Photo: Qyd · CC BY-SA 3.0Indigenous residents: 11%, a higher share than 88% of Canadian towns
Here 14% of residents are 65 or over, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 19%. The 2021 Census found 3,385 households in Edson; by July 2025 the population was about 8,692. Census figures put children under 15 at 18% in the town. Residents who moved in within the year are more common here than in three quarters of Canadian towns.
A −1% change since 2016: slower than 81% of Canadian towns
The figures are the 2021 Census’s, except where another date is given. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 4%.
A median age of 38.4: Edson is younger than 74% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
No age band is larger than 35–39: 8% of residents. Higher than in 66% of Canadian towns: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Edson, 38.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women.
30% of households are one person living alone, more than in 61% 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. The wider picture: 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. For Edson, the census puts one-parent families at 8.6%.
A higher share of common-law partners than 68% of Canadian towns, at 13%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 29% of adults, beside a typical 27%. Across Edson, 43% of residents 15 and over are married. The comparison figure for common-law partners is 11% across Canada’s towns.
Edson: 31% of households rent their home, above 60% 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. The share of renter households across Canada’s towns is 25%. Across Edson, just over three in five households live in a single-detached house.
Half above, half below $99,000 a year in household income
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run high in Edson: half had more than $99,000, 15% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The median across Alberta’s towns is $92,200. 30% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
10% of residents are immigrants
Immigrants, newcomers and movers.
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
Compared with 17% across Canada’s towns, 10% of residents are immigrants here. Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (62%), then in Europe (21%).
Residents with no religion make up 53% in Edson, more than in 90% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 15% across Canada’s towns, the share of visible minority residents in Edson comes in at 11%. As a reference point, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 87%, and 6% 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
5% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 0.2% speak neither official language. Lower than in 63% of Canadian towns: 6% of residents speak English and French. At 1.6%, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is in line with the figure across Canada’s towns.
Only 13% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Edson
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 18% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. As a yardstick, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 63% of adults
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Employment runs above the middle of Canada’s towns (58%), at 63%.
In its size band (8,511 to 8,882), the 13th youngest of 41 towns
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
They run from Iqaluit, at 32.8, to Renfrew, at 54. In age, Edson keeps company with St. Adolphe (38), DT Cooksville (38.1), Hunt Club Park (38.7) and Prairie View (39.2).
Edson and its 3 nearest towns: 1 of them are older
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. The nearest places to Edson with figures are 28–79 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edson | 8,692 | — | 38.4 | 14% | 10% |
| Yellowhead County | 10,966 | 27.5 km | 44.8 | 19% | 6.3% |
| Hinton | 10,124 | 77.5 km | 38 | 13% | 11% |
| Whitecourt | 10,708 | 79.4 km | 34.8 | 9.5% | 9.7% |
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. 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. Provincial and national yardsticks: Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
Questions about Edson’s residents
Is Edson bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 6% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 94% speak only English and 0% only French; 1.6% grew up with French.
How diverse is Edson?
Immigrants make up 10% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 11% are members of a visible minority, and 11% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Edson?
Christian: 45%. No religion: 53%. Another religion: 2.3%.
Is Edson good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 18%. 48% of households are couple families and 8.6% one-parent families. Schools near Edson are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Edson?
$99,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Edson (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Edson?
Statistics Canada estimates 8,692 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 8,374 in Edson, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Edson?
38.4 is the median age, younger than 74% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 18%. 65 and over: 14%.
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).