Photo: Ken Eckert · CC BY-SA 4.0Bentley sits above 91% of Canadian towns for Indigenous residents (12%)
Residents aged 15 to 24: 7.7%, below 93% of Canadian towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 1,153 residents; the 2021 Census found 450 households. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.2%. On immigrants, Bentley sits lower than 84% of Canadian towns: 4.3%.
What stands out about the people of Bentley
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
12% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 91% of Canadian towns; 2.4% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Bentley went from 1,078 to 1,042 residents (−3%), slower growth than in 93% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Bentley changed by −3% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 93% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 11% higher again. Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +1% across Alberta’s towns.
Half of Bentley is over 46, older than 72% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 21%, against 19% across Canada’s towns. On the census count, 18% of residents are under 15.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women.
A higher share of one-parent families than 75% of Canadian towns, at 10%
Private households by type and size.
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, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns. In Bentley, 29% of households are one person living alone.
13% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 67% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Nearly a quarter of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. As a yardstick, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
Fewer renter households than 65% of Canadian towns: 19%
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
29% of homes were built before 1961 and 17% in 2001 or later. Few places have as many households in single-detached houses: 75% here, more than in 65% of Canadian towns. To put it in context, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
Median household income: $76,000 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. 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; Bentley’s, at $76,000, is 12% lower. The provincial yardstick is $92,200, the median across Alberta’s towns. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 35% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
4.3% 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
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (44%) and in the Americas (22%). Residents without Canadian citizenship are rarer here than in 99% of Canadian towns.
In Bentley, 46% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 80% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
3.3% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
94% have English as their mother tongue; 1.9% 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
1% of residents have French as their mother tongue, about the same as across Canada’s towns. Fewer bilingual residents than in 98% of Canadian towns: 1.9%.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 7.4%, a lower share than 99% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 22% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. Across the comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 51% of adults
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.
51% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 21% are 65 or more.
Bentley is older than every town around it
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bentley | 1,153 | — | 46 | 21% | 4.3% |
| Lacombe County | 11,072 | 17.8 km | 44.4 | 19% | 6.1% |
| Sylvan Lake | 17,897 | 18.5 km | 36 | 11% | 6.6% |
| Blackfalds | 12,258 | 19.2 km | 31.8 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
- 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.
Questions about Bentley’s residents
What is the population of Bentley?
Statistics Canada estimates 1,153 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 1,042 in Bentley, 3% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Bentley?
46 is the median age. Under 15: 18%. 65 and over: 21%.
Is Bentley bilingual?
1.9% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 98% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1%.
How diverse is Bentley?
Immigrants make up 4.3% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 3.3% are members of a visible minority, and 12% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Bentley?
Christian: 53%. No religion: 46%. Another religion: 1.5%.
Is Bentley good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 18%. 51% of households are couple families and 10% one-parent families. Schools near Bentley are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Bentley?
$76,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Bentley (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
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).