
The South Okanagan is growing.
Updated population counts were released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday, with new information collected during the 2021 national census. Areas throughout the South Okanagan saw as small as a 1 per cent increase up to a 10 per cent increase.
Penticton saw a significant increase in population, a 9.3 per cent jump over the last five years, coming in at 36,885. The increase is over and above the previous five years, which was 2.6 per cent (0.53 per year), with increases averaging 0.48 per cent per year over the past 10-15 years.
Dwelling counts in Penticton also increased by 1,562 (16,895 to 18,457) over the past five years, outpacing 2011-2016 data that showed an increase of only 510 dwellings.
“By the city’s own figures, over the past five years Penticton has experienced significant growth and economic development activity. Since 2017, 2,087 new residential units have been approved, 80 per cent of which have been within smaller, more affordable housing types such as duplexes, apartments, townhomes and suites,” the City of Penticton shared in a press release.
“I was pleased to see this data and the positive growth it reveals,” Penticton Mayor John Vassilaki said.
“The geographic constraints that surround Penticton cap our community’s outward expansion and force greater attention on creating a sustainable mix of housing types. So while housing affordability remains a challenge in Penticton, the figures captured in today’s census indicate the city’s housing policies have resulted in a desired mix of housing options for those moving to Penticton.”
Further north in Summerland, the population has grown by 3.7 per cent, from 11,615 in 2016 up to 12,042. This was a similar jump to the last census count, which saw a 3 per cent increase as well.
In Okanagan Falls, the unincorporated area has grown to 2,266 , a population percentage change of just 1.6 per cent.
Seventeen people seemed to have headed out from Kaleden, with the small unincorporated area dropping 1.4 per cent in population.
Keremeos saw a 7.1 per cent increase change, growing from 1,502 up to 1,608 people in the village. Cawston was a similar jump, with an 8.8 per cent population growth, coming up to 1,040 people.
Another small change happened further west in Princeton, growing just 2.3 per cent with a population in 2021 of 2,894.
Down south, Oliver has now recorded 5,094 people, up from their population of 4,928 in 2016.
Osoyoos jumped 10 per cent from 5,050 up to 5,556.
The next release of 2021 census data is scheduled for April 27, 2022 and will include information on dwelling type, as well as information on age, sex at birth and gender.