Demographics
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, White Rock had a population of 21,939 living in 10,735 of its 11,541 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 19,952. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Ethnicity
{| class="wikitable collapsible sortable"
|+ Panethnic groups in White Rock (2001–2021)
! rowspan="2" |Panethnic group
! colspan="2" |2021
! colspan="2" |2011
! colspan="2"|2006
! colspan="2" |2001
|-
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
|-
| European
| 15,185
|
| 15,420
|
| 16,020
|
| 16,030
|
| 16,035
|
|-
| East Asian
| 1,900
|
| 1,450
|
| 1,055
|
| 970
|
| 485
|
|-
| South Asian
| 1,575
|
| 965
|
| 410
|
| 330
|
| 170
|
|-
| Indigenous
| 635
|
| 565
|
| 465
|
| 290
|
| 165
|
|-
| Southeast Asian
| 580
|
| 230
|
| 330
|
| 230
|
| 215
|
|-
| African
| 265
|
| 130
|
| 70
|
| 125
|
| 60
|
|-
| Latin American
| 250
|
| 100
|
| 45
|
| 145
|
| 35
|
|-
| Middle Eastern
| 110
|
| 110
|
| 30
|
| 30
|
| 75
|
|-
| Other/multiracial
| 230
|
| 145
|
| 70
|
| 20
|
| 85
|
|- class="sortbottom"
! Total responses
! 20,725
!
! 19,120
!
! 18,540
!
! 18,165
!
! 17,325
!
|- class="sortbottom"
! Total population
! 21,939
!
! 19,952
!
! 19,339
!
! 18,755
!
! 18,250
!
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="11" |
|}
Religion
thumb|upright=1.74|Religion in White Rock
According to the 2021 census, religious groups in White Rock included:
- Irreligion (9,855 persons or 47.6%)
- Christianity (8,875 persons or 42.8%)
- Sikhism (905 persons or 4.4%)
- Hinduism (245 persons or 1.2%)
- Islam (205 persons or 1.0%)
- Buddhism (160 persons or 0.8%)
- Judaism (115 persons or 0.6%)
- Other (360 persons or 1.7%)
Annual events
Every year in July, the city hosts the Tour de White Rock, a bicycle road race that attracts over 150 local and international riders. In 2005, the event was part of the Canadian Cycling Association's national Road Race Series.
Every year during the first weekend of August, the Spirit of the Sea Festival is held on White Rock beach. It usually includes a parade, fireworks, music stages, a sandcastle competition, and various other beach-related activities. The festival began in 1949.
Infrastructure
Transportation
thumb|right|A freight train runs along the beach as the sun sets in 2009
Transportation in White Rock largely revolves around the automobile. Highway 99 is a freeway that links the White Rock area with Vancouver to the north and U.S. Interstate 5, via the Peace Arch border crossing, to the south. King George Highway (Highway 99A) links the Peace Arch border with Surrey Central station and New Westminster via the soon-to-be-replaced Pattullo Bridge. Johnston Road (152 Street) links White Rock to Guildford and the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1).
Most of White Rock's bus routes run through the White Rock Centre transit exchange. From there, the 351 and 354 buses, which previously ran to downtown Vancouver, now terminate at Bridgeport station in Richmond; Vancouver-bound passengers have to transfer onto the Canada Line rapid transit line. Only one route serving the area, the 352 Ocean Park/Bridgeport Station express bus, does not run through White Rock Centre, instead terminating near the South Surrey Athletic Park. The 321, 345, and 394 buses provide service to North Surrey, notably to Surrey Central and King George Skytrain stations, and the 375 service runs through White Rock Centre from just north of the Peace Arch border crossing to Guildford Town Centre. The 531 bus runs from White Rock Centre to Willowbrook Mall in Langley. Community Shuttle routes, the 360, 361, 362, and 363, service local communities within White Rock and South Surrey.
BNSF Railway has a single-track main line through White Rock that runs the length of the White Rock beach promenade. The city itself has no train service; however, this rail line is a major corridor for goods transported between the ports of Vancouver and the continental U.S., as well as for the Amtrak Cascades passenger service between Seattle and Vancouver via Bellingham, Washington. The Canadian National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) also have trackage rights along the line. Goods transported on the corridor include Canadian softwood lumber, coal, paper products, and general merchandise. The CPR runs regular potash trains along the line to the Canpotex export terminal in Oregon.
Notable people
- Andy Anderson, skateboarder
- Jeff Bandura, hockey player
- Hilary Caldwell, Olympic swimmer
- Paul Campbell, actor from Battlestar Galactica
- Desirée Dawson, singer and winner of the 2016 Searchlight talent contest
- Jason Garrison, journeyman National Hockey League defenseman
- Colton Gillies, former left winger for the Columbus Blue Jackets
- Christine Girard, Olympic weightlifter
- Gigi Saul Guerrero, filmmaker and actress
- Andrew Hammond, goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche
- Ellie Harvie, actress
- Gordon Hogg, former BC Liberal MLA for Surrey-White Rock (1997–2017) and Liberal Party of Canada MP for South Surrey-White Rock (2017–2019).
- George Frederick Ives, supercentenarian and last surviving Boer War veteran.
- Jim Hughson, sportscaster
- Moose Johnson, left-winger and defenseman for the Montreal Wanderers and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame
- Riall Johnson, National Football League player
- Teyo Johnson, National Football League player
- Ra McGuire, singer and founder of the Canadian rock group Trooper
- Arnold Mikelson, wood sculptor
- Gabrielle Miller, actress
- Jim Mullin, President, Football Canada, broadcaster
- Gordon Rice, artist
- Hannah Simone, actress on the television series New Girl
- Cobie Smulders, actress known for playing Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother
- Jewel Staite, actress on the television series Firefly
- Colten Teubert, hockey player
- Reece Thompson, actor
- Daniel Wesley, rock/reggae musician
White Rock in television and film
Scenes from the boxing film Knockout were filmed in White Rock. Portions of the 1965 film The Railrodder starring Buster Keaton were filmed in White Rock. Much of the 1982 movie Big Meat Eater was filmed near and around the White Rock waterfront. The USA Network's detective comedy Psych was also filmed in White Rock, though the series is set in Santa Barbara, California. There is also a brief scene in Leaving Normal filmed at the White Rock waterfront. Scenes from The X-Files were also filmed here, as were scenes from the Steven Seagal movie Driven to Kill. An episode of the FX dramedy series Better Things from its second season titled "White Rock", that originally aired on November 9, 2017, had scenes that were filmed in White Rock. The Hallmark movie Like Cats & Dogs had many city scenes filmed here, as well as scenes on the public pier. K-pop girl group Twice features local White Rock gelato shop Ocean Rock Cafe on Marine Drive as well as the historic pier and railway in their 2018 music video Likey.