46% of residents are immigrants, a share 90% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 14%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. More residents without Canadian citizenship than in 98% of Canadian towns: 28%. The 2021 Census put Thorncliff’s population at 3,564, in 1,295 households. Census figures put households in single-detached houses at 30% in the neighbourhood.
What stands out about the people of Thorncliff
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. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (75%), then in Africa (10%), and 65% arrived from 2011 to 2021. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
A mix of backgrounds
56% of residents belong to a visible minority, more than in 88% of Canadian towns; 46% are immigrants. Identity & religion ↓
A neighbourhood people move to
A year before the census, 22% of residents lived elsewhere, 2 times the typical share; over five years, 55% moved. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
The middle resident of Thorncliff is 36.4; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 19% are under 15 and 12% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Half of Thorncliff is under 36.4, younger than 85% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Residents aged 65 and over: 12%, below 88% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 account for 19%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Thorncliff, 36.4. 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.
15% of households are one-parent families, a share 97% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Private households by type and size.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Thorncliff, 2.8. For Thorncliff, the census puts one-person households at 20%. Shared houses stand out: 8.9% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 94% of Canadian towns. As a yardstick, 8.2% of households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns.
Thorncliff ranks below 66% of Canadian towns on married residents 15 and over: 41%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Compared with 11% across Canada’s towns, nearly one in ten residents 15 and over live common-law here. 37% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%.
Thorncliff sits above 88% of Canadian towns for renter households (54%)
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
4% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 3.2% built before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. To put it in context, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
The middle household earns $84,800 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
Thorncliff’s median household took in $84,800 before tax, about the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Alberta’s towns the median is $92,200. COVID-19 benefits were paid to 44% of residents with an income, where the typical town had 28%.
In Thorncliff, 22% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 95% of Canadian towns
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
Of the immigrants living here, 65% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. Set beside that, 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 (75%), then in Africa (10%).
56% of residents belong to a visible minority, a share 88% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
With Indigenous residents at 6.8%, Thorncliff is ahead of 78% of Canadian towns on that count. Residents with no religion are rarer here than in 72% of Canadian towns. Across Canada’s towns, visible minority residents come to 15%. Other faiths: Muslim (3.1%).
58% have English as their mother tongue; 4.2% also speak French
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
The share of bilingual residents trails 84% of Canadian towns: 4.2%. Thorncliff has fewer residents whose mother tongue is French than two thirds of Canadian towns, at 1.1%. At home, 24% mostly speak another language; 2% speak neither English nor French.
29% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, a share 53% of Canadian towns don’t reach
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
11% have no certificate, diploma or degree (typical: 9.5%). As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 56% of residents aged 15 and over
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
56% of residents 15 and over have a job, in line with the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
The 8th youngest of 41 towns of 3,509 to 3,622 people
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest of these towns is Opportunity No. 17, at 31.2; the oldest, Electoral Area D (Rural Grand Forks), Kootenay Boundary, is at 57.6. Closest in median age to Thorncliff are East Elmwood (36.2), Pemberton (36.4), Lawson Heights Urban Centre (37.1) and Zone Aéroportuaire (37.2).
A younger town than 5 of the 6 around it: Thorncliff
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thorncliff | 3,564 | — | 36.4 | 12% | 46% |
| West Meadowlark Park | 5,386 | 1.1 km | 44.6 | 24% | 37% |
| Aldergrove | 5,311 | 1.3 km | 37.8 | 14% | 38% |
| Elmwood | 2,522 | 1.3 km | 37.5 | 16% | 25% |
| Belmead | 3,970 | 1.5 km | 38 | 14% | 39% |
| Callingwood South | 7,844 | 1.6 km | 36.2 | 13% | 34% |
| La Perle | 7,889 | 1.9 km | 44.8 | 23% | 32% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. There is no census profile for a neighbourhood, so we add up the dissemination areas inside it. Each count is a sum of Statistics Canada’s rounded counts, the median age and income come from the published groups, and with 2016’s areas drawn differently there is no 2016 count.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about Thorncliff’s residents
What religion are people in Thorncliff?
63% are Christian and 28% have no religion; 9.5% follow another religion.
Is Thorncliff good for families?
Under 15: 19% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 43% of households. One-parent families: 15%. Schools near Thorncliff are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Thorncliff?
The median household in Thorncliff took in $84,800 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Thorncliff?
Thorncliff had 3,564 residents at the 2021 Census.
What is the average age in Thorncliff?
A median age of 36.4, younger than 85% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 19%, and people 65 and over 12%.
Is Thorncliff bilingual?
English and French: 4.2% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 94%. French only: 0.1%. French mother tongue: 1.1%.
How diverse is Thorncliff?
46% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 56% belong to a visible minority and 6.8% have an Indigenous identity.
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).