Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Half of Sylvan Lake is under 36, younger than 87% of Canadian towns
The share of residents with no religion is 56%, against 35% across Canada’s towns. Locally, nearly a third of households rent their home. Compared with other places, immigrants are scarce here: 6.6%, fewer than in 75% of Canadian towns. About 17,897 people lived in Sylvan Lake in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates.
What stands out about the people of Sylvan Lake
Younger than most towns
Half of Sylvan Lake’s residents are under 36 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 21% are under 15 and 11% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
20% of residents lived at another address a year before the census, 1.8 times the typical share; 52% moved within five years. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Sylvan Lake grew +8% from 2016 to 2021, ahead of 73% 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
Across Canada’s towns, the typical town changed +4%; across Alberta’s towns, +1%. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 12% higher again.
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 90% of Canadian towns, at 11%
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
Children under 15: 21% here and 16% across Canada’s towns. Against that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Sylvan Lake, 36. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split.
11% of households are one-parent families, a share 84% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
At 2.5 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Against that, 8.2% of households are one-parent families across Canada’s towns. Across Sylvan Lake, just over a quarter of households are one person living alone.
More common-law partners than 69% of Canadian towns: 13%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: 27% of adults, against a typical 27%. Across Canada’s towns, common-law partners come to 11%. Locally, 45% of residents 15 and over are married.
A higher share of households in buildings of five or more storeys than 65% of Canadian towns, at 2.1%
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
Newer homes outnumber old: 58% date from 2001 or later, 3% from before 1961. Single-detached houses hold 66% of households, more than in 53% of Canadian towns, and buildings of five or more storeys 2.1%.
Median household income here: $92,000 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
Half of Sylvan Lake’s households had a total income above $92,000, 7% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Alberta’s towns, half of households had more than $92,200 before tax. 37% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
A higher share of residents who moved in within the year than 93% of Canadian towns, at 20%
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
3% of residents are not Canadian citizens (Canada’s towns: 5.8%). Elsewhere, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (43%) and in Asia (30%).
A larger share of Indigenous residents than 83% of Canadian towns: 8.1%
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
By its share of visible minority residents (5.4%), Sylvan Lake is below 67% of Canadian towns. Set beside that, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 94%, and 6.2% speak French as well
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
At home: English 97%, French 0.3%. Sylvan Lake has fewer bilingual residents than 61% of Canadian towns, at 6.2%. There is little gap on residents whose mother tongue is French: 1.2%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of degree holders aged 25 to 64 than 82% of Canadian towns: 15%
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 12%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. Set beside that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
60% of residents 15 and over were in work
Counted in May 2021, during COVID-19, these rates catch the job market before it had recovered. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
60% of residents 15 and over have a job; across Canada’s towns the typical share is 58%.
12th lowest median age among 41 towns of 17,391 to 18,446
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest is Schmidtville (29) and the oldest Edmundston (54). Nearest to Sylvan Lake in age: Coventry Hills (35.7), Brooks (36), McKenzie Towne (37.4) and Listowel (37.6).
Of the 5 towns nearest Sylvan Lake, 4 are older
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are. Distances here run 18–23 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Sylvan Lake.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvan Lake | 17,897 | — | 36 | 11% | 6.6% |
| Bentley | 1,153 | 18.5 km | 46 | 21% | 4.3% |
| Eckville | 1,088 | 20.2 km | 40 | 22% | 4.6% |
| Red Deer | 115,409 | 20.8 km | 38.8 | 15% | 17% |
| Red Deer County | 22,076 | 21.0 km | 46 | 20% | 6.9% |
| Blackfalds | 12,258 | 22.6 km | 31.8 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
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. “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. Two medians frame each figure: one for Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
Questions about Sylvan Lake’s residents
Is Sylvan Lake good for families?
Across Canada’s towns, a typical 16% of residents are under 15; here, 21%. 52% of households are couple families and 11% one-parent families. Schools near Sylvan Lake are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Sylvan Lake?
$92,000 before tax, in 2020: the middle household’s income in Sylvan Lake (Canada’s towns: $86,000).
What is the population of Sylvan Lake?
Statistics Canada estimates 17,897 residents for July 2025; the 2021 Census counted 15,995 in Sylvan Lake, 8% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Sylvan Lake?
36 is the median age, younger than 87% of Canadian towns. Under 15: 21%. 65 and over: 11%.
Is Sylvan Lake bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 6.2% 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 Sylvan Lake?
Immigrants make up 6.6% of residents, against 17% across Canada’s towns. 5.4% are members of a visible minority, and 8.1% are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What religion are people in Sylvan Lake?
Christian: 43%. No religion: 56%. Another religion: 1.5%.
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).