A median age of 52: Thorhild County is older than 90% of Canadian towns
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 7.9%, Thorhild County is behind 91% of Canadian towns on that count. This Alberta town has more households in single-detached houses than four fifths of Canadian towns, at 85%. Some 3,147 people live locally, by the estimate for July 2025. For Thorhild County, the census puts Indigenous residents at 8.2%.
What stands out about the people of Thorhild County
Fewer people than before
Thorhild County went from 3,254 people in 2016 to 3,042 in 2021, −7%: slower growth than in 98% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Older than most towns
Line Thorhild County’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 52; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 27% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
From 2016 to 2021, 98% of Canadian towns grew faster than Thorhild County: −7%
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 3%. Medians for comparison: +4% across Canada’s towns; +1% across Alberta’s towns.
In Thorhild County, 27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 87% of Canadian towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
14% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%). Elsewhere, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Thorhild County, 52. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 115 men for every 100 women.
Thorhild County 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.
Against a figure of 8.2% across Canada’s towns, the share of one-parent families in Thorhild County comes in at 5.6%. One-person households are more common here than in just over three fifths of Canadian towns.
Married residents 15 and over: 53%, a higher share than 71% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Single and never married: just over a fifth of adults, against a typical 27%. Here, 9.9% of residents 15 and over live common-law.
A lower share of renter households than 75% of Canadian towns, at 15%
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. 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
11% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. Elsewhere, 25% of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. Older homes outnumber new: 21% predate 1961, 17% date from 2001 or later.
Household income at the median: $73,500 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. What households took in before tax, at the middle and across income groups.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Thorhild County’s, at $73,500, is 15% lower. For Alberta’s towns, the median household income is $92,200. The pandemic’s benefits: 22% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
In Thorhild County, 8.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 77% of Canadian towns
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
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 share of immigrants trails four fifths of Canadian towns: 5.5%. In Thorhild County, 1.7% of residents are not Canadian citizens. Elsewhere, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
Residents with no religion make up 43% in Thorhild County, more than in 74% of Canadian towns
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents make up 2%, against 15% across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, just over a third of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns.
90% have English as their mother tongue; 2.7% also speak French
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Where 7.5% of residents speak English and French across Canada’s towns, Thorhild County has 2.7%. At home: English 98%, French 0.3%.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64 make up 5.5% in Thorhild County, less than in 99% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 14% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. Typically, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
57% of residents 15 and over were in work
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 57%, the share in work is about the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Ranked by age, 10th oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The span goes from 25.6 (La Loche) up to 66 (Valhalla). By median age, Thorhild County sits among Clermont (51.2), Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré (51.6), Saint-David-de-Falardeau (52.4) and Bishop's Falls (53.2).
Every nearby town is younger than Thorhild County
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. No closer places have figures: these lie 23–42 km from Thorhild County.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thorhild County | 3,147 | — | 52 | 27% | 5.5% |
| Redwater | 2,301 | 22.6 km | 42.4 | 20% | 4.1% |
| Legal | 1,253 | 38.1 km | 36.8 | 15% | 3.1% |
| Gibbons | 3,352 | 39.5 km | 37.6 | 13% | 3% |
| Bon Accord | 1,457 | 39.9 km | 36.8 | 11% | 4.2% |
| Bruderheim | 1,439 | 41.5 km | 37.6 | 14% | 1.9% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Some things the page can’t show: the Census Profile asks nothing about unpaid care, cars or internet access, and gives no change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted.
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
- 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.
Questions about Thorhild County’s residents
Is Thorhild County bilingual?
2.7% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0.2% speak French only and 97% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.3%.
How diverse is Thorhild County?
5.5% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 2% belong to a visible minority and 8.2% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Thorhild County?
56% are Christian and 43% have no religion; 1.3% follow another religion.
Is Thorhild County good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 56% of households. One-parent families: 5.6%. Schools near Thorhild County are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Thorhild County?
The median household in Thorhild County took in $73,500 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Thorhild County?
Thorhild County had about 3,147 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 3,042, 7% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Thorhild County?
A median age of 52, older than 90% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 27%.
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).