Photo: Bulliver · CC BY-SA 3.0More Indigenous residents than 93% of Canadian towns: 14%
With residents who moved in within the year at 16%, Athabasca is ahead of 84% of Canadian towns on that count. This Alberta town had about 2,887 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 1,155 households at the 2021 Census. The share of renter households stands at 42%. One-person households are more common here than in 78% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Athabasca
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 14% of residents, more than in 93% of Canadian towns, and 3.3% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Fewer people than before
Athabasca went from 2,965 people in 2016 to 2,759 in 2021, −7%: slower growth than in 98% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
−7% since 2016: slower than 98% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 5% higher again. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Alberta’s towns, by more than +1%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 69% of Canadian towns: 22%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
18% of residents are under 15; across Canada’s towns the figure is 16%. With a median age of 42.8, Athabasca is older than 54% of Canadian towns. For comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Athabasca, 42.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women.
Above 80% of Canadian towns: 10% of households are one-parent families
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.3 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Elsewhere, 8.2% of households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns.
Athabasca ranks below 65% of Canadian towns on married residents 15 and over: 42%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 28% of adults, beside a typical 27%. In Athabasca, 9.9% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
Above 56% of Canadian towns: 68% of households live in a single-detached house
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. As a reference point, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. 29% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 16% built before 1961.
The median household brings in $81,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Athabasca’s, at $81,000, is 6% lower. Among Alberta’s towns, the typical figure is $92,200. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 22% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
6.1% of residents are not Canadian citizens, more than in 52% of Canadian towns
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
Most recent wave: 57% of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). For Athabasca, the census puts immigrants at 10%. The share of residents without Canadian citizenship across Canada’s towns is 5.8%.
51% of residents said they have no religion, a share 88% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Muslim (2.9%). Against that, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. Visible minority: 12% (Canada’s towns: 15%).
English is the mother tongue of 85%, and 6.5% speak French as well
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
6.3% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 0.2% speak neither official language. Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%; Athabasca has 6.5%.
Athabasca ranks below 62% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 22%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 13% here, 9.5% in the typical town. On average, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 58% of residents aged 15 and over
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 58%, the share in work is about the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Among 41 towns of 2,849 to 2,922 people, the 19th youngest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
McKernan is the youngest of them at 30; Parry Sound, Unorganized, Centre Part, at 61.2, the oldest. The closest ages to Athabasca’s belong to Dundonald (41.2), Norwood West (42), Fairview (44.4) and Saint-Basile (45.2).
The towns around Athabasca are all older
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. Distances here run 14–72 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Athabasca.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athabasca | 2,887 | — | 42.8 | 22% | 10% |
| Athabasca County | 7,280 | 14.3 km | 47.6 | 20% | 4.1% |
| Thorhild County | 3,147 | 62.5 km | 52 | 27% | 5.5% |
| Westlock County | 7,556 | 69.9 km | 44 | 20% | 4.2% |
| Westlock | 5,363 | 71.8 km | 46.8 | 28% | 9% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
Questions about Athabasca’s residents
How diverse is Athabasca?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 10%. A visible minority makes up 12% and Indigenous residents 14%.
What religion are people in Athabasca?
Most often Christian (43%) or no religion (51%); other religions make up 5.3%.
Is Athabasca good for families?
Children under 15 are 18% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 45% of households and one-parent families 10%. Schools near Athabasca are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Athabasca?
Median total household income in Athabasca was $81,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Athabasca?
The latest figure is an estimate: 2,887 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Athabasca counted 2,759, 7% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Athabasca?
Half the residents are older than 42.8 and half younger, older than 54% of Canadian towns; 18% are children under 15 and 22% are 65 or over.
Is Athabasca bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 6.5% are. Another 0% speak only French and 93% only English, and French is the first language of 1.3%.
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).