Photo: awmcphee · CC BY-SA 4.018% of residents have an Indigenous identity, a share 96% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Children under 15 make up 20%, against 16% across Canada’s towns. The latest estimate, for July 2025, is 1,430 residents; the 2021 Census found 515 households. The share of households in single-detached houses stands at 83%. 13% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 81% of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Swan Hills
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
18% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 96% of Canadian towns; 4.6% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Fewer people than before
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, Swan Hills went from 1,301 to 1,201 residents (−8%), slower growth than in 99% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
From 2016 to 2021, 99% of Canadian towns grew faster than Swan Hills: −8%
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Across Alberta’s towns the median is +1%, and across Canada’s towns +4%. The July 2025 estimate adds another 19%.
Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 65% of Canadian towns: 10%
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
The median age in Swan Hills is 42, lower than in 51% of Canadian towns. No age band is larger than 55–59: 10% of residents, 1.4 times the share across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women.
More one-parent families than 83% of Canadian towns: 11%
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The average household has 2.3 people, against 2.4 across Canada’s towns. For one-parent families, the comparison across Canada’s towns is 8.2%. The census found that 27% of households are one person living alone in Swan Hills.
15% of residents 15 and over live common-law, more than in 77% of Canadian towns
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 24% of adults, against a typical 27%. Typically, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
Renter households make up 29% in Swan Hills, more than in 56% 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 nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. By way of comparison, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
Median gross household income: $83,000 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
The middle household in Swan Hills had $83,000 before tax, near the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Within Alberta’s towns, the household in the middle had $92,200. Pandemic benefits reached 29% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Swan Hills ranks above 68% of Canadian towns on residents who moved in within the year: 13%
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
The largest groups of immigrants were born in Asia (67%) and in the Americas (25%). Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across Canada’s towns. 5% of residents are immigrants, a lower share than in 81% of Canadian towns. Of the immigrants living here, 50% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
More residents with no religion than 97% of Canadian towns: 61%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of visible minority residents is 4.6%, against 15% across Canada’s towns. The benchmark for residents with no religion across Canada’s towns: 35%.
92% have English as their mother tongue; 3.8% 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
Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%; Swan Hills has 3.8%. Residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.7% of the total.
Swan Hills sits below 99% of Canadian towns for degree holders aged 25 to 64 (7.3%)
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
17% have no certificate, diploma or degree (typical: 9.5%). Across the comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
In work on census day: 54% of adults
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Across Canada’s towns the typical rate is 58%, above this 54%; 13% of residents are 65 or over.
Around Swan Hills, 1 of 3 towns have a higher median age
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. Swan Hills has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 66–74 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swan Hills | 1,430 | — | 42 | 13% | 5% |
| Whitecourt | 10,708 | 66.3 km | 34.8 | 9.5% | 9.7% |
| Woodlands County | 4,778 | 67.7 km | 43.6 | 16% | 5.2% |
| Slave Lake | 7,334 | 74.0 km | 34 | 9.1% | 14% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
Questions about Swan Hills’s residents
Is Swan Hills bilingual?
English and French: 3.8% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 96%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 1.7%.
How diverse is Swan Hills?
Immigrants: 5% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 4.6%. Indigenous identity: 18%.
What religion are people in Swan Hills?
61% said they have no religion and 36% that they are Christian; 2.5% named another faith.
Is Swan Hills good for families?
20% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 53% of households and one-parent families 11%. Schools near Swan Hills are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Swan Hills?
Half of Swan Hills’s households had more than $83,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Swan Hills?
About 1,430, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 1,201 people in Swan Hills, 8% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Swan Hills?
The median age is 42. 20% are under 15 and 13% 65 or older.
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).