Ranked list · 2026
Top 5 most in-demand lake towns in BC
Most lists of the best lake towns in BC are somebody’s opinion dressed up as data. We took BC Stats’ own population counts for every lake town of 5,000 to 30,000 people, ranked them by growth since 2016, and added what a house actually costs in each. The result: Lake Country, Salmon Arm, Peachland, Osoyoos and Nelson. Number two is the one we’d look at, and we’ll show you why.
By Justin Gaspari, REALTOR®, CIR Realty · Published October 2026
The most in-demand lake towns in BC, measured by how many people have moved in since 2016, are Lake Country (up 30.2 percent), Salmon Arm (14.0 percent), Peachland (12.6 percent), Osoyoos (10.5 percent) and Nelson (10.3 percent). All five are still adding people, and all five sit in BC’s Interior, where the lakes are warm enough to swim in.
What separates them? Price, mostly. The two Okanagan towns share a single-family benchmark over a million dollars. Salmon Arm, Osoyoos and Nelson are all in the $640,000 to $750,000 range. That gap between growth and price is the useful part of this list, and it’s why we spend extra time on the Shuswap, which is growing with the province at a very different entry price.
The ranking
Fastest-growing lake towns in BC, 2016 to 2025
| # | Town | 2016 | 2025 | Growth | Last year | Typical house |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake CountryOkanagan, Wood and Kalamalka lakes | 13,548 | 17,637 | +30.2% | +0.4% | $1.07M |
| 2 | Salmon ArmShuswap Lake | 18,319 | 20,891 | +14.0% | +0.3% | $748K |
| 3 | PeachlandOkanagan Lake | 5,599 | 6,302 | +12.6% | +2.1% | $1.07M |
| 4 | OsoyoosOsoyoos Lake | 5,182 | 5,724 | +10.5% | +0.2% | $718K |
| 5 | NelsonKootenay Lake (West Arm) | 10,989 | 12,126 | +10.3% | +0.1% | $638K (region) |
Population: BC Stats July 1 estimates, 2016 and 2025. Universe: the 39 BC municipalities with 5,000 to 30,000 people outside Metro Vancouver and the Capital Regional District, of which eight sit on a lake (these five plus Summerland +3.4%, Coldstream +2.9% and Williams Lake +2.6%). BC as a whole: +17.2%. “Typical house” is each board’s MLS Home Price Index single-family benchmark for the region covering the town; the month and board are named under each town below. Prices move monthly, so treat them as a snapshot, not a quote.
No. 1
Lake Country: +30.2% since 2016
Between Kelowna and Vernon, Lake Country grew from 13,548 to 17,637 people, most of it in the five years to 2021 when the census recorded a 21.9 percent jump. Growth has since slowed to 0.4 percent in the latest year. Across all 39 towns in the size band, lake or not, only Squamish grew faster.
Three lakes, orchards, and Kelowna’s airport on its doorstep explain the draw. The difference is price. The Central Okanagan single-family benchmark was $1,072,400 in July 2026 (Central Okanagan single-family benchmark, Association of Interior REALTORS, July 2026). Works if you want Kelowna close by, at Kelowna prices.
No. 2
Salmon Arm: +14.0% since 2016
The Shuswap’s main town went from 18,319 people in 2016 to 20,891 in 2025, the largest of the five, with a hospital, a college campus and a full downtown of its own. The 2021 census had it up 9.7 percent on 2016, ahead of BC’s 7.6 percent, and the wider Columbia Shuswap Regional District has grown +17.8% since 2016, a shade ahead of the province at +17.2%.
The lakeside communities grew faster than the town. The South Shuswap electoral area, which takes in Blind Bay, Sorrento and Eagle Bay, was up +12.6% in the 2021 census against +7.6% for BC, and the North Shuswap was up +30.4%. Blind Bay itself went from 2,113 to 2,369 people. Same story as Lake Country, really. Just earlier, and smaller.
One more number, though. The Shuswap and Revelstoke single-family benchmark was $747,500 in July 2026 (Shuswap and Revelstoke single-family benchmark, Association of Interior REALTORS, July 2026), with homes taking about 58 days to sell. That is roughly $325,000 under Lake Country and Peachland, on one of the largest lakes in the province. Serviced lake-view lots at The Highlands at Blind Bay start at $197,000. We’re not predicting prices. We’re pointing at a gap.
No. 3
Peachland: +12.6% since 2016
A strip of town along the west shore of Okanagan Lake, halfway between Kelowna and Penticton. Peachland grew from 5,599 to 6,302 people, and unlike its bigger neighbour it is still picking up pace, with 2.1 percent of that growth in the latest year alone.
Peachland shares Lake Country’s Central Okanagan benchmark of $1,072,400 (July 2026), and most of what sells is resale on steep lots above the highway. Good fit if you want the Okanagan on a smaller scale and have the budget for it.
No. 4
Osoyoos: +10.5% since 2016
Canada’s desert town, on Osoyoos Lake at the US border. It grew from 5,182 to 5,724 people, nearly all of it before 2021; the latest year added 0.2 percent. Hot, dry summers and wineries on every bench are the draw, and a long drive to anything bigger than Penticton is the trade.
The South Okanagan single-family benchmark was $718,400 in September 2026 (South Okanagan single-family benchmark, Association of Interior REALTORS, September 2026), down 6.2 percent on the year, the only town on this list where the benchmark fell. This one is for sun-seekers, with the nearest regional hospital in Penticton about 45 minutes up the valley.
No. 5
Nelson: +10.3% since 2016
The heritage town on Kootenay Lake’s West Arm grew from 10,989 to 12,126 people. Growth has all but stopped in the latest year at 0.1 percent, which in a town hemmed in by mountains and water is a land problem more than a demand problem.
The Kootenay regional single-family benchmark was $638,300 in September 2026 (Kootenay region single-family benchmark, Association of Interior REALTORS, September 2026; Nelson itself usually sits above the regional figure). Nelson has its own hospital and a downtown people drive hours to visit. Here, the catch is distance: Kelowna is about four hours away, Calgary closer to seven.
Fine print
What a growth table cannot tell you about lake towns in BC
Population growth is one number, and it is a lagging one. It tells you people moved somewhere between 2016 and 2025. It doesn’t tell you if the water’s warm (Osoyoos wins there, about 24°C by the Town’s own figure), if August smoke rolls in, or what the drive to a hospital looks like at two in the morning.
It also hides the split between a town and the shoreline around it. Salmon Arm the city grew 14 percent; the lake communities west of it grew faster in the census and are outside the speculation tax the city is inside. Nelson the city has stalled; the Kootenay Lake shore around it has not. Read the row, then go stand on the ground.
And the ranking is a snapshot. BC Stats revises its estimates, the next census lands in 2027, and every benchmark price on this page will have moved by the time you read it. We will re-run the table when the 2026 estimates are published and say what changed.
What to do with this
Reading the list as a buyer
Growth lists reward the places that already happened. Want Lake Country or Peachland? Fine, but you’ll have company and you’ll pay Okanagan money for it. Want the lake view, a hospital and a full-service town 25 minutes away, and a price that leaves room to build the house you want? That’s the Shuswap, and it’s the version of this list you can still buy into.
Start with the lots for sale, each with its own price, view and survey plan. Read about living in Blind Bay and Salmon Arm, the town behind the number above. If you’re weighing a lot against a finished house, our buying land vs. a house guide and cost-to-build guide do the math. Or register and we’ll send new releases and pricing as they come.
Keep reading
Related guides and places
If the Shuswap row caught your eye, here’s the rest: the two companion rankings, plus the Shuswap pages that go deeper than a growth number can.
- Best places in BC for a summer homeSeventeen lakes scored on tax, rental rules, July heat, drive times, price and fire record.
- Best places to retire in BCSeventeen towns scored on retirees already there, 24-hour ER access, winters, price, golf and growth.
- Lakefront vs. lake-view in the ShuswapWhy an elevated lot often gives you the bigger view for far less.
- Life on Shuswap LakeBoating, houseboating, fishing, golf and beaches, season by season.
- Living in SorrentoThe next community west along the south shore.
- Living in SicamousThe houseboat end of the lake.
- Living in ChaseThe village at the west end of the lake, closest to Kamloops.
- Fishing Shuswap LakeWhat you catch, where and when.
- Homes and build plansMove-in-ready plans for the lots.
- Shuswap buyer FAQServicing, drive times, taxes and the questions every lot buyer asks.
Lake towns in BC FAQ
Common questions
What is the fastest-growing lake town in BC?
Lake Country, between Kelowna and Vernon, is the fastest-growing lake town in BC among towns of 5,000 to 30,000 people. BC Stats puts it at 13,548 people in 2016 and 17,637 in 2025, up 30.2 percent. Salmon Arm on Shuswap Lake is second at 14.0 percent, from 18,319 to 20,891 people over the same nine years.
How did you decide which lake towns are the most in demand?
One public measure, population change, from one source, BC Stats. We started with every incorporated municipality in BC that had 5,000 to 30,000 people on July 1, 2025, outside Metro Vancouver and the Capital Regional District. That is 39 towns. Eight of them sit on a lake: Lake Country, Salmon Arm, Peachland, Osoyoos, Nelson, Summerland, Coldstream and Williams Lake. We ranked those eight by growth from 2016 to 2025 and checked the latest year, 2024 to 2025, to see which are still adding people. Prices come from each real estate board’s MLS Home Price Index. No weighting, no opinion scores.
What are the fastest-growing towns in BC overall, lake or not?
Across all 39 towns in the same size band, the top five from 2016 to 2025 are Squamish (up 38.9 percent), Lake Country (30.2 percent), Fernie (25.1 percent), Parksville (20.1 percent) and Whistler (19.6 percent). Only Lake Country is on a lake. Salmon Arm ranks 10th of the 39, and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District as a whole grew 17.8 percent, a shade ahead of BC at 17.2 percent.
Why is Salmon Arm the one to look at?
Because it is the only town in the top five where growth and price have not run together. Lake Country and Peachland share a Central Okanagan single-family benchmark of $1,072,400. Salmon Arm’s Shuswap and Revelstoke benchmark was $747,500 in July 2026, about $325,000 less, with a hospital in town and Kelowna under two hours away. The lakeside communities around it grew faster still: the South Shuswap electoral area, which includes Blind Bay, was up 12.6 percent in the 2021 census against 7.6 percent for BC.
Is a growing lake town a good place to buy land?
Growth just means people are showing up. What they will pay next year is not something we are going to guess at. What a buyer can act on is the gap between growth and price: in two of the five towns a typical house is already over a million dollars, while serviced lake-view lots at The Highlands at Blind Bay start at $197,000 and the regional single-family benchmark was $747,500 in July 2026. Whether that gap matters is a budget-and-timeline question, and one to settle with your own advisers, not a page on the internet.
What are the fastest growing cities in BC?
BC Stats’ own ranking of larger municipalities has Langford and Squamish tied as the fastest growing cities in BC in the year to July 2025, both up 3.6 percent, followed by Parksville at 2.7 percent and Courtenay at 2.6 percent. Over the longer run, Langford grew 21.3 percent between 2021 and 2025 to 59,669 people, Squamish 14.0 percent to 28,578, and Kelowna 10.7 percent to 167,654. None of them is a small lake town, which is why this page ranks the 5,000 to 30,000 band separately.
Is Salmon Arm a good place to live?
By the numbers on this page it is the most complete town of the five: 20,891 people on the July 2025 estimate, a 24-hour hospital, a college campus, a full downtown, and a regional single-family benchmark of $747,500 that sits about $325,000 under the Central Okanagan. Blind Bay is 25 minutes west along the lake. The trade is winter: the Salmon Arm station averages about 200 centimetres of snow a season, more than any Okanagan town. Our Salmon Arm page covers the day-to-day.
Which BC lake towns are outside the speculation and vacancy tax?
Of the five on this list, Osoyoos and Nelson are outside the provincial speculation and vacancy tax area, while Lake Country, Salmon Arm and Peachland are inside it. The unincorporated South Shuswap, including Blind Bay and Sorrento, is also outside, because the tax applies to listed municipalities only. The tax only matters for a home that is neither your principal residence nor rented out for at least six months of the year; our summer home guide scores every lake on it.
Which growing BC lake towns still have building lots for sale?
New serviced lots are scarce in Peachland and Nelson, where most of what sells is resale housing on steep ground. Lake Country has new subdivisions at Central Okanagan prices. Osoyoos has some. In the Shuswap, The Highlands at Blind Bay has 60 serviced lake-view lots in Phase 3, from $197,000, each with its own page showing the price, size, view and survey plan.
Sources
Where the numbers come from
- BC Stats, Municipal and sub-provincial areas population, 2011 to 2025 (July 1 estimates), and the 2025 Sub-Provincial Population Estimates Highlights (released May 2026).
- Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, census subdivision profiles for Salmon Arm and Columbia-Shuswap electoral areas C and F; Blind Bay population centre.
- Interior Health, Shuswap Lake General Hospital (24-hour emergency department); Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991 to 2020, Salmon Arm station (snowfall 202.7 cm).
- Association of Interior REALTORS, monthly statistics releases for the Shuswap and Revelstoke, Central Okanagan, South Okanagan and Kootenay regions, July to September 2026.
Population estimates are revised by BC Stats from time to time and benchmark prices change monthly. Figures on this page are as published on the dates named and will be refreshed when the 2026 estimates are released.