Photo: Connorbrown22 · CC BY-SA 4.0High River: 25% of residents are 65 or over, above 79% of Canadian towns
Residents with no religion: 40%, above two thirds of Canadian towns. Compared with other places, residents who moved in within the year are common here: 14%, more than in 73% of Canadian towns. About 15,508 people lived in High River in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates. Here, 11% of residents are not Canadian citizens.
High River grew +5% from 2016 to 2021, ahead of 58% 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 adds another 8%. Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Alberta’s towns, +1%.
Older than 66% of Canadian towns: half of High River is over 44.8
Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The share of children under 15 tops 62% of Canadian towns: 17%. More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: 7% of residents.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ High River, 44.8. 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 2.4 people, below 53% 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.
Across High River, 8% of households are one-parent families. Nothing unusual on one-person households: 27%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
More married residents 15 and over than 69% of Canadian towns: 52%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Just over a fifth of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). Few places have so few common-law partners: 8.5% here, fewer than in 69% of Canadian towns. Typically, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
High River ranks below 68% of Canadian towns on households in single-detached houses: 50%
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. For households in single-detached houses, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 64%. 43% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 6.9% built before 1961. Renter households: 25%, near enough the figure across Canada’s towns.
Median gross household income: $82,000 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes sit at the middle in High River: half had more than $82,000, near the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Alberta’s towns have a median of $92,200. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 27% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
More immigrants than 54% of Canadian towns: 19%
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
Most immigrants were born in Asia (55%) or in Europe (23%). Typically, 17% of residents are immigrants across Canada’s towns. Recent arrivals, from 2011 to 2021, are 60% of immigrants (typical: 27%); non-permanent residents add 1.1% of residents.
In High River, 18% of residents belong to a visible minority, more than in 53% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
For High River, the census puts Indigenous residents at 3.3%. The benchmark for visible minority residents across Canada’s towns: 15%.
English is the mother tongue of 84%, and 4.3% 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
Residents whose mother tongue is French are about as common here as across Canada’s towns, at 1%. On bilingual residents, High River sits lower than 83% of Canadian towns: 4.3%. 8.2% most often speak a language other than English or French at home, and 0.5% speak neither official language.
High River ranks below 72% of Canadian towns on degree holders aged 25 to 64: 18%
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 9.6% here, 9.5% in the typical town. Elsewhere, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
54% of adults were employed in May 2021
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
54% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 25% are 65 or more.
Of 41 towns its size (15,194 to 15,842 people), the 16th oldest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
The youngest of these towns is Laurel, at 31.2; the oldest, Parksville, is at 62. The closest ages to High River’s belong to Loretteville (44), Byron (44.4), Dorchester (45.2) and Pleasant View (45.3).
Around High River, 3 of 4 towns have a higher median age
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. High River has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 17–28 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High River | 15,508 | — | 44.8 | 25% | 19% |
| Okotoks | 33,482 | 17.2 km | 39.2 | 15% | 13% |
| Foothills County | 25,789 | 22.7 km | 48.4 | 20% | 13% |
| Nanton | 2,522 | 27.1 km | 52.8 | 31% | 11% |
| Black Diamond | 2,910 | 28.3 km | 50.8 | 30% | 8.5% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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.
- 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.
Questions about High River’s residents
Is High River good for families?
Children under 15 are 17% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 55% of households and one-parent families 8%. Schools near High River are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in High River?
Median total household income in High River was $82,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of High River?
The latest figure is an estimate: 15,508 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, High River counted 14,324, 5% more than 2016.
What is the average age in High River?
Half the residents are older than 44.8 and half younger, older than 66% of Canadian towns; 17% are children under 15 and 25% are 65 or over.
Is High River bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 4.3% are. Another 0% speak only French and 95% only English, and French is the first language of 1%.
How diverse is High River?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 19%. A visible minority makes up 18% and Indigenous residents 3.3%.
What religion are people in High River?
Most often Christian (57%) or no religion (40%); other religions make up 2.6%.
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).