Above 90% of Canadian towns: 46% of residents are immigrants
Across Canada’s towns, nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over; in Somerset, 13%. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 14%. Few places have as many visible minority residents: 44% here, more than in 81% of Canadian towns. There were 3,095 households here at the 2021 Census, home to 8,416 people.
What stands out about the people of Somerset
More immigrants than most towns
Immigrants make up 46% 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 (61%) and in Europe (23%), and 42% arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Younger than 57% of Canadian towns: half of Somerset is under 40.9
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The largest age band is 50–54: 9% of residents, 1.4 times the share across Canada’s towns. Children under 15: 16% of the total.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Somerset, 40.9. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
Bigger households than 78% of Canadian towns: 2.7 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.
Compared with 27% across Canada’s towns, 22% of households are one person living alone here. Across Somerset, 8.6% of households are one-parent families.
Common-law partners make up 6.9% in Somerset, less than in 80% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
29% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. Against that, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
In Somerset, 69% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 57% of Canadian towns
Occupied homes by type, by owners and renters, and by when they were built. 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, households in single-detached houses come to 64%. Newer homes outnumber old: 32% date from 2001 or later, 0.3% from before 1961. A quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns, against 24% in Somerset.
Before tax, the median household income is $99,600 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Somerset’s, at $99,600, is 16% higher. Across Alberta’s towns, half of households had more than $92,200 before tax. In 2020, 34% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
Somerset sits above 88% of Canadian towns for residents without Canadian citizenship (17%)
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 55%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (61%) and in Europe (23%). For residents without Canadian citizenship, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 5.8%. A year before the census, 11% lived somewhere else: more than the typical 11% across Canada’s towns. Most recent wave: just over two in five immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%).
56% said they are Christian and 35% that they have no religion
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Hindu (3%) and Muslim (2.8%). At 1.4%, the share of Indigenous residents is lower than in 73% of Canadian towns.
English is the mother tongue of 56%, and 5% speak French as well
Knowledge of the two official languages, first languages, and the language of home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
25% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 2.3% speak neither official language. Somerset has fewer bilingual residents than 74% of Canadian towns, at 5%. Nothing unusual on residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.1%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
More degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 71% of Canadian towns: 40%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 6.3%, against 9.5%. Measured more widely, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 59% of residents aged 15 and over
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Employment here, 59%, matches the middle of Canada’s towns (58%) within a couple of points.
41 towns of 8,302 to 8,524 people: this is the 19th youngest
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The group spans Garneau, youngest at 30.2, to Electoral Area G, Nanaimo, oldest at 60.8. The towns whose median age is nearest to Somerset’s: Upper Cornell (40.3), Crestview-Tanglewood (40.3), King Edward Park (41.4) and Rocky Ridge (42.1).
Somerset and its 6 nearest towns: 4 of them are older
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset | 8,416 | — | 40.9 | 13% | 46% |
| Shawnessy | 9,696 | 0.9 km | 42.5 | 15% | 40% |
| Bridlewood | 12,547 | 2.0 km | 37 | 8.7% | 48% |
| Silverado | 9,663 | 2.3 km | 35.3 | 5.9% | 45% |
| Millrise | 6,754 | 2.4 km | 42 | 16% | 41% |
| Midnapore | 7,022 | 2.8 km | 45.1 | 26% | 20% |
| Fish Creek Park | 9,045 | 2.8 km | 50.3 | 25% | 26% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- 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. 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.
Questions about Somerset’s residents
What is the median income in Somerset?
Median total household income in Somerset was $99,600 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Somerset?
8,416, at the 2021 Census: Statistics Canada makes no later estimate for Somerset alone.
What is the average age in Somerset?
Half the residents are older than 40.9 and half younger, younger than 57% of Canadian towns; 16% are children under 15 and 13% are 65 or over.
Is Somerset bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 5% are. Another 0% speak only French and 93% only English, and French is the first language of 1.1%.
How diverse is Somerset?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 46%. A visible minority makes up 44% and Indigenous residents 1.4%.
What religion are people in Somerset?
Most often Christian (56%) or no religion (35%); other religions make up 9.1%.
Is Somerset good for families?
Children under 15 are 16% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 55% of households and one-parent families 8.6%. Schools near Somerset 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).