List of population centres in British Columbia

Main article: List of the 100 largest population centres in Canada

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.

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

In the 2011 census, Statistics Canada listed 100 population centres in the province of British Columbia.

Characteristics

A population centre does not necessarily correspond to the boundaries of a municipality, a census division or a metropolitan area, but solely to a band of census dissemination blocks that meets the statistical definition of an urban area. A less densely populated or unpopulated area within a city's municipal boundaries may not be included as part of its urban area, while neighbouring municipalities whose urban development is directly contiguous with the main city's urban core population will be included.

For example, the cities of Surrey and White Rock are part of Metro Vancouver; however, the population centre of Vancouver includes only the urbanized northern part of Surrey. As a band of more sparsely populated rural area separates White Rock and the adjacent South Surrey neighbourhood from northern Surrey, these communities form the distinct population centre of White Rock and are not part of Vancouver's statistical urban area. Similarly, the district municipality of Delta is also part of Metro Vancouver, while the population centre of Vancouver includes the neighbourhoods of Ladner and Tsawwassen but excludes the less densely populated North Delta area.

List

Rank	Population centre	Size group	Population in 2011	Population in 2006
1	Vancouver	Large urban	2,135,201	1,955,278
2	Victoria	Large urban	316,327	303,977
3	Abbotsford	Large urban	149,855	140,275
4	Kelowna	Large urban	141,767	128,127
5	Nanaimo	Medium	88,799	84,100
6	White Rock	Medium	82,368	74,023
7	Kamloops	Medium	73,472	70,549
8	Chilliwack	Medium	66,382	58,593
9	Prince George	Medium	65,503	65,066
10	Vernon	Medium	44,600	42,731
11	Courtenay	Medium	40,809	37,435
12	Penticton	Medium	36,902	35,846
13	Campbell River	Medium	34,514	33,121
14	Walnut Grove	Small	27,969	25,683
15	Duncan	Small	24,479	23,157
16	Parksville	Small	24,326	23,740
17	Port Alberni	Small	20,503	20,189
18	Cranbrook	Small	19,364	18,373
19	Fort St. John	Small	18,699	17,697
20	Terrace	Small	15,569	15,415
21	Squamish	Small	15,051	13,148
22	Quesnel	Small	13,566	12,641
23	Powell River	Small	13,175	12,972
24	Aldergrove	Small	12,778	12,363
25	Williams Lake	Small	12,408	12,475
26	Prince Rupert	Small	11,838	12,128
27	Salmon Arm	Small	11,810	10,791
28	Dawson Creek	Small	11,583	10,994
29	Nelson	Small	10,520	9,529
30	Trail	Small	9,276	8,956
31	Castlegar	Small	8,992	8,402
32	Ladysmith	Small	8,841	8,467
33	Gibsons	Small	8,089	8,023
34	Whistler	Small	7,699	7,796
35	Sechelt	Small	7,251	6,773
36	Merritt	Small	7,189	7,148
37	Sooke	Small	7,136	6,174
38	Kitimat	Small	7,046	7,600
39	Revelstoke	Small	6,772	6,869
40	Kimberley	Small	6,723	6,199
41	Summerland	Small	6,704	6,345
42	Duck Lake	Small	6,281	5,643
43	Smithers	Small	5,473	5,257
44	Creston	Small	5,379	4,944
45	Oliver	Small	5,175	4,754
46	Osoyoos	Small	4,855	4,752
47	Armstrong	Small	4,830	4,258
48	Fernie	Small	4,811	4,621
49	Dallas	Small	4,445	4,348
50	Grand Forks	Small	4,274	4,237
51	Hope	Small	4,234	4,455
52	Fort Nelson	Small	3,902	4,514
53	Golden	Small	3,701	3,811
54	Fruitvale	Small	3,628	3,627
55	Shawnigan	Small	3,543	3,586
56	Port Hardy	Small	3,515	3,290
57	Rossland	Small	3,491	3,207
58	Sparwood	Small	3,460	3,358
59	Cumberland	Small	3,381	2,737
60	Mackenzie	Small	3,300	4,316
61	Kent	Small	3,182	2,908
62	Lake Cowichan	Small	3,159	3,082
63	Chemainus	Small	3,035	2,937
64	Invermere	Small	2,955	3,002
65	Enderby	Small	2,932	2,843
66	Princeton	Small	2,724	2,780
67	Tumbler Ridge	Small	2,700	2,444
68	Elkford	Small	2,518	2,443
69	Port McNeill	Small	2,505	2,623
70	Chase	Small	2,495	2,409
71	Sicamous	Small	2,441	2,676
72	Burns Lake	Small	2,390	2,778
73	Pemberton	Small	2,369	2,192
74	Fort St. James	Small	2,278	1,876
75	Chetwynd	Small	2,255	2,218
76	Houston	Small	2,246	2,304
77	Aldergrove East	Small	2,203	1,048
78	Lillooet	Small	2,068	2,111
79	Logan Lake	Small	1,975	2,072
80	Blind Bay	Small	1,738	1,684
81	Lumby	Small	1,731	1,634
82	One Hundred Mile House	Small	1,721	1,683
83	Ashcroft	Small	1,628	1,664
84	Ucluelet	Small	1,627	1,487
85	Nakusp	Small	1,574	1,524
86	Mill Bay	Small	1,549	1,343
87	Roberts Creek	Small	1,472	1,434
88	Harrison Hot Springs	Small	1,468	1,573
89	Cowichan Bay	Small	1,401	1,215
90	Vanderhoof	Small	1,382	1,213
91	Lions Bay	Small	1,318	1,328
92	Gold River	Small	1,267	1,362
93	Fraser Lake	Small	1,167	1,113
94	Salmo	Small	1,139	1,007
95	Miller's Landing	Small	1,113	722
96	Cultus Lake	Small	1,110	1,119
97	Welcome Beach	Small	1,106	1,069
98	Crofton	Small	1,092	1,108
99	Deep Cove	Small	1,088	1,249
100	Cache Creek	Small	1,040	1,037