2006 Census Profile
This document (also available to download in
PDF format) provides a summary of some of the Richmond-specific findings from the 2006 Census data that have been released by Statistics Canada as of February 2008. Census Releases
The Census is conducted every five years; the most recent was May 16, 2006. The data are released on different dates according to subject, as shown below:
| 2007 | 2008 |
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Population
The Census population count for Richmond as of May 16, 2006 was 174,461. This count is not corrected for people that were missed by the Census (i.e. undercount). Statistics Canada will provide undercount correction in 2008. Please use the City’s estimate of 185,400 (as of January 1, 2007) as it corrects for undercount.
The 2006 population represents a 6.2% increase over the 2001 census population of 164,345. This corresponds to an average annual increase of 2,023 people, or 1.2% per year.
Aging Population
- The population of Richmond, like Metro Vancouver and Canada, is aging.
- The number of children below the age of 15 has declined in absolute terms.
- The population aged 55-64 has seen the most growth.
- The city population’s median age has gone from 38.5 in 2001 to 40.7 in 2006.
Dwellings
The count of private dwellings dwelling units increased from 58,272 in 2001 to 64,367 in 2006, a 10.5% increase.
Of the 174,461 people enumerated, 173,565 (99.5%) are in private dwellings, while 896 (0.5%) are in collective dwellings.
Household Size
The average household size declined from 2.9 people per household in 2001 to 2.8 people per household in 2006.
Age and Condition of Dwellings
While many dwellings have been constructed in the last 10-20 years, the total housing stock is gradually maturing. Over half (52%) of the occupied housing stock is over 20 years old, whereas 10 years ago that figure was just 38%. About a quarter (24%) of the current stock was built between 1971 and 1980, while another 16% was built prior to 1970. The number of dwellings requiring major
repair (3,465 or 5.6%) has decreased since 2001, but is higher than it was 1996. The proportion of buildings requiring major repairs is lower than the Metro Vancouver or B.C. Provincial rates of 6.8% and 7.4% respectively.
Types of Dwellings
The census confirms what City Permit data have told us – that the number of row houses (townhouses) and apartments is increasing, while the number of detached single family dwellings has remained essentially unchanged since 1996. Furthermore, dwellings are increasingly owned rather than rented: going from a 71% ownership rate in 2001 to 76% in 2006.
Rooms per Dwelling
Interestingly, according to the census, over the past 10 years the average number of rooms per dwelling has remained unchanged at 6.1. The average number of bedrooms per dwelling is also relatively unchanged, at 2.7 in 1996 and 2.8 in both 2001 and 2006.
Family Characteristics
In contrast with national trends, in some respects the “typical family” in Richmond has not changed in the last 5 or 10 years. Unchanged are:
- the proportion of people aged 15 and over who are legally married (56%);
- the average number of people per family (3.0) and
- the number of children per family (1.2).
In keeping with national trends, more young adults are living with their parents.
Lone Parent Families
The number of lone-parent families with children continues to rise (from 6,395 in 2001 to 7,560 in 2006), especially those with a female parent, which now make up 85 percent of lone-parent families.
Citizenship and Immigration Status
- Immigrants make up 57.4% of the City’s population, which is the highest proportion of any municipality in Canada. This was true in the previous two censuses as well, when the proportion of immigrants was lower (54.0% in 2001 and 48.3% in 1996).
- There are 2,255 non-permanent residents –persons with work or study permits or refugee claimants and their family members.
- The number and proportion of Richmond residents who are Canadian Citizens is also on the rise – going from 78.0% in 1996 to 86.3% in 2006.
Period of Immigration and Generation Status
While the number of new immigrants – those arriving in Canada in the last 5 years – has fallen relative to the peak of the 1991-1996 period, new immigrants still represent 18.8% of all immigrants and a tenth (10.8%) of the City’s total population. Nearly two-thirds (63.7%) of the City’s immigrants, representing 36.6% of the City’s population, immigrated since 1991.
Consistent with the high number of recent immigrants, 65.2% of the City’s population aged 15 and over is a first-generation immigrant, while 16.5% are second generation and 18.2% are third generation or more.
Where Our Immigrants Come From
Broadly speaking, our immigrants come from (with percent of all immigrants):
- Asia and the Middle East (81.6%)
- Europe (10.9%)
- Africa (2.3%)
- Americas or Oceania and other (5.2%)
The top specific areas of origin are (with percent of all immigrants):
- People’s Republic of China (26.8%)
- Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region (23.0%)
- Other Eastern Asia (e.g. Japan, Korea) (10.0%)
- Philippines (9.3%)
- India (5.2%)
- United Kingdom (4.1%)
Mobility status – Place of residence 1 or 5 years ago
Almost half (46.9%) of Richmond residents lived at a different address 5 years earlier. Of the movers:
- 52.9% moved from another location within Richmond;
- 20.1% from another location in BC;
- 4.5% from another province in Canada and
- 22.5% from outside Canada
As one would expect, fewer residents had moved within the last year (16.5% of the population aged 1 or over).
Mother Tongue & Knowledge of Official Languages
The proportion of the population whose mother tongue is neither English nor French continues to increase, from 46.3% in 1996 to 58.7% in 2006, the highest of any Canadian City.
Likewise, the proportion that speak English and/or French most often at home is dropping, from 65.9% in 1996 to 56.6% in 2006.
On the other hand, the population with conversational knowledge of an official language has dropped very little and is currently at 91.2%.
Mother tongue languages reflect the regions of the world from which our population is drawn, and collectively represent a wide diversity: 43 different languages were first learned in the home and are still understood by at least 100 residents. The mother-tongue languages most represented are: English
40.6%; Cantonese 16.4%, Mandarin 7.7% and Chinese not otherwise specified 13.4% (the Chinese languages together representing 37.6%); Panjabi (Punjabi) 3.9%; and Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) 3.5%. The next most common mother tongue languages are German, Spanish, Japanese and Russian.
Although relatively few Richmond residents (1,315 or 0.8%) count French as a mother tongue, 10,005 residents (5.8% of population) have conversational knowledge of Canada’s other official language.
Aboriginal Population
The Aboriginal identity population includes North American Indian (First Nations people), Métis and Inuit.
- In Richmond, a total of 1,275 people reported Aboriginal identity in 2006.
- In Richmond in 2006, the approximate distribution of the population within these groups was (some of the population did not include this information in their response to the question on Aboriginal identity):
- 55% North American Indian (First Nations people),
- 38% Métis,
- <1% Inuit.
- The Aboriginal identity population in Richmond increased 9.4% from 2001. The Aboriginal population has grown faster than the total population, which grew 6.2% over the 5 year period.
- In 2006, Aboriginal people accounted for 0.7% of the total population of Richmond, compared to 1.9% for Metro Vancouver and 4.8% for BC.
- The median age of the Aboriginal identity population in Richmond was 31.5, considerably lower than the 40.7 median age of the general population.
Visible Minorities are in the Majority in Richmond
The census collects information on “visible minorities” to meet federal employment equity legislation requirements under the Employment Equity Act. According to the Act, visible minorities are defined as “persons, other than Aboriginal persons, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.”
In Richmond, 65.1% of the population is a visible minority under this definition, the highest proportion of any census subdivision (municipality) in B.C. and the second highest (after Markham, Ontario) in Canada. The predominant minority group in Richmond is Chinese, at 44% of the total population (the highest proportion in Canada by a wide margin). The next most common minority groups are the South Asian group (for example East Indian, Pakistani), at 8% of the total, and Filipino at 5% of the total.
Diverse Ethnic Origins
Ethnic Origin refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of the respondent's ancestors. An ancestor is someone from whom a person is descended and is usually more distant than a grandparent. It is distinct from place of birth, immigration status or language spoken (data for those subjects have been previously released).
Richmond boasts a great diversity of backgrounds: over 125 different ethnic origins with at least 25 people were reported. A person can have more than one ethnic origin. The most commonly reported ethnic origin in Richmond is Chinese, with 78,790 people or 45 percent of the City’s population having this background. The next most common ethnic origins were (in order): English, Scottish, Canadian, East Indian, Irish, German, Filipino, French, Ukrainian and Japanese.
Employment & Occupational Profile of Richmond Residents
Employed labour force increased to 87,180 in 2006 from 79,510 in 2001, a 9.6% increase over the five-year period. More workers report no fixed workplace address (construction workers, for example) than in 2001 (10% of workforce versus 8% in 2001), while the proportion of workers that worked at home remained constant at 8%.
The primary occupations of Richmond residents are shown in the following graphic.
Richmond as a Place of Work
According to the 2006 Census, there were 108,095 people working in Richmond, up 3.4% from 104,530 in 2001. These figures exclude employees with no fixed workplace address.
Richmond continues to have the highest jobs-to-labour-force ratio (1.24) of municipalities in Metro Vancouver.
Commuting Flow & Mode of Transportation
Because of the high number of jobs in Richmond relative to its work force, the city sees a net influx of approximately 31,000 workers each day. This is the result of about 30,200 Richmond residents leaving the City to work elsewhere (mostly to Vancouver, followed by Burnaby and Delta) and about 61,150 people coming to work here from other cities (largely from Vancouver, Surrey, Delta and Burnaby). Meanwhile, another 46,300 people choose to live and work in Richmond, including those that work at home. Again, those with no fixed workplace address are not included in these counts.
For workers living in Richmond, the large majority (82%) drove to work by car, truck or van (including 9% as a passenger). However, 12% took transit, 4% walked and 1% bicycled to work.
Of the people working in Richmond (regardless of where they live), a higher percentage (86%) drove or were a passenger in a car, truck or van and fewer took transit or walked. Direct comparisons to 2001 Census are not appropriate because, during the 2001 Census, a strike affected public transit usage in the region.
Education
The educational attainment of Richmond residents aged 25 to 64 is shown in the following graphic. 
More than half (56%) of the population aged 15 years and over has a postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree. Of these, 57% earned their degree in Canada, while 43% earned it outside of Canada.
Additional Information
A wealth of additional detail and other ways of looking at this information (for example, by age groups) are available on the Statistics Canada web site. The main Census page is:
www12.statcan.ca/english/census/index.cfm
BC Stats has also prepared a formatted report for each Municipality. The direct link to Richmond’s Census Profile is:
PDF format
The City’s Hot Facts sheets will be also updated with more detailed information, once these data are available for Planning Areas. The Hot Facts can be accessed at:
www.richmond.ca/discover/demographics.htm
PP-HF-28 / rev. April 11, 2008
