Photo: Jason Woodhead · CC BY 2.04.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 99% of Canadian towns
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (15%), Provost is above 91% of Canadian towns. The town has more one-person households than 71% of Canadian towns, at 33%. Statistics Canada puts the town’s population at 1,875 for July 2025. In Provost, 80% of households live in a single-detached house.
What stands out about the people of Provost
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Provost went from 1,998 to 1,900 residents (−5%), slower growth than in 96% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A −5% change since 2016: slower than 96% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 1% below the census count.
A median age of 39.6: Provost is younger than 66% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The largest age band is 15–19: nearly one in ten residents, 1.6 times the share across Canada’s towns. Here, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
In Provost, 9.2% of households are one-parent families, more than in 64% of Canadian towns
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Households average 2.4 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. One-parent families make up 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
Common-law partners make up 9.7% in Provost, less than in 58% of Canadian towns
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%. The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%. On the census count, 46% of residents 15 and over are married.
In Provost, 20% of households rent their home, fewer than in 61% 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. Renter households: 25% across Canada’s towns, for comparison. Just over a quarter of homes were built before 1961 and 12% in 2001 or later.
$84,000 a year is the median household income here
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes sit at the middle in Provost: half had more than $84,000, near the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $92,200 is the median household income across Alberta’s towns. The pandemic’s benefits: 32% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
6.1% 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
Of the immigrants living here, 59% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%. Residents without Canadian citizenship: 4.4% of the total. Provost has fewer immigrants than 77% of Canadian towns, at 6.1%.
A smaller share of residents with no religion than 52% of Canadian towns: 34%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
With visible minority residents at 6.7%, Provost is behind 64% of Canadian towns on that count. On average, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. 3.6% of residents have an Indigenous identity.
93% have English as their mother tongue; 0.8% 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
Against a figure of 7.5% across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents in Provost comes in at 0.8%. Residents whose mother tongue is French account for 0.6%.
Below 88% of Canadian towns: 13% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 12% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. By way of comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
66% of residents 15 and over were in work
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 66% is above the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Provost and its 5 nearest towns: 1 of them are older
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. Distances here run 17–67 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Provost.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provost | 1,875 | — | 39.6 | 18% | 6.1% |
| Provost No. 52 | 2,092 | 17.3 km | 44.8 | 18% | 1.5% |
| Macklin | 1,185 | 21.4 km | 38 | 15% | 3.3% |
| Special Area No. 4 | 1,171 | 63.8 km | 37.6 | 15% | 4.9% |
| Wainwright No. 61 | 4,576 | 64.3 km | 38.4 | 14% | 3.5% |
| Wainwright | 6,996 | 67.3 km | 38 | 17% | 13% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. “Visible minority” is the census’s term from the Employment Equity Act: people, other than Indigenous peoples, who are non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered. The page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
Questions about Provost’s residents
What is the median income in Provost?
Half of Provost’s households had more than $84,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Provost?
About 1,875, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 1,900 people in Provost, 5% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Provost?
The median age is 39.6. 18% are under 15 and 18% 65 or older.
Is Provost bilingual?
0.8% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 99% English only. French is the mother tongue of 0.6%.
How diverse is Provost?
Immigrants: 6.1% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 6.7%. Indigenous identity: 3.6%.
What religion are people in Provost?
34% said they have no religion and 65% that they are Christian; 0.3% named another faith.
Is Provost good for families?
18% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 52% of households and one-parent families 9.2%. Schools near Provost are on its Schools page.
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).