Burnaby: homes, transit and schools.

Population

249,125¹2021 census, up 7.0% from 2016

Homes

107,046¹private dwellings, 2021

Land area

90.57 km²¹2021 census

Owned

60.5%¹of households own their home

The four town centres

Burnaby plans its growth around four town centres, one in each quadrant of the city. Each has shops, services, offices and SkyTrain service.²

• Metrotown (southwest): Burnaby's downtown and the largest of the four, on the Expo Line.²
• Brentwood (northwest): on the Millennium Line.²⁵
• Lougheed (northeast): where the Expo and Millennium lines meet at Lougheed Town Centre Station.²⁵
• Edmonds (southeast): on the Expo Line.²⁵

The City says its town centres offer higher-density homes: towers, mid-size walk-ups and townhouses.²

Homes in Burnaby

The 2021 census counted every occupied home in Burnaby by building type. It is the most recent full count; the 2026 census results come out from 2027.

"Flat in a duplex" is the census term for one of two homes stacked one above the other, such as a house with a separate suite on another floor.³

Types to compare for a first home

• Apartment condo: more than half of Burnaby's homes are apartments (52.9%), and 29.4% are in buildings of five storeys or more.¹
• Townhouse: a row house joined side by side, with no home above or below.³ These are 8.7% of Burnaby homes.¹
• Half duplex: one of two houses joined side by side.³ These are 2.9% of Burnaby homes.¹

Most condos and many townhouses are strata properties: you own your unit, and together with the other owners you own the common property as a strata corporation.⁴

This page has no prices on purpose. Prices change month to month and differ a lot between buildings and town centres. Ask me and I'll send the real board figures for the homes you're looking at.

Getting around

SkyTrain

Burnaby is on two SkyTrain lines.²

• Expo Line: Patterson, Metrotown, Royal Oak and Edmonds, then on through New Westminster to Surrey. Some Expo Line trains branch off at Columbia and run through Sapperton and Braid to Lougheed Town Centre.⁵
• Millennium Line: Gilmore, Brentwood Town Centre, Holdom, Sperling–Burnaby Lake, Lake City Way, Production Way–University and Lougheed Town Centre, then on to Coquitlam.⁵

RapidBus and buses

• R5 Hastings St: SFU on Burnaby Mountain to Burrard Station downtown.⁶⁷
• 144: SFU Exchange to Metrotown Station.⁷
• 110: Lougheed Station to Metrotown Station.⁷
• 136: Lougheed Station to Brentwood Station.⁷
• 130 Willingdon: Metrotown Station to Kootenay Loop and Phibbs Exchange.⁷

Parks and recreation centres

The City says it has more than 150 parks.⁹ A few of the larger ones:

• Central Park: 86 hectares (212.5 acres) of forest, with tennis courts, an outdoor pool and a pitch & putt.⁹
• Burnaby Lake Regional Nature Park: birdwatching and calm water for canoeing, kayaking and rowing.⁹
• Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area, Deer Lake Park, Barnet Marine Park on Burrard Inlet and Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park on the river.⁹

Recreation centres include Bonsor Recreation Complex, Edmonds Community Centre, Christine Sinclair Community Centre, Eileen Dailly Leisure Pool & Fitness Centre, Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre, Willingdon Community Centre, Bill Copeland Sports Centre and Kensington Complex.⁸

Schools

Public schools in Burnaby are run by School District 41 (Burnaby).¹⁰

Catchment is set by address, not by neighbourhood name. Check any address you're looking at with the district's school locator before you write an offer.¹¹

City links

• City of Burnaby: property tax, zoning, permits and city services.
• Burnaby Schools (School District 41)
• TransLink: trip planner and schedules.
• BC Assessment: look up the assessed value of any address.

Read next: the guides Buying your first home in BC and Downsizing in Greater Vancouver, or the pages for Surrey, Langley and Coquitlam.