Photo: Odysseus1479 · CC BY-SA 3.0A higher share of renter households than 99% of Canadian towns, at 88%
Across Canada’s towns, 5.8% of residents are not Canadian citizens; in Central McDougall, 26%. The 2021 Census put the neighbourhood’s population at 4,802, in 2,735 households. For Central McDougall, the census puts Indigenous residents at 10%. At 6.6%, the share of one-parent families is lower than in just over three quarters of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Central McDougall
A neighbourhood of renters
88% of households rent their home, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 96% live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 56%, more than in 99% of Canadian towns, and 8.4% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Central McDougall’s median age is 34.7; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 11% are under 15 and 8.4% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More immigrants than most towns
41% of residents are immigrants, against 25% across Alberta’s towns and 17% across Canada’s towns. Immigrants here were most often born in Africa (45%), then in Asia (41%); 57% of them arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A median age of 34.7: Central McDougall is younger than 92% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns, against 11% in Central McDougall. On the census count, nearly one in ten residents are 65 or over.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Central McDougall, 34.7. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 119 men for every 100 women.
One-person households make up 56% in Central McDougall, more than in 99% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Shared houses stand out: 13% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 99% of Canadian towns. Typically, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. Households average 1.7 people.
Central McDougall sits below 98% of Canadian towns for married residents 15 and over (23%)
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Across Canada’s towns, the share of common-law partners is 11%; Central McDougall has 9.5%. Elsewhere, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
Households in single-detached houses: 2.6%, a lower share than 96% 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
22% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 18% built before 1961. Set beside that, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are more common here than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns.
Households here have a median income of $43,900 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
Half of Central McDougall’s households had a total income below $43,900, 49% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $92,200 is the median household income across Alberta’s towns. COVID-19 benefits went to 46% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
Residents who moved in within the year: 27%, a higher share than 97% 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
57% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. Measured more widely, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. The census found that 41% of residents are immigrants in Central McDougall.
Visible minority residents: 52%, a higher share than 86% of Canadian towns
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Here 37% of residents said they have no religion, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 35%. The wider picture: 15% of residents belong to a visible minority across Canada’s towns. Among other religions: Muslim (11%) and Buddhist (2.3%).
English is the mother tongue of 54%, and 5.7% speak French as well
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
7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns, against 5.7% in Central McDougall. Residents whose mother tongue is French account for 1.1%.
Fewer degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 62% of Canadian towns: 22%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
With no certificate, diploma or degree: 23%, beside a typical 9.5%. On average, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 53%
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
53% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 8.4% are 65 or more.
41 towns of 4,700 to 4,884 people: this is the 5th youngest
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The group spans Empire Park, youngest at 30.9, to Electoral Area B, Nanaimo, oldest at 63.2. Cornwallis (33.2), Rosenthal (33.5), Richmond (36.6) and Grand Valley (36.8): the towns nearest Central McDougall in median age.
Median age: 4 of the 6 towns around Central McDougall are older
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central McDougall | 4,802 | — | 34.7 | 8.4% | 41% |
| Queen Mary Park | 7,958 | 1.1 km | 34 | 8.7% | 38% |
| McCauley | 4,060 | 1.2 km | 47.5 | 20% | 39% |
| Downtown | 12,880 | 1.6 km | 33.8 | 12% | 25% |
| Boyle Street | 5,862 | 1.7 km | 40.7 | 19% | 35% |
| Wîhkwêntôwin | 19,050 | 1.8 km | 38.6 | 20% | 25% |
| Alberta Avenue | 6,097 | 2.2 km | 39.6 | 13% | 30% |
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. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
- 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.
Questions about Central McDougall’s residents
What is the population of Central McDougall?
The 2021 Census counted 4,802 people in Central McDougall.
What is the average age in Central McDougall?
The median age is 34.7, younger than 92% of Canadian towns. 11% are under 15 and 8.4% 65 or older.
Is Central McDougall bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 5.7% are. Another 0% speak only French and 90% only English, and French is the first language of 1.1%.
How diverse is Central McDougall?
Immigrants: 41% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 52%. Indigenous identity: 10%.
What religion are people in Central McDougall?
37% said they have no religion and 43% that they are Christian; 20% named another faith.
Is Central McDougall good for families?
11% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 20% of households and one-parent families 6.6%. Schools near Central McDougall are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Central McDougall?
Half of Central McDougall’s households had more than $43,900 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $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).