Photo: Joli Rumi · CC BY-SA 4.013% of residents have an Indigenous identity, a share 91% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Where a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns, Athabasca County has 8.8%. The town is home to some 7,280 people (July 2025 estimate), in 2,835 households at the 2021 Census. 8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. With a median age of 47.6, Athabasca County is older than 79% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Athabasca County
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
13% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 91% of Canadian towns; 2.8% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Athabasca County went from 7,869 to 6,959 residents (−12%), slower growth than in 99% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A −12% change since 2016: slower than 99% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Alberta’s towns the median is +1%, and across Canada’s towns +4%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 5%.
In Athabasca County, 9.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 72% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
17% of residents are under 15; across Canada’s towns the figure is 16%. Few places have as many residents aged 65 and over: 20% here, more than in three fifths of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Athabasca County, 47.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women.
24% of households are one person living alone, below 60% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The average household has 2.4 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. The census found that 5.5% of households are one-parent families in Athabasca County. Across Canada’s towns, 27% of households are one person living alone.
Married residents 15 and over: 57%, a higher share than 85% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Never married and not common-law: a fifth of adults (typical: 27%). Common-law partners account for 11%. The wider picture: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of households in single-detached houses than 84% of Canadian towns, at 87%
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. Prices, rents and shelter costs are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Owners and renters · share of households
When homes were built · share of homes
33% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 10% built before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Typically, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
The median household brings in $89,000 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes sit at the middle in Athabasca County: half had more than $89,000, near the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $92,200 is the median household income across Alberta’s towns. Pandemic benefits reached 21% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
4.1% of residents are immigrants
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Where 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns, Athabasca County has 4.1%. Locally, 1.4% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
Athabasca County sits above 81% of Canadian towns for residents with no religion (47%)
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority; in Athabasca County, 2%. For comparison, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
90% have English as their mother tongue; 6.3% also speak French
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Residents whose mother tongue is French make up 2.2%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns. Compared with 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 6.3% of residents speak English and French here.
Below 98% of Canadian towns: 8.8% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 11% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 59%
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 59%, the share in work is about the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
41 towns of 7,161 to 7,411 people: this is the 10th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Median ages here range from 31.8 in Blairmore Suburban Centre to 58 in Trent Lakes. The towns whose median age is nearest to Athabasca County’s: Carlisle (46.5), Wainfleet (47.2), Concord (47.7) and Colborne (49.2).
Athabasca County sits below 2 of its 5 closest neighbours on median age
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. Athabasca County has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 14–73 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athabasca County | 7,280 | — | 47.6 | 20% | 4.1% |
| Athabasca | 2,887 | 14.3 km | 42.8 | 22% | 10% |
| Thorhild County | 3,147 | 54.4 km | 52 | 27% | 5.5% |
| Smoky Lake | 1,159 | 71.4 km | 61.6 | 45% | 6.2% |
| Lac la Biche County | 8,580 | 72.4 km | 41.6 | 18% | 9.5% |
| Westlock County | 7,556 | 73.1 km | 44 | 20% | 4.2% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
Questions about Athabasca County’s residents
What religion are people in Athabasca County?
Most often Christian (52%) or no religion (47%); other religions make up 0.9%.
Is Athabasca County good for families?
Children under 15 are 17% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 63% of households and one-parent families 5.5%. Schools near Athabasca County are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Athabasca County?
Median total household income in Athabasca County was $89,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Athabasca County?
The latest figure is an estimate: 7,280 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Athabasca County counted 6,959, 12% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Athabasca County?
Half the residents are older than 47.6 and half younger, older than 79% of Canadian towns; 17% are children under 15 and 20% are 65 or over.
Is Athabasca County bilingual?
6.3% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 94% English only. French is the mother tongue of 2.2%.
How diverse is Athabasca County?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 4.1%. A visible minority makes up 2% and Indigenous residents 13%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population · Statistics Canada, population estimates for 1 July 2025 (table 17-10-0155). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).