Recent Immigrants in Metropolitan Areas: Vancouver—A Comparative Profile Based on the 2001 Census
Part F: Housing
Crowded accommodations more common for recent immigrants
In Vancouver, recent immigrant households have more persons per room than households generally. As many as 23% of recent immigrant households live in crowded conditions (that is, there are more persons than rooms in the home). The incidence of crowding is even higher among households consisting only of very recent immigrants. By contrast, crowding is very rare among households of the Canadian-born and earlier immigrants.
| Households | Fewer than 0.5 persons | 0.5 to 0.74 persons | 0.75 to 0.99 persons | 1 or more persons | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian-born | 266,620 | 101,550 | 12,350 | 16,410 | 396,920 |
| Earlier immigrants | 118,820 | 52,510 | 9,020 | 9,410 | 189,740 |
| Recent immigrants | 44,410 | 57,850 | 24,110 | 37,370 | 163,700 |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 29,690 | 34,350 | 12,850 | 16,420 | 93,320 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 5,700 | 11,390 | 5,200 | 9,140 | 31,410 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 9,020 | 12,110 | 6,060 | 11,810 | 38,990 |
| All households | 433,020 | 214,780 | 46,000 | 64,920 | 758,720 |
| Canadian-born | 67% | 26% | 3% | 4% | 100% |
| Earlier immigrants | 63% | 28% | 5% | 5% | 100% |
| Recent immigrants | 27% | 35% | 15% | 23% | 100% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 32% | 37% | 14% | 18% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 18% | 36% | 17% | 29% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 23% | 31% | 16% | 30% | 100% |
| All households | 57% | 28% | 6% | 9% | 100% |
Note: The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents not shown in the table. For definitions of household, crowding and related concepts, see the Glossary.
Large households likely to have crowded accommodations
Crowding is related to size of household. The larger the household, the greater the chance that there are more persons than rooms in the dwelling. This pattern is found among households of the Canadian-born as well as immigrants, despite the fact that there is much less crowding in households of the Canadian-born than in households of recent immigrants.
As shown earlier, households of immigrants who landed before 1986 are similar to the households of the Canadian-born in size. They also have accommodations that are similar in size to that of the Canadian-born.
| Type of household | Fewer than 0.5 persons | 0.5 to 0.74 persons | 0.75 to 0.99 persons | 1 or more persons | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 persons | |||||
| Canadian-born | 241,890 | 66,660 | 5,360 | 12,300 | 326,190 |
| Earlier immigrants | 102,700 | 27,070 | 2,290 | 5,250 | 137,300 |
| Recent immigrants | 35,160 | 28,840 | 8,210 | 12,590 | 84,780 |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 23,540 | 15,930 | 3,860 | 5,130 | 48,450 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 4,260 | 6,010 | 1,610 | 2,260 | 14,140 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 7,340 | 6,900 | 2,740 | 5,220 | 22,200 |
| 4 to 5 persons | |||||
| Canadian-born | 24,020 | 31,430 | 5,420 | 3,130 | 63,990 |
| Earlier immigrants | 15,530 | 22,000 | 4,430 | 2,880 | 44,840 |
| Recent immigrants | 8,700 | 24,470 | 10,680 | 16,680 | 60,520 |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 5,880 | 15,660 | 5,970 | 7,620 | 35,120 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 1,200 | 3,890 | 1,810 | 3,300 | 10,190 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 1,620 | 4,920 | 2,910 | 5,770 | 15,210 |
| 6 or more persons | |||||
| Canadian-born | 720 | 3,460 | 1,570 | 990 | 6,750 |
| Earlier immigrants | 600 | 3,440 | 2,290 | 1,270 | 7,590 |
| Recent immigrants | 550 | 4,540 | 5,220 | 8,100 | 18,410 |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 280 | 2,760 | 3,040 | 3,700 | 9,750 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 220 | 1,490 | 1,780 | 3,590 | 7,080 |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 50 | 300 | 410 | 840 | 1,580 |
| 1 to 3 persons | |||||
| Canadian-born | 74% | 20% | 2% | 4% | 100% |
| Earlier immigrants | 75% | 20% | 2% | 4% | 100% |
| Recent immigrants | 41% | 34% | 10% | 15% | 100% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 49% | 33% | 8% | 11% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 30% | 42% | 11% | 16% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 33% | 31% | 12% | 23% | 100% |
| 4 to 5 persons | |||||
| Canadian-born | 38% | 49% | 8% | 5% | 100% |
| Earlier immigrants | 35% | 49% | 10% | 6% | 100% |
| Recent immigrants | 14% | 40% | 18% | 28% | 100% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 17% | 45% | 17% | 22% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 12% | 38% | 18% | 32% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 11% | 32% | 19% | 38% | 100% |
| 6 or more persons | |||||
| Canadian-born | 11% | 51% | 23% | 15% | 100% |
| Earlier immigrants | 8% | 45% | 30% | 17% | 100% |
| Recent immigrants | 3% | 25% | 28% | 44% | 100% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 3% | 28% | 31% | 38% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 3% | 21% | 25% | 51% | 100% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 3% | 19% | 26% | 53% | 100% |
Note: The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents not shown in the table. For definitions of household, crowding and related concepts, see the Glossary.
Four in ten recent immigrant households face high housing costs
Four in ten recent immigrant households spend more than 30% of their income on accommodations, and for two in ten households the cost of accommodations exceeds 50% of income. Households consisting only of very recent immigrants are even more likely to have high housing costs, with more than one-half spending 30% or more of their income on housing. Of Canadian-born households, three in ten have housing cost in excess of 30% of income.
| Cost of accommodation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | Less than 30% | 30% to 50% | 50% or more | |||
| Canadian-born | 281,070 | 71% | 63,250 | 16% | 49,270 | 12% |
| Earlier immigrants | 141,520 | 75% | 27,820 | 15% | 18,940 | 10% |
| Recent immigrants | 87,350 | 60% | 27,180 | 19% | 29,870 | 21% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 58,120 | 62% | 17,550 | 19% | 17,220 | 18% |
| 1996-1999 immigrants with others | 14,830 | 68% | 3,790 | 17% | 2,930 | 14% |
| 1996-1999 immigrants only | 14,390 | 48% | 5,840 | 19% | 9,730 | 32% |
| All households | 519,980 | 69% | 122,650 | 16% | 107,630 | 14% |
Note: The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents not shown in the table. For definitions of household and related concepts, see the Glossary. Totals do not add to 100% due to some non-reporting households.
Housing costs of more than 30% of income are considered burdensome, and households facing that level of cost generally have low incomes. Many households of recently landed immigrants have low incomes and try to keep the cost of accommodations down by choosing small quarters and making their households large. But often this is not enough to bring housing costs down to less than 30% of income.
Housing of very recent immigrants in similar state of repair
The dwellings of households of immigrants who landed after 1985 have been more recently built than the houses of Canadian-born.
| Period of construction | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | Before 1971 | 1971-1990 | 1991-2001 | |||
| Canadian-born | 160,350 | 40% | 160,200 | 40% | 76,360 | 19% |
| Earlier immigrants | 68,450 | 36% | 82,140 | 43% | 39,140 | 21% |
| Recent immigrants | 43,440 | 27% | 65,890 | 40% | 54,380 | 33% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 24,860 | 27% | 37,900 | 41% | 30,580 | 33% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 8,810 | 28% | 12,710 | 40% | 9,900 | 32% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 9,770 | 25% | 15,310 | 39% | 13,910 | 36% |
| All households | 274,830 | 36% | 311,620 | 41% | 172,280 | 23% |
Note: The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents not shown in the table. For definitions of household and related concepts, see the Glossary.
The state of repair of the housing stock for both recent immigrants and earlier immigrants is virtually identical to that of the Canadian-born. This suggests that, although crowding and the cost of housing clearly are challenges for many recent immigrants, they tend not to resort to sub-standard accommodations.
| Quality of housing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | Regular maintenance | Minor repairs | Major repairs | |||
| Canadian-born | 268,210 | 68% | 92,450 | 23% | 36,250 | 9% |
| Earlier immigrants | 133,760 | 70% | 41,140 | 22% | 14,850 | 8% |
| Recent immigrants | 116,230 | 71% | 35,620 | 22% | 11,860 | 7% |
| 1986-1995 immigrants | 64,690 | 69% | 21,400 | 23% | 7,230 | 8% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants with others | 22,150 | 71% | 6,810 | 22% | 2,460 | 8% |
| 1996-2001 immigrants only | 29,400 | 75% | 7,420 | 19% | 2,180 | 6% |
| All households | 524,700 | 69% | 170,680 | 22% | 63,330 | 8% |
Note: The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents not shown in the table. For definitions of household and related concepts, see the Glossary.
Home ownership as common among all but very recent immigrants
Slightly less than 40% of households consisting only of very recent immigrants own their home, compared to almost 60% of Canadian-born households. Other households of recent and earlier immigrants are at least as likely as Canadian-born households to own their home.
Figure F-1: Immigrant households (by period of immigration) and Canadian-born households—home ownership, by household type, Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area, 2001 (percentage)
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