40% of residents are immigrants, a share 85% of Canadian towns don’t reach
In Shawnessy, 14% of residents are not Canadian citizens, beside 5.8% across Canada’s towns. The 2021 Census put the neighbourhood’s population at 9,696, in 3,435 households. Here, 83% of households live in a single-detached house. Lower than in 72% of Canadian towns: 15% of residents are 65 or over.
What stands out about the people of Shawnessy
More immigrants than most towns
40% of residents are immigrants, against 25% across Alberta’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (59%), then in Europe (24%); 41% of them arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
13% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 81% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Across Canada’s towns, 16% of residents are under 15; in Shawnessy, 15%. The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with nearly one in ten residents. Half of the neighbourhood’s residents are over 42.5, older than in 53% of Canadian towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Shawnessy, 42.5. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Below 85% of Canadian towns: 17% of households are one person living alone
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
A household here has 2.8 people on average; across Canada’s towns, 2.4. Against that, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. 7.7% of households are one-parent families.
Common-law partners make up 7.8% in Shawnessy, less than in 74% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Where 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns, Shawnessy has 52%. The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%.
18% of households rent their home, fewer than in 67% of Canadian towns
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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. For renter households, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 25%. Newer homes outnumber old: 14% date from 2001 or later, 0.6% from before 1961.
Before tax, the median household income is $110,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Shawnessy’s median household took in $110,000 before tax, 28% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Alberta’s towns, the median household income is $92,200. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 33% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
9.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 64% of Canadian towns
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
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
Just over two in five immigrants arrived from 2011 to 2021 (typical: 27%), and non-permanent residents make up a further 1.2% of residents. The usual figure: just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (59%), then in Europe (24%).
A higher share of visible minority residents than 74% of Canadian towns, at 36%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Muslim (3.8%) and Hindu (2.1%). Against that, 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns. Indigenous residents make up 3.3%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
64% have English as their mother tongue; 5.6% also speak French
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
19% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 1.9% speak neither official language. Lower than in 68% of Canadian towns: 5.6% of residents speak English and French. Nothing unusual on residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.3%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
37% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 67% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
5.2% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
59% of adults were employed in May 2021
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
59% of residents 15 and over have a job, in line with the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
The 19th oldest of 41 towns of 9,488 to 9,922 people
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
Median ages here range from 32.1 in Rosenberg to 67.5 in Qualicum Beach. In age, Shawnessy keeps company with Lorraine (42.4), Glastonbury (42.5), Olds (43.6) and Mineola (44.4).
Among its 6 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Shawnessy
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnessy | 9,696 | — | 42.5 | 15% | 40% |
| Somerset | 8,416 | 0.9 km | 40.9 | 13% | 46% |
| Millrise | 6,754 | 1.5 km | 42 | 16% | 41% |
| Fish Creek Park | 9,045 | 2.0 km | 50.3 | 25% | 26% |
| Midnapore | 7,022 | 2.0 km | 45.1 | 26% | 20% |
| Bridlewood | 12,547 | 2.4 km | 37 | 8.7% | 48% |
| Evergreen | 19,988 | 2.6 km | 39.6 | 11% | 47% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Built up from dissemination areas: Statistics Canada stops at the municipality. Rounded counts are added together and medians estimated from the published groups. The 2016 areas don’t line up with these, so the change since 2016 isn’t shown.
- 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.
- 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. Provincial and national yardsticks: Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
Questions about Shawnessy’s residents
What is the median income in Shawnessy?
$110,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Shawnessy (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Shawnessy?
Shawnessy had 9,696 residents at the 2021 Census.
What is the average age in Shawnessy?
42.5 is the median age, older than 53% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 15%. 65 and over: 15%.
Is Shawnessy bilingual?
English and French: 5.6% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 93%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.3%.
How diverse is Shawnessy?
Immigrants make up 40% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 36% are members of a visible minority, and 3.3% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Shawnessy?
Christian: 56%. No religion: 35%. Another religion: 9.3%.
Is Shawnessy good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 15%. 60% of households are couple families and 7.7% one-parent families. Schools near Shawnessy are on its Schools page.
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).