Photo: awmcphee · CC BY-SA 4.030% of residents are 65 or over, a share 92% of Canadian towns don’t reach
7.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity, against 2.8% across Canada’s towns. Barrhead had about 4,768 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 1,835 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put renter households at 35% in the town. With a median age of 47.6, Barrhead is older than nearly four fifths of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Barrhead
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Barrhead went from 4,579 to 4,320 residents (−6%), slower growth than in 97% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Many older residents
30% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 92% of Canadian towns; 11% are 80 or over, and 37% of households are one person living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Slower than most: −6% since 2016, behind 97% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +1% across Alberta’s towns. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 10% higher again.
9.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24, below 74% of Canadian towns
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns, against 17% in Barrhead. More residents are 65–69 than any other five-year age: 6.9% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Barrhead, 47.6. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Barrhead: 37% of households are one person living alone, above 83% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One in ten households are one-parent families; across Canada’s towns the figure is 8.2%. As a reference point, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. On average, 2.2 people share a household.
Below 79% of Canadian towns: 7.1% of residents 15 and over live common-law
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: a quarter of adults, against a typical 27%. For comparison, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
Households in single-detached houses: 69%, a higher share than 57% of Canadian towns
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 74% of Canadian towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 22% date from 2001 or later, 13% from before 1961. Typically, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
$67,500 a year: where the middle household sits
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Barrhead’s households had a total income below $67,500, 22% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The figure for Alberta’s towns: $92,200. COVID-19 benefits went to 21% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 69% 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
Immigrants: 12% here and 17% across Canada’s towns. On average, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (39%) and in Europe (32%).
A lower share of residents with no religion than 53% of Canadian towns, at 34%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The census found that 13% of residents belong to a visible minority in Barrhead. Across Canada’s towns, residents with no religion come to 35%.
English is the mother tongue of 86%, and 3.7% 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
7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns, against 3.7% in Barrhead. For Barrhead, the census puts residents whose mother tongue is French at 1.1%.
Barrhead ranks below 78% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 16%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 17% here, 9.5% in the typical town. By way of comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
51% of residents 15 and over were in work
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 51% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 30% of residents are 65 or over.
Of 41 towns its size (4,675 to 4,842 people), the 12th oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
They run from Empire Park, at 30.9, to Electoral Area B, Nanaimo, at 63.2. The closest ages to Barrhead’s belong to Riverside Park - Mooneys Bay (44.7), Electoral Area D, Fraser-Fort George (45.6), Electoral Area D, Columbia-Shuswap (48) and Central Okanagan (51.6).
Barrhead is older than every town around it
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. Distances here run 9–45 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Barrhead.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrhead | 4,768 | — | 47.6 | 30% | 12% |
| Barrhead County No. 11 | 6,186 | 8.5 km | 40.8 | 19% | 7.7% |
| Westlock County | 7,556 | 31.6 km | 44 | 20% | 4.2% |
| Lac Ste. Anne County | 12,639 | 36.4 km | 46.8 | 20% | 5.2% |
| Westlock | 5,363 | 36.7 km | 46.8 | 28% | 9% |
| Alexander 134 | 1,139 | 44.6 km | 28.4 | 8.8% | 0% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Barrhead’s residents
What is the average age in Barrhead?
Half the residents are older than 47.6 and half younger, older than 79% of Canadian towns; 17% are children under 15 and 30% are 65 or over.
Is Barrhead bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 3.7% are. Another 0% speak only French and 96% only English, and French is the first language of 1.1%.
How diverse is Barrhead?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 12%. A visible minority makes up 13% and Indigenous residents 7.8%.
What religion are people in Barrhead?
Most often Christian (64%) or no religion (34%); other religions make up 1.5%.
Is Barrhead good for families?
Children under 15 are 17% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 45% of households and one-parent families 10%. Schools near Barrhead are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Barrhead?
Median total household income in Barrhead was $67,500 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Barrhead?
The latest figure is an estimate: 4,768 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Barrhead counted 4,320, 6% fewer than 2016.
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).