Is White Rock Just a Retirement Town? What the Census Says

Is White Rock just a retirement town?

Not really, though the census gives that label some fuel. In the 2021 census, White Rock proper had a median age of 58, compared with 38 for Surrey. But White Rock proper is only about five square kilometers. Most people on the peninsula actually live in South Surrey, where the age picture is much closer to the rest of the region. The housing is changing too, and I think the next census will look different.

I grew up here, and I have sold real estate on this peninsula for almost 20 years. Almost everyone I grew up with left. Vancouver, Calgary, a couple went overseas. They tested the alternatives for years, and now almost every one of them is trying to get back. That is the argument, really. The people who left have already run the test.

The twist is that prices have come down, and they still cannot get in. In the video I mention that detached prices across the Fraser Valley were down more than 8% from a year ago at the time of filming. So whatever they are competing for, it is not square footage. Below are the five things that make this place worth fighting for, followed by the honest case against me.

What makes White Rock and South Surrey different from other suburbs?

1. Nobody is passing through. White Rock proper is tiny, about five square kilometers and 22,000 people. South Surrey wraps around it on three sides, and most people who say they live in White Rock actually live in South Surrey. When I say White Rock, I mean the whole peninsula, which was about 110,000 people in the 2021 census. Water sits to the north, south, and west. There is only one highway through the area, and it ends at the United States border. Every car on the road belongs to someone who lives here or came here on purpose. In my business, agents put a price on traffic. You pay more to be back from a busy road and less to be on one. An entire peninsula with no through traffic is a rare thing to price. For more on the geography, see my post on White Rock vs. South Surrey.

2. The ocean is something you use. Most of the BC coastline is rock, cliffs, logs, and cold water. You drive to it, take a picture, and drive home. Here it is flat, sandy, and shallow. There is a promenade along the White Rock waterfront and a marina at Crescent Beach. You can walk to the water on a Tuesday after work, in your shoes, for 20 minutes. The White Rock Pier runs 470 meters into Semiahmoo Bay and has stood since 1914. A windstorm tore about 100 meters out of it in 2018, and it was rebuilt by the following summer. This past July, federal money was announced for the next phase of reconstruction, which I cover in the video. You can read the federal announcement for the details. A city of 22,000 people does not spend that kind of money on scenery. It spends it on something people use every day. If you want a closer look, I toured the waterfront in my White Rock Pier tour.

3. Small-town feel comes from compression. Picture White Rock and you probably see a sleepy seaside town with big lots. That is not what you get anymore. In White Rock proper, the 2021 census counted about 4,200 people per square kilometer, more than twice as dense as Surrey as a whole. Of about 10,700 homes, only about 2,500 were detached, and 56% were apartments. I would bet that share is higher today. South Surrey has added townhome complex after townhome complex in places like Grandview and Pacific Douglas. This is a strata peninsula now, and detached homes carry a premium. People run into each other because they live close enough to run into each other. You walk to the coffee shop because it is four blocks away, not 40. The area also has its centers, like Grandview, Semiahmoo, and Morgan Crossing, plus an actual old town at the bottom of the hill. Spread the same 110,000 people out with no center to walk into, and you would have a subdivision. If you are weighing those housing types, my guide on choosing between a condo and a townhome is a good start.

Did You Know?: In the 2021 census, only about 2,500 of White Rock’s roughly 10,700 homes were detached houses. More than half were apartments.

4. Schools and weather. Parents move here for the catchments, and they pay for the privilege. Semiahmoo Secondary, Elgin Park, and Earl Marriott are well regarded, and some of the elementary schools rank among the highest in the province. I walk through the best schools in White Rock in another post. On weather, I will lose an argument first. Tsawwassen has the best weather in Metro Vancouver, according to Environment Canada. But most people are choosing between here and the rest of the region. I say in the video that North Vancouver sees rain on about 170 days a year, while White Rock sees about 153. That is 17 more days a year you can walk out the door and be outside, which matters in a town built around walking.

Does the census say White Rock is a retirement town?

This is the reason I believe hardest and can prove the least, so here is the case against me first. In the 2021 census, White Rock proper had a median age of 58, and Surrey’s was 38. About 37% of the people in the city were over 65, and there were more people over 85 than children under five. That reads like a retirement town with a beach. It also got older, not younger. In 2011 the gap between White Rock and Surrey was about 16 years, and by 2021 it was almost 20. If you want a straight look at this side, I wrote Is White Rock BC a Good Place to Retire? and the pros and cons of living in White Rock.

Here is my answer. That number describes five square kilometers. It does not describe where most people on the peninsula live. South Surrey has about 88,000 people, roughly four of every five on the peninsula, and its average age in the video is about 44, compared with 39 for Surrey. That is five years apart, not 20. It is still older, and I will not pretend otherwise, but “a bit older” and “retirement town” do not belong in the same sentence.

Now I will stick my neck out. I think the next census will look meaningfully different. The 2026 census data was collected in May 2026, and the age numbers will not be out until probably spring of 2027, so this is not data. It is 20 years of watching this place. The last few years do not look like the 20 before them. I see young people on the promenade on a Tuesday, strollers outside the coffee shops, and people in their thirties in line at the grocery store on a weekday afternoon. I did not see that here 10 years ago.

I think I know why. Prices came down, and the housing stock changed while everyone was arguing about it. The peninsula spent a decade building townhomes and apartments, and smaller attached homes bring in younger buyers. That is not a theory. It is just what that product does. The people I grew up with are also trying to come back, not to retire, but to raise their kids. They are in their late 30s and 40s, with two children, a dog, and a budget that does not quite work yet. Every one of them who gets in pulls the average age down. I said on camera that when the 2026 census age numbers come out, you should come back to the video and check my work. You can watch that prediction at 12:50.

Reality Check: My census prediction is an opinion based on years of local experience, not published data. The 2021 numbers are what the census actually shows today.

Why is it still hard to buy here even though prices are down?

Back to where I started. My friends tell me the market since 2022 has actually gotten cheaper, and they still cannot get in. It is not the price. It is what they are bidding on. Look at the map again. You have water on three sides, and the fourth side has an international border. Most suburbs in this region have somewhere to expand into. This one does not.

You can build up, and the area is doing exactly that. You can add thousands of homes. But you cannot add a second promenade, another beach, or another old town. You cannot manufacture a seaside village that took a century to become one. So the more people who arrive, the more of them compete for the same fixed thing. Cheaper prices do not ease that competition. They bring more people to the table. The thing my friends left and now want back, the walk, the water, the town, and the neighbours, was never something anyone could build more of.

I have just spent a whole post making the case for this place, so you have only heard one side from a guy who loves it, sells real estate here, and grew up here. Living on the peninsula has real advantages, and it also has real considerations that do not work for everyone. To see more of what living here looks like, you can browse my White Rock real estate page, or read why White Rock is changing and whether you should still move here. Many buyers are also ditching townhomes for row homes, which fits the younger-buyer trend.

If you are thinking about a move to the peninsula, I would be glad to talk it through with you. You can grab my free White Rock and South Surrey community guide at germyn.ca/communityguide, or reach out to me directly at 604-670-7052 or homes@germyn.ca. I will give you my honest view, including the parts that might talk you out of it.