Five thousand and forty-seven people is the 2021 city count, and it is the wrong boundary for this work. Add North Cowichan's 31,990 and you have 37,037 in the two municipalities, a sum we use only as context, not as a census product. The agglomeration figure that matches the valley around Duncan is 47,582. Lake Cowichan's 3,325 is a clearly labelled nearby addition, 29.0 km or 18.0 miles by a driving estimate made 10 November 2026 with OSRM on OpenStreetMap. That estimate is not a municipal survey. Ladysmith's agglomeration of 15,501 is deliberately kept out of the headline.
Regional-district pages cover Cowichan Bay in the regional district, Cobble Hill in the regional district, Shawnigan Lake in the regional district, Mill Bay in the regional district, and Saltair along the shore between Chemainus and Ladysmith. Saltair's road distance was never confirmed, so it is not stated. Lake Cowichan is a town page on this domain. Ladysmith is a nearby-town page only.
Distances and populations should be rechecked if you are using them for anything beyond this explanation. The population compilation is the provincial census PDF. The agglomeration is Statistics Canada. The community list is North Cowichan's about page.