Photo: Rural Health Professions Action Plan from Canada · CC BY 2.0Rimbey sits above 95% of Canadian towns for residents aged 65 and over (32%)
Compared with 2.8% across Canada’s towns, 6.9% of residents have an Indigenous identity here. More one-person households than in 83% of Canadian towns: 37%. Rimbey is home to some 2,502 people (July 2025 estimate), in 1,085 households at the 2021 Census. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 8.9%.
What stands out about the people of Rimbey
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Rimbey went from 2,567 to 2,470 residents (−4%), slower growth than in 94% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Older than most towns
The middle resident of Rimbey is 50; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 32% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Rimbey changed by −4% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 94% of Canadian towns
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 1%.
Rimbey is older than 85% of Canadian towns: a median age of 50
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
No age band is larger than 65–69: 7.5% of residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. Children under 15 account for 17%.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Rimbey, 50. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Rimbey households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 74% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-parent families stands at 7.8%.
Below 65% of Canadian towns: 9% of residents 15 and over live common-law
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Nearly a fifth of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. The share of common-law partners across Canada’s towns is 11%. On the census count, 48% of residents 15 and over are married.
Households in single-detached houses: 70%, a higher share than 58% of Canadian towns
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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. By way of comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 26% date from 2001 or later, 16% from before 1961. 27% of households rent their home; across Canada’s towns the figure is 25%.
Before tax, the median household income is $58,000 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Half of Rimbey’s households had a total income below $58,000, 33% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within Alberta’s towns, the household in the middle had $92,200. 23% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
Rimbey sits above 62% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (12%)
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
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
The figure for residents without Canadian citizenship is 3.2% in Rimbey and 5.8% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. Locally, 7.3% of residents are immigrants.
A larger share of residents with no religion than 79% of Canadian towns: 45%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
5.8% of residents belong to a visible minority (Canada’s towns: 15%). Across Canada’s towns, 35% of residents said they have no religion.
92% have English as their mother tongue; 1.9% also speak French
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Compared with 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 1.9% of residents speak English and French here. Across Rimbey, 0.8% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64 make up 12% in Rimbey, less than in 91% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 17% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
A job for 41% of residents aged 15 and over
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
41% of residents 15 and over have a job, against a typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 32% are 65 or more.
41 towns of 2,500 to 2,588 people: this is the 12th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Median ages climb from 32.7 (City Commercial Core) to 61.6 (North Frontenac) across the group. Next to Rimbey on this scale come Clearwater (48.4), Hatley (50), East Preston (50.7) and Nanton (52.8).
No nearby town is as old as Rimbey
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. The nearest places to Rimbey with figures are 22–39 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rimbey | 2,502 | — | 50 | 32% | 7.3% |
| Ponoka County | 10,670 | 22.2 km | 43.2 | 18% | 7.6% |
| Bentley | 1,153 | 23.6 km | 46 | 21% | 4.3% |
| Eckville | 1,088 | 32.6 km | 40 | 22% | 4.6% |
| Lacombe County | 11,072 | 37.5 km | 44.4 | 19% | 6.1% |
| Sylvan Lake | 17,897 | 39.0 km | 36 | 11% | 6.6% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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. For each measure we take the median of Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
Questions about Rimbey’s residents
How diverse is Rimbey?
Immigrants: 7.3% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 5.8%. Indigenous identity: 6.9%.
What religion are people in Rimbey?
45% said they have no religion and 51% that they are Christian; 4.1% named another faith.
Is Rimbey good for families?
17% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 50% of households and one-parent families 7.8%. Schools near Rimbey are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Rimbey?
Half of Rimbey’s households had more than $58,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Rimbey?
About 2,502, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 2,470 people in Rimbey, 4% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Rimbey?
The median age is 50, older than 85% of Canadian towns. 17% are under 15 and 32% 65 or older.
Is Rimbey bilingual?
1.9% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0.2% speak French only and 98% English only. French is the mother tongue of 0.8%.
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).