Photo: Erik Lizee · Public domainMore residents with no religion than 89% of Canadian towns: 52%
The median age in Clearwater County is 46.4, higher than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. There are about as many residents as in 2016. Census figures put renter households at 12% locally. Recent arrivals are 8.9% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns.
Clearwater County’s population moved −1% on 2016, less than in 83% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate is close to the census count. The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Alberta’s towns +1%.
Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 73% of Canadian towns: 9.5%
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
A fifth of residents are 65 or over; across Canada’s towns the figure is 19%. Set beside that, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Clearwater County, 46.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 106 men for every 100 women.
One-person households make up 22% in Clearwater County, less than in 69% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.4 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. What’s more, 5.3% of households are one-parent families, a lower share than in 90% of Canadian towns. One-person households: 27% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
58% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 90% of Canadian towns don’t reach
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up nearly a fifth of adults, beside a typical 27%. On average, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners account for 11%.
77% of households live in a single-detached house, more than in 68% 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
Newer homes outnumber old: 30% date from 2001 or later, 9.5% from before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. By way of comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
Household income at the median: $83,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. 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, and Clearwater County’s, at $83,000, is close to it. The median across Alberta’s towns is $92,200. In 2020, 25% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
Clearwater County ranks below 87% of Canadian towns on residents who moved in within the year: 7.5%
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
By its share of residents without Canadian citizenship (1.1%), Clearwater County is below 88% of Canadian towns. Against that, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Here, 3.8% of residents are immigrants.
In Clearwater County, 7.2% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 80% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns, against 0.6% in Clearwater County. The share of Indigenous residents across Canada’s towns is 2.8%.
English is the mother tongue of 95%, and 3% 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
At home: English 99%, French 0.1%. Clearwater County has fewer bilingual residents than 94% of Canadian towns, at 3%. 0.9% of residents have French as their mother tongue, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
Clearwater County ranks below 94% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 11%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate at all: 14%, against 9.5%. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 59%
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 59% is close to the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Oldest by rank: 16th of 41 towns of 11,567 to 12,148 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Saint-Sauveur is the oldest at 58.4, Cityscape the youngest at 31.5. By median age, Clearwater County sits among Saint-Rodrigue (46.1), Adjala-Tosorontio (46.4), Saint-Raymond (46.8) and St. Andrews (46.8).
Every nearby town is younger than Clearwater County
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. The nearest places to Clearwater County with figures are 14–46 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater County | 11,856 | — | 46.4 | 20% | 3.8% |
| Rocky Mountain House | 8,144 | 14.1 km | 38.8 | 17% | 9.1% |
| Eckville | 1,088 | 28.2 km | 40 | 22% | 4.6% |
| Sylvan Lake | 17,897 | 46.3 km | 36 | 11% | 6.6% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. The middle of Alberta’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
Questions about Clearwater County’s residents
What is the population of Clearwater County?
Clearwater County had about 11,856 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 11,865, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Clearwater County?
A median age of 46.4, older than 74% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 18%, and people 65 and over 20%.
Is Clearwater County bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 3% are. Another 0% speak only French and 97% only English, and French is the first language of 0.9%.
How diverse is Clearwater County?
3.8% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 0.6% belong to a visible minority and 7.2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Clearwater County?
47% are Christian and 52% have no religion; 1.2% follow another religion.
Is Clearwater County good for families?
Under 15: 18% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 66% of households. One-parent families: 5.3%. Schools near Clearwater County are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Clearwater County?
The median household in Clearwater County took in $83,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
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).