Photo: Glenlarson~commonswiki · Public domainAbove 98% of Canadian towns: 27% of residents have an Indigenous identity
By its share of one-person households (22%), Slave Lake is below 70% of Canadian towns. Renter households: 34% of the total. More residents aged 15 to 24 than in 77% of Canadian towns: 13%. Statistics Canada puts the town’s population at 7,334 for July 2025.
What stands out about the people of Slave Lake
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 27% of residents, more than in 98% of Canadian towns, and 15% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
The middle resident of Slave Lake is 34; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 24% are under 15 and 9.1% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
19% of residents lived at another address a year before the census, 1.7 times the typical share; 51% moved within five years. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Slave Lake changed by +3% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 58% 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
The median across Canada’s towns is +4%, and across Alberta’s towns +1%. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 7%.
A median age of 34: Slave Lake is younger than 94% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
In Slave Lake, nearly a quarter of residents are under 15, beside 16% across Canada’s towns. The census found that nearly one in ten residents are 65 or over locally.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Slave Lake, 34. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Slave Lake households average 2.8 people, larger than in 82% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
By its share of one-parent families (10%), Slave Lake is above four fifths of Canadian towns.
14% of residents 15 and over live common-law, a share 73% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Compared with 46% across Canada’s towns, 43% of residents 15 and over are married here. Common-law partners: 11% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
51% of households live in a single-detached house, below 67% 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. On average, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. 43% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 1.2% built before 1961.
Median gross household income: $111,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
At $111,000, the middle household in Slave Lake out-earned the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000) by 29%. The provincial yardstick is $92,200, the median across Alberta’s towns. The pandemic’s benefits: 33% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 19% in Slave Lake, more than in 91% of Canadian towns
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
Residents without Canadian citizenship: 10% here and 5.8% across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%. Most immigrants were born in Asia (76%) or in the Americas (12%).
Slave Lake ranks above 78% of Canadian towns on residents with no religion: 45%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Other faiths: Muslim (3.8%). To put it in context, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. Here nearly a fifth of residents belong to a visible minority, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 15%.
English is the mother tongue of 81%, and 3.7% speak French as well
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
At home: English 89%, French 0.3%. Slave Lake has fewer bilingual residents than 90% of Canadian towns, at 3.7%. Residents whose mother tongue is French make up 1.5%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 64% of Canadian towns: 21%
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 15% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. Set beside that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
68% 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. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Employment runs above the middle of Canada’s towns (58%), at 68%.
In its size band (7,199 to 7,464), the 4th youngest of 41 towns
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Median ages climb from 31.8 (Blairmore Suburban Centre) to 58 (Trent Lakes) across the group. The closest ages to Slave Lake’s belong to Niverville (32.8), Brighton (33.4), Sage Creek (35.1) and Peace River (35.6).
Of the 5 towns nearest Slave Lake, 4 are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. The nearest places to Slave Lake with figures are 11–109 km away.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slave Lake | 7,334 | — | 34 | 9.1% | 14% |
| Lesser Slave River No. 124 | 2,980 | 11.2 km | 48.8 | 21% | 6% |
| Swan Hills | 1,430 | 74.0 km | 42 | 13% | 5% |
| Big Lakes County | 5,106 | 93.4 km | 45.6 | 19% | 4.6% |
| Opportunity No. 17 | 3,592 | 97.8 km | 31.2 | 11% | 3.3% |
| High Prairie | 2,607 | 109.2 km | 37.2 | 16% | 15% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- 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 Slave Lake’s residents
Is Slave Lake bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 3.7% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 96% speak only English and 0.1% only French; 1.5% grew up with French.
How diverse is Slave Lake?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 14%. A visible minority makes up 19% and Indigenous residents 27%.
What religion are people in Slave Lake?
Most often Christian (49%) or no religion (45%); other religions make up 6.8%.
Is Slave Lake good for families?
Children under 15 are 24% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 52% of households and one-parent families 10%. Schools near Slave Lake are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Slave Lake?
Median total household income in Slave Lake was $111,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Slave Lake?
The latest figure is an estimate: 7,334 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Slave Lake counted 6,836, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Slave Lake?
Half the residents are older than 34 and half younger, younger than 94% of Canadian towns; 24% are children under 15 and 9.1% are 65 or over.
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).