Photo: Waynercook · Public domainIn Red Deer, 6.6% of residents have an Indigenous identity, more than in 78% of Canadian towns
Most recent wave: half of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). Some 115,409 people live in Red Deer, by the estimate for July 2025. Residents aged 65 and over: 15% of the total. The median age locally is 38.8, lower than in 71% of Canadian towns.
±0% since 2016: slower than 74% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Alberta’s towns, +1%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 14%.
18% of residents are under 15, a share 72% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 35–39 than any other five-year age: 7.8% of residents. As a reference point, 16% of residents are under 15 across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Red Deer, 38.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
More one-parent families than 71% of Canadian towns: 9.6%
Private households by type and size.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.4 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Against that, nearly one in ten households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns. One-person households account for 29%.
Fewer common-law partners than 57% of Canadian towns: 9.8%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 30% of adults, against a typical 27%. To put it in context, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
In Red Deer, 35% of households rent their home, more than in 68% of Canadian towns
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
Across Canada’s towns, 64% of households live in a single-detached house; in Red Deer, 53%. By contrast, the town has more households in buildings of five or more storeys than 63% of Canadian towns, at 1.5%. Against that, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. 38% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 7.4% built before 1961.
Median household income here: $85,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Red Deer’s households had a total income above $85,000 and half below, close to the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The provincial yardstick is $92,200, the median across Alberta’s towns. Pandemic payments such as CERB reached 33% of income recipients here, against 28% in the typical town.
Red Deer ranks above 75% of Canadian towns on residents who moved in within the year: 14%
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
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 Asia (60%), then in Europe (18%). Across Canada’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%. Compared with 5.8% across Canada’s towns, 8% of residents are not Canadian citizens here.
44% of residents said they have no religion, a share 76% 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
Other faiths: Muslim (2.1%). On average, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. 19% of residents belong to a visible minority (Canada’s towns: 15%).
English is the mother tongue of 82%, and 5.3% speak French as well
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home: English 88%, French 0.3%. Fewer bilingual residents than in 71% of Canadian towns: 5.3%. Residents whose mother tongue is French make up 1.2%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
A lower share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 61% of Canadian towns, at 22%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 11% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. As a reference point, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
59% of adults were employed in May 2021
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s work rates at a glance. 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 (85,160 to 160,760), the 8th youngest of 41 towns
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The span goes from 35.6 (Airdrie) up to 51.6 (Lindsay). Guelph (38.4), Prince George (38.8), Bowmanville (39.2) and Chilliwack (40.4): the towns nearest Red Deer in median age.
1 of the 3 nearest towns are older than Red Deer
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Deer | 115,409 | — | 38.8 | 15% | 17% |
| Red Deer County | 22,076 | 11.8 km | 46 | 20% | 6.9% |
| Blackfalds | 12,258 | 13.2 km | 31.8 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
| Penhold | 3,812 | 15.8 km | 34.4 | 8.3% | 6.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- 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. 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.
Questions about Red Deer’s residents
What is the median income in Red Deer?
Half of Red Deer’s households had more than $85,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Red Deer?
About 115,409, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 100,844 people in Red Deer, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Red Deer?
The median age is 38.8, younger than 71% of Canadian towns. 18% are under 15 and 15% 65 or older.
Is Red Deer bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 5.3% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 94% speak only English and 0% only French; 1.2% grew up with French.
How diverse is Red Deer?
Immigrants: 17% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 19%. Indigenous identity: 6.6%.
What religion are people in Red Deer?
44% said they have no religion and 51% that they are Christian; 4.7% named another faith.
Is Red Deer good for families?
18% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 49% of households and one-parent families 9.6%. Schools near Red Deer 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).