New Westminster is getting younger, more diverse, more secular and more densely populated.
Those are some of the trends that have emerged over the past several months, as Statistics Canada has released data from the 2021 census in several phases.
We’ve been keeping an eye on the data since February, when we learned that New Westminster’s population had grown 11.2 per cent since the last census in 2016 — and that the city is now the third-most densely populated urban centre in the country.
But who, exactly, are the 78,916 people who call New Westminster home?
We’ve been keeping an eye on that, too, as census data has emerged around age, language, ethnicity, household size and much, much more. Armed with all that information, we decided to sit down and figure out: Who is the most “typical” resident of our city?
We took all the data from New Westminster’s census profile and pulled out the most commonly occurring answer in each category — or, where applicable, the median (e.g. for income and shelter costs). Putting all of that together, we’ve drawn up this Portrait of a Prototypical New Westminsterite.
Who’s the typical resident of New Westminster? What census data shows
Meet Jessica.
Yes, our imaginary prototypical New Westie has a name — and we’ve chosen that one because it was the most common name for baby girls in British Columbia in the time that she was born (1987 to 1991).
Jessica is a millennial, in the 30-to-34 age range, and she lives on her own. She’s single (never been married, not living common-law) and doesn’t have kids.
She’s living in an apartment building — a lowrise, to be precise; it has fewer than five storeys and was built between 1961 and 1980. She owns her own place, and it takes a pretty big chunk of her paycheque to be able to afford it: her monthly shelter cost of $1,700 eats up a good bit of her income, which amounts to $40,800 a year (before taxes). (Incidentally, when it comes to income, Jessica is lucky to be living in New Westminster — she makes 78.7 per cent of what her typical male counterpart does, which is the most favourable gender pay gap in Metro Vancouver.)
She must like the place, though; she’s lived there for at least five years, since she hasn’t moved in that time period.
Jessica is Canadian-born and speaks only English; it’s the language she grew up with and continues to use. She’s white — that is to say, not a member of any visible minority community — and she’s of English ancestry.
Jessica doesn’t have any religious affiliation and considers herself to be secular.
The many faces of New Westminster
In the meantime, since Jessica is living in a pretty diverse community, we’re giving her a peer group that reflects the statistical makeup of the city she lives in.
Of the circle of 25 peers she’s attached to — through work, friend groups and various recreational activities — she’s one of 13 who are white. Three are Chinese, three are South Asian and two are Filipino, with a Black friend/colleague, a Latin-American friend/colleague, and two of other or mixed cultural backgrounds.
Of those same peers, she’s one of 12 professing no religion or secular perspectives. Ten are Christians (four of those being Catholics), while one is Sikh, one is Muslim and another is likely Hindu.
(Yes, all of those numbers have been rounded off, to avoid creating partial people.)
What's next for census data?
Statistics Canada's next planned release of census data is set for Nov. 30, when it will release details about education and the changing dynamics of the labour force. Stay tuned for more on Jessica's education and employment.
Want to check out all the data for yourself? You can find it in Statistics Canada's 2021 Census Profile for New Westminster.
Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
Email Julie, jmaclellan@newwestrecord.ca
