Swan HillsAlberta
Between 2016 and 2021, its population shrank by 8%. It is a town of 1,430 residents in Alberta.
Is Swan Hills a good place to live?
Cost of living is its strong suit (A). It is easy to get around without a car (B+). Pupils here do less well than most (D). Safety is weaker too (D). Hazard risk is weaker too (D−).
Swan Hills is graded subject by subject, but Canadian towns need 2,500 residents for an overall grade.
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Safety is the police detachment's figure, shared with the towns and countryside around it. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread. Wildfire lowers this town's Hazard risk Grade: a high share of the land around it has burned in the last 40 years. Walkability leaves out transit here: in a mining or oil town the census counts the work buses to the sites as public transit.
What makes Swan Hills stand out
The 3 things Swan Hills does most differently from other towns.
How Swan Hills grades
Each subject compares Swan Hills with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Swan Hills is graded subject by subject, but Canadian towns need 2,500 residents for an overall grade.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Swan Hills.
For hazard risk, Swan Hills gets a D−
The radon tests numbers here cover the Aspen Regional Health Authority
Health Canada’s survey found radon above the guideline in one in ten homes, above Alberta’s towns (7.5%) and Canadian towns (6.6%) alike. Fire is a regular visitor: 17% of the land within 25 km of Swan Hills has burned since 1986 (0.43% a year). Seismic risk runs low: $0.007 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Swan Hills | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 9.6% | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.007 | $0.013 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Swan Hills School is the only school in and around Swan Hills
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swan Hills School Bottom fifth in AlbertaLargest secondary schoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | All grades · Grades K–12 | 188 | English public |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025/26
For the force that serves Swan Hills, the Crime Severity Index is 195, above Alberta’s towns and Canadian towns
Source area for Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000: the Swan Hills detachment area
Its police area records 98.6 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Violent incidents in its police area came to 26 per 1,000 residents a year, above Alberta’s towns (14.2) and Canadian towns (12) alike.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Swan Hills | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crime per 1,000 | 98.6 | 45 | 31.2 |
| Crime Severity Index | 195 | 110 | 67 |
| Violent crime | 26 | 14.2 | 12 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Renting in Swan Hills costs 16% of household income, less than in Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns
17% of households spent 30% or more of their income on shelter, below Alberta’s towns (21%) and Canadian towns (18%) alike. Households that own their home make up 71%.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Swan Hills | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent as a share of income | 16% | 20% | 20% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 17% | 21% | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 71% | 74% | 74% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Values come from owners at the 2021 census and incomes from 2020, so they predate the later rise in rates.
Swan Hills’ region trails the typical Canadian town by 3.2 years: life expectancy 78.3
Age-standardised, 48% of the region’s adults put their health at very good or excellent, lower than both Alberta’s towns (51%) and Canadian towns (52%). Smoking is commoner than in the province: 17% of adults, against 11% for Alberta. Closer to home, a hospital is just 0.8 km from the average resident of Swan Hills, nearer than the usual 3.7 km.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Swan Hills | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| Smokers | 17% | 12% | 12% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 78.3 | 81.2 | 81.5 |
| Very good or excellent health | 48% | 51% | 52% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · Health survey and life expectancy: the North Zone
A smaller share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Swan Hills than in 85% of Canadian towns
The average trip to work takes 24 min. The car took nearly nine in ten commuters, about level with both Alberta’s towns (88%) and Canadian towns (89%).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Swan Hills | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 24 min | 26 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 89% | 88% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Counted in May 2021, under pandemic rules: fewer commutes and more people between jobs than in a normal year.
Swan Hills has cooler summers than Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: July highs of 22.2°C
The thermometer drops below freezing on 197 days a year, close to Alberta’s towns (193) and above Canadian towns (159). January is the snowiest month, with 35 cm on average. On a January night, the temperature in Swan Hills falls to about −16.0°C. Gardeners get 118 frost-free days, from 20 May to 15 September.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Swan Hills | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| July afternoon high | 22.2°C | 23.5°C | 25.5°C |
| Snowfall a year | 175 cm | 127 cm | 141 cm |
| Precipitation a year | 521 mm | 431 mm | 883 mm |
| Days with frost a year | 197 | 193 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Whitecourt)
Swan Hills in November: highs near −1°C, lows near −9°C
November usually brings some 25 cm of snow. December follows at −6°C by day and −15°C by night. A normal November brings 24 mm of rain and snow. ECCC’s forecast for Whitecourt is on the Weather page, hour by hour.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −5°C | −15°C | 63 mm |
| Spring | 9°C | −2°C | 113 mm |
| Summer | 21°C | 9°C | 256 mm |
| Autumn | 8°C | −2°C | 90 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Whitecourt); the forecast is on the Weather page
Swan Hills’ MP is Arnold Viersen (Conservative Party of Canada), for Peace River—Westlock
For local government, Swan Hills is a town.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Swan Hills Library lends 2.4 items per person served, fewer than 89% of Alberta’s town libraries
Swan Hills Library serves 1,301 people from a single building.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
More of Swan Hills’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: 18%
People 65 and over make up 13% of the town, below both Alberta’s towns (15%) and Canadian towns (19%). One measure of family life: 20% of residents are under 15.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
47.9% of Swan Hills’ residents are women
Here the census found 575 women and 625 men; across Canada the share of women is 50.9%.
| Swan Hills | Alberta | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 67% | 67% | 64% |
| 65+ | 13% | 15% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 28% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 33% | 54% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Alberta and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Protected land is absent from the 10 km around Swan Hills
There is no national park within 100 km of the town. Grizzly Ridge Wildland Provincial Park is the closest provincial park, at 33 km.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Swan Hills | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 0% | 0.4% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Swan Hills
Questions about Swan Hills
Who are the people of Swan Hills?
Visible minorities are 5% of the population, where the middle of Canadian towns is 15%. Immigrants make up 5%, and Indigenous people 18%.
What kind of homes are in Swan Hills?
83% of homes are single-detached houses, against 64% for the median of Canadian towns, and 0% are in apartment buildings of five storeys or more. A household averages 2.3 people; 27% are one person living alone.
Is Swan Hills growing?
It lost people: 1,301 in 2016, 1,201 in 2021, 7.7% fewer, while the middle of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. Statistics Canada’s 2025 estimate is 1,430.
How old are the people of Swan Hills?
The median resident is 42 years old, against 45.2 for the median of Canadian towns. 20% are under 15 and 13% are 65 or over.
About Swan Hills
Town in Alberta
Statistics Canada treats Swan Hills as a single census subdivision in Alberta, and TownRatings keeps to that line.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 1,430 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Alberta
- Census division
- Division No. 17
- Census subdivision
- 4817024
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. 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).