Photo: Rural Health Professions Action Plan from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada · CC BY 2.0Three Hills: 25% of residents are 65 or over, above 81% of Canadian towns
The share of children under 15 tops 78% of Canadian towns: 19%. The 2021 Census found 1,165 households in Three Hills; by July 2025 the population was about 3,502. Residents with no religion: 23% of the total. On renter households, Three Hills sits higher than 61% of Canadian towns: 31%.
What stands out about the people of Three Hills
Fewer people than before
Three Hills went from 3,212 people in 2016 to 3,042 in 2021, −5%: slower growth than in 96% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
−5% since 2016: slower than 96% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. Two census counts, five years apart, and Statistics Canada’s newest estimate.
Change, 2016 to 2021
The July 2025 estimate adds another 15%. Across Canada’s towns, half of towns changed by more than +4%; across Alberta’s towns, by more than +1%.
Half of Three Hills is over 44.8, older than 66% of Canadian towns
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
More residents are 10–14 than any other five-year age: 7.6% of residents, 1.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. Across Three Hills, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Three Hills, 44.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
Bigger households than 58% of Canadian towns: 2.5 people each on average
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-person households stands at 26%. One-parent families are about as common here as across Canada’s towns, at 7.7%.
Three Hills sits below 92% of Canadian towns for common-law partners (4.5%)
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Married residents 15 and over: 56%, above 82% of Canadian towns. The benchmark for common-law partners across Canada’s towns: 11%.
Households in single-detached houses make up 75% in Three Hills, more than in 65% 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 74% of Canadian towns. 21% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 17% built before 1961. Typically, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
Median gross household income: $76,000 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Three Hills’s, at $76,000, is 12% lower. Across Alberta’s towns the median is $92,200. Pandemic benefits reached 21% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
In Three Hills, 13% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 69% of Canadian towns
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
Most immigrants were born in Asia (41%) or in the Americas (26%). Measured more widely, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Of the immigrants living here, 36% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
Indigenous residents make up 5.5% in Three Hills, more than in 73% of Canadian towns
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
On the census count, 12% of residents belong to a visible minority. By way of comparison, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 87%, and 2.2% 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
Set against 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 2.2% of residents speak English and French in Three Hills. Lower than in 86% of Canadian towns: 0.7% of residents have French as their mother tongue. At home, 5.3% mostly speak another language; 0.5% speak neither English nor French.
In Three Hills, 28% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 52% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
With no certificate, diploma or degree: 7.1%, beside a typical 9.5%. Measured more widely, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
54% of residents 15 and over were in work
The census was taken in May 2021, during the pandemic, so these rates show a labour market still recovering. The census’s labour rates, in brief. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 54% is below the typical 58% across Canada’s towns; 25% of residents are 65 or over.
17th highest median age among 41 towns of 3,435 to 3,570
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
At one end is Richfield (33.5), at the other Electoral Area F, Columbia-Shuswap (61.2). The towns whose median age is nearest to Three Hills’s: Hampton Heights (43.8), Delwood (44.3), Fairfield (46) and Buckland No. 491 (46).
Median age: 1 of the 2 towns around Three Hills are older
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three Hills | 3,502 | — | 44.8 | 25% | 14% |
| Kneehill County | 5,129 | 2.1 km | 41.6 | 18% | 6.7% |
| Trochu | 1,191 | 14.3 km | 48.8 | 26% | 17% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. The Census Profile has no unpaid care, cars or internet access, and no change by age since 2016; ethnic origins beyond visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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 Three Hills’s residents
How diverse is Three Hills?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 17% are immigrants; here, 14%. A visible minority makes up 12% and Indigenous residents 5.5%.
What religion are people in Three Hills?
Most often Christian (75%) or no religion (23%); other religions make up 2.1%.
Is Three Hills good for families?
Children under 15 are 19% of residents, against 16% across Canada’s towns. Couple families make up 58% of households and one-parent families 7.7%. Schools near Three Hills are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Three Hills?
Median total household income in Three Hills was $76,000 in 2020, against a median of $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Three Hills?
The latest figure is an estimate: 3,502 residents in July 2025. At the 2021 Census, Three Hills counted 3,042, 5% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Three Hills?
Half the residents are older than 44.8 and half younger, older than 66% of Canadian towns; 19% are children under 15 and 25% are 65 or over.
Is Three Hills bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 2.2% are. Another 0% speak only French and 97% only English, and French is the first language of 0.7%.
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).