A larger share of visible minority residents than 88% of Canadian towns: 56%
Nearly one in ten households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns, against 13% in Forest Heights. Census figures put households in single-detached houses at 38% here. Lower than in 76% of Canadian towns: 14% of residents are 65 or over. The 2021 Census put the neighbourhood’s population at 6,120, in 2,090 households.
What stands out about the people of Forest Heights
More immigrants than most towns
Immigrants make up 41% of residents; the medians are 25% across Alberta’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (66%) and in Africa (16%), and 43% arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
A mix of backgrounds
56% of residents belong to a visible minority, more than in 88% of Canadian towns; 41% are immigrants. Identity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A higher share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 86% of Canadian towns, at 14%
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns, against 18% in Forest Heights. By contrast, the median age here is 40.2, lower than in 62% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Forest Heights, 40.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split.
Bigger households than 85% of Canadian towns: 2.9 people each on average
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, 27% of households are one person living alone; in Forest Heights, 23%. Shared houses stand out: 9.3% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 95% of Canadian towns.
Forest Heights sits below 70% of Canadian towns for common-law partners (8.3%)
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
35% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). The share of common-law partners across Canada’s towns is 11%. Across Forest Heights, nearly two in five residents 15 and over are married.
In Forest Heights, 34% of households rent their home, more than in 66% of Canadian towns
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of renter households is 25%. Nearly one in ten homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%.
Median household income: $81,500 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Forest Heights’s, at $81,500, is 5% lower. The middle household across Alberta’s towns has $92,200 before tax. In 2020, 41% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
Forest Heights: 41% of residents are immigrants, above 86% of Canadian towns
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 50%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
The figure for residents who moved in within the year is 8.3% in Forest Heights and 11% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, 17% of residents are immigrants. Census figures put residents without Canadian citizenship at 16% here.
Indigenous residents: 5.3%, a higher share than 72% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Muslim (9%) and Buddhist (5.8%). As a reference point, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. The share of residents with no religion is 34%, against 35% across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 53%, and 3.9% speak French as well
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
The share of bilingual residents trails 87% of Canadian towns: 3.9%. At home: English 65%, French 0.4%.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 76% of Canadian towns: 17%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 23%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. For comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
53% of adults were employed in May 2021
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 14% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 53% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
In its size band (6,028 to 6,213), the 19th youngest of 41 towns
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Inkster Gardens is the youngest of them at 33.4; Tay Valley, at 57.2, the oldest. Nearest to Forest Heights in age: Delta East (39.9), Saint-Pie (40), Glenora (40.4) and Barrhead County No. 11 (40.8).
Forest Heights is younger than 2 of its 6 nearest neighbours
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Heights | 6,120 | — | 40.2 | 14% | 41% |
| Marlborough | 8,932 | 1.3 km | 40.7 | 17% | 50% |
| Albert Park/Radisson Heights | 8,433 | 1.4 km | 38.8 | 13% | 36% |
| Forest Lawn | 7,513 | 1.6 km | 39.1 | 12% | 31% |
| Penbrooke Meadows | 10,001 | 1.7 km | 40.8 | 14% | 36% |
| Marlborough Park | 8,378 | 2.0 km | 39.5 | 15% | 38% |
| Applewood Park | 6,835 | 2.8 km | 38.8 | 11% | 50% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Alberta’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada publishes the census for municipalities, not neighbourhoods, so these figures add up the dissemination areas inside the neighbourhood. Counts are sums of StatCan’s rounded counts; the median age and income are worked out from the published age and income groups; and 2016 areas don’t add up to these, so there is no 2016 count.
- 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 Forest Heights’s residents
What is the population of Forest Heights?
Forest Heights had 6,120 residents at the 2021 Census.
What is the average age in Forest Heights?
40.2 is the median age, younger than 62% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 18%. 65 and over: 14%.
Is Forest Heights bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 3.9% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 92% speak only English and 0% only French; 1.3% grew up with French.
How diverse is Forest Heights?
Immigrants make up 41% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 56% are members of a visible minority, and 5.3% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Forest Heights?
Christian: 47%. No religion: 34%. Another religion: 19%.
Is Forest Heights good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 18%. 40% of households are couple families and 13% one-parent families. Schools near Forest Heights are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Forest Heights?
$81,500 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Forest Heights (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. 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).