Photo: Johntwrl · Public domainForest Heights sits above 84% of Canadian towns for Indigenous residents (8.5%)
Just over two in five households rent their home; across Canada’s towns the figure is 25%. Compared with other places, residents who moved in within the year are common here: 14%, more than in three quarters of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census put Forest Heights’s population at 4,118, in 1,880 households. Across Forest Heights, 38% of households are one person living alone.
Fewer children under 15 than 77% of Canadian towns: 14%
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Residents aged 65 and over: 21%, above just over three fifths of Canadian towns. Lower than in just over three quarters of Canadian towns: 9.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Forest Heights, 41.3. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 80% 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 share of one-parent families trails 76% of Canadian towns: 6.6%.
Common-law partners: 14%, a higher share than 72% of Canadian towns
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Across Canada’s towns, the share of married residents 15 and over is 46%; Forest Heights has 38%. The share of common-law partners across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Forest Heights ranks below 67% of Canadian towns on households in single-detached houses: 51%
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
Two in five homes were built before 1961 and 9.6% in 2001 or later. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. On average, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
$89,400 a year: the median household income
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Forest Heights’s median household took in $89,400 before tax, about the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Alberta’s towns the median is $92,200. In 2020, 28% of income recipients drew a COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefit; the typical town had 28%.
16% of residents are immigrants
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
Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (42%), then in Asia (32%). Here 4.6% of residents are not Canadian citizens, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 5.8%.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 83% of Canadian towns, at 48%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Census figures put visible minority residents at 14% in Forest Heights. Against that, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of bilingual residents than 65% of Canadian towns: 12%
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
The share of residents whose mother tongue is French tops 69% of Canadian towns: 3.4%. At home, 5.3% mostly speak another language; 0.6% speak neither English nor French. Bilingual residents make up 7.5% across Canada’s towns.
A higher share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 80% of Canadian towns, at 46%
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 5.8%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. By way of comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
Employment: 59% of residents 15 and over had a job
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. 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.
In its size band (4,057 to 4,180), the 17th youngest of 41 towns
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The group spans Mistissini, youngest at 29, to Barry's Bay, oldest at 58.4. The closest ages to Forest Heights’s belong to Malmo Plains (40.8), Electoral Area E, Kitimat-Stikine (41.2), L'Ange-Gardien (42) and Inch Park (42).
Around Forest Heights, 4 of 6 towns have a higher median age
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Heights | 4,118 | — | 41.3 | 21% | 16% |
| Holyrood | 3,305 | 1.5 km | 40.8 | 18% | 15% |
| Virginia Park | 3,431 | 1.6 km | 43.8 | 19% | 22% |
| Capilano | 5,046 | 1.6 km | 45.9 | 21% | 10% |
| Riverdale | 5,490 | 1.8 km | 43.2 | 21% | 14% |
| Boyle Street | 5,862 | 1.8 km | 40.7 | 19% | 35% |
| Ottewell | 8,040 | 1.9 km | 42.9 | 21% | 15% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
Questions about Forest Heights’s residents
Is Forest Heights bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 12% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 87% speak only English and 0.1% only French; 3.4% grew up with French.
How diverse is Forest Heights?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 16%. A visible minority makes up 14% and Indigenous residents 8.5%.
What religion are people in Forest Heights?
Most often Christian (48%) or no religion (48%); other religions make up 4.9%.
Is Forest Heights good for families?
Children under 15 are 14% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 44% of households and one-parent families 6.6%. Schools near Forest Heights are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Forest Heights?
Median total household income in Forest Heights was $89,400 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Forest Heights?
4,118, at the 2021 Census: Statistics Canada makes no later estimate for Forest Heights alone.
What is the average age in Forest Heights?
Half the residents are older than 41.3 and half younger, younger than 54% of Canadian towns; 14% are children under 15 and 21% are 65 or over.
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).