Port Moody | 38,285 | 33,535 | 0.0% | 1,297 |
| Langley | 35,444 | 28,963 | +11.9% | 2,845 |
| White Rock | 25,057 | 21,939 | +10.0% | 4,241 |
| Pitt Meadows | 20,892 | 19,146 | +3.1% | 222 |
| Metro Vancouver A | 22,031 | 18,612 | +15.4% | 23 |
| Bowen Island | 4,501 | 4,256 | +15.7% | 85 |
| Capilano 5 | 3,376 | 2,899 | -1.1% | 1,689 |
| Burrard Inlet 3 | 2,820 | 2,373 | +10.8% | 2,123 |
| Anmore | 2,508 | 2,356 | +6.6% | 86 |
| Tsawwassen | 2,629 | 2,256 | +176.5% | 343 |
| Musqueam 2 | 1,879 | 1,646 | -0.4% | 895 |
| Lions Bay | 1,375 | 1,390 | +4.2% | 549 |
Showing the 25 largest of 38 municipalities in the metro area.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0148-01, Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0155-01, Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0003-01
2021 Census
Who lives in Vancouver
Age
Median age is 40.8 (Canada: 41.6). 17.4% of residents are 65 or older and 14.1% are under 15.
Languages
6.5% can speak both official languages. At home, 65.9% speak mostly English, 0.3% mostly French and 27.8% mostly another language.
Immigration
41.8% of residents are immigrants (Canada: 23.0%), and 5.9% arrived between 2016 and 2021.
Education: 43.2% of 25 to 64 year olds hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 16.9% have a college or CEGEP diploma and 5.9% a trades certificate.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0030-01, Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0223-01, Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0227-01, Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0302-01, Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0384-01
Money
Income and jobs in Vancouver
Half of Vancouver households made more than $90,000 in 2020 and half made less. Across Canada the median was $84,000.
Unemployment rate
In September 2026, the unemployment rate was 7.0% and 63.4% of adults had a job.
Prices: the Consumer Price Index for Vancouver was up +3.0% over the year to September 2026 (Canada: +3.1%).
Gas prices
Regular gas averaged 209.5¢ a litre in September 2026, +22.2% from a year earlier (Canada: 184.3¢). Compare gas prices across Canada →
Sources: Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0061-01, Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0459-01, Statistics Canada, Table 18-10-0004-01, Statistics Canada, Table 18-10-0001-01
Housing
Housing in Vancouver
Average rent (October 2025)
A two-bedroom apartment rented for $2,364 a month on average, +2.2% from a year earlier and +31.4% over five years. The rental vacancy rate was 3.7%. Within the City of Vancouver itself, a two-bedroom averaged $2,638.
New homes being built
Builders started 26,601 new homes in the Vancouver area in the 12 months to September 2026, -4.9% from the year before. That is 8.6 new homes per 1,000 residents. Source: Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0154-01 (CMHC housing starts)
Sources: Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0258-01, Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0256-01, Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0253-01, Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0133-01, Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0127-01
Commuting
Getting around Vancouver
Census day 2021 fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, so transit use is lower than in normal years.
Safety
Crime in Vancouver
The Crime Severity Index weighs each police-reported crime by how serious it is. Canada in 2006 = 100. Vancouver's index rose +1.5% in the latest year.
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 35-10-0026-01
Every crime type in Vancouver → Car theft, break-ins, fraud, homicides and more.
Climate
Vancouver weather and climate
30-year averages (1981–2010) from the Vancouver Int'L A weather station, 8.8 km from the city centre.
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010
Official city data
Vancouver open data & fun facts
City of Burnaby Open Data · 66 datasets
- Park Inventory A collection of all known parks and golf courses in Burnaby.
- Street The City of Burnaby's dedicated streets, private roads and provincial highways.
- Zoning The Burnaby Zoning Bylaw regulates the development and use of land and the location and use of buildings and structures within the City of Burnaby.
- Legal Parcels Area of land designated as a separate and distinct parcel on a legally recorded subdivision plan or description filed in the Land Registry Office, and having a principal frontage upon a public street or place.
City of Coquitlam Open Data Portal · 27 datasets
- Parks, Recreation and Culture This map service contains Parks, Recreation and Culture related layers for the City of Coquitlam.
- Drainage Utility This map service contains Drainage Utility layers for the City of Coquitlam.
- Planning and Development - Historical as of May 2026 This map service contains planning and development related layers for the City of Coquitlam - historical as of May 2026.
- Street Lights This map service contains street lighting related layers for the City of Coquitlam.
Surrey's Open Data Catalog · 190 datasets
- Issued Building Permits Building permits issued in the current year, with construction value and dwelling units.
- Lots This dataset contains Lots and conforms to the ICIS standard.
- Crime Incidents The crime incident data is drawn from the provincial Police Records Information Management Environment (PRIME), a live records management system which captures crime and occurrences that are either re.
- Development Applications Historic and current sites of Land Development Applications (rezoning, subdivision etc.) submitted to the City of Surrey.
- Open Data Download Summary This service summarizes download statistics for open datasets by dataset name, time period, format, and category, providing insights into data usage trends.
City of Vancouver Open Data Portal · 200 datasets
- Public trees Inventory of public trees on boulevards in Vancouver, with species, height and diameter.
- 3-1-1 service requests Service requests received by the City of Vancouver 3-1-1 contact centre.
- Issued building permits Building permits issued by the City, with project value and type of work.
- Business licences Business licences issued by the City of Vancouver.
Out of all Canadian metro areas with data
How Vancouver ranks
Compare
Municipality profiles
Cities and towns in the Vancouver area
Cities near Vancouver
Interactive timeline
History of Vancouver
Vancouver stands on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, whose ancestors have lived around Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River estuary for thousands of years. A sawmill settlement nicknamed Gastown became the City of Vancouver in 1886 when the Canadian Pacific Railway chose it as its Pacific terminus. The city grew into Canada's main Pacific port while also being the site of anti-Asian riots, exclusion laws and wartime internment, and later hosted Expo 86 and the 2010 Winter Olympics.
FAQ
Vancouver questions, answered
What is the population of Vancouver?
The Vancouver metro area had an estimated 3,088,036 people on July 1, 2025 (Statistics Canada). The City of Vancouver itself had about 740,454.
How much is rent in Vancouver?
In October 2025 the average rent in Vancouver was $1,807 for a one-bedroom and $2,364 for a two-bedroom apartment (CMHC Rental Market Survey).
What is the average household income in Vancouver?
The median household income in Vancouver was $90,000 before tax in 2020 ($79,500 after tax), according to the 2021 Census. The average was $117,300.
What is the unemployment rate in Vancouver?
The unemployment rate in Vancouver was 7.0% in September 2026 (Labour Force Survey, three-month moving average, seasonally adjusted).
How cold does it get in Vancouver?
January averages 4.1°C, with average lows of 1.4°C. Vancouver gets about 38 cm of snow a year, and in July the average daily high is 22.1°C (1981–2010 climate normals).
Is Vancouver bilingual?
6.5% of people in Vancouver can speak both English and French; 88.1% speak English only and 0.0% French only (2021 Census).
What is the median age in Vancouver?
The median age in Vancouver was 40.8 in the 2021 Census, compared with 41.6 for Canada.
Is Vancouver safe?
Vancouver had a Crime Severity Index of 83.5 in 2025, compared with 75.0 for Canada as a whole. A lower number means less, and less serious, police-reported crime.
Built October 30, 2026 from the latest published official data.