Photo: Koppertone · CC BY-SA 3.0Half of Whitecourt is under 34.8, younger than 91% of Canadian towns
Recent arrivals are 64% of immigrants (2011 to 2021), beside 27% across Canada’s towns. Whitecourt had about 10,708 residents in July 2025, by Statistics Canada’s estimate, and 3,875 households at the 2021 Census. Residents with no religion: just over half of the total. At 11%, the share of one-parent families is higher than in just over four fifths of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Whitecourt
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
An Indigenous identity is reported by 13% of residents, more than in 91% of Canadian towns, and 3.7% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Whitecourt’s median age is 34.8; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 22% are under 15 and 9.5% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Fewer people than before
Whitecourt went from 10,209 people in 2016 to 9,927 in 2021, −3%: slower growth than in 91% of Canadian towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Whitecourt changed by −3% from 2016 to 2021, slower than 91% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 8% higher again. For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +1% across Alberta’s towns.
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 93% of Canadian towns: 9.5%
Age bands of five years, the town’s bars against the typical town’s ticks.
22% of residents are under 15, against 16% across Canada’s towns. The usual figure: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Whitecourt, 34.8. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women.
Larger households than 58% of Canadian towns: 2.5 people on average
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.
Here a quarter of households are one person living alone, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 27%.
A larger share of common-law partners than 68% of Canadian towns: 13%
Residents 15 and over by marital status; the census counts common-law couples separately.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 30% of adults, beside a typical 27%. Elsewhere, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of households in single-detached houses than 65% of Canadian towns: 53%
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: 34% date from 2001 or later, 3.1% from before 1961. Renter households are more common here than in 62% of Canadian towns. On average, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns.
Household income at the median: $100,000 a year
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Whitecourt’s median household took in $100,000 before tax, 16% more than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). The figure for Alberta’s towns: $92,200. COVID-19 benefits went to 32% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
Whitecourt sits above 68% of Canadian towns for 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
Immigrants here were most often born in Asia (62%), then in the Americas (15%). As a reference point, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. Compared with other places, immigrants are scarce here: 9.7%, fewer than in nearly two thirds of Canadian towns. There is little gap on residents without Canadian citizenship: 6.1%, about the same as across Canada’s towns.
Whitecourt ranks above 91% of Canadian towns on Indigenous residents: 13%
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Visible minority residents make up 11%, against 15% across Canada’s towns. As a reference point, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
English is the mother tongue of 87%, and 4.8% 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
Residents whose mother tongue is French are about as common here as across Canada’s towns, at 1.9%. At home: English 93%, French 0.5%. Bilingual residents are rarer here than in 77% of Canadian towns.
Only 12% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in Whitecourt
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No certificate, diploma or degree is held by 16%; in the typical town the share is 9.5%. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 63%
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 63% is above the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
4th lowest median age among 41 towns of 10,440 to 10,972
Median age of the Canadian towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
They run from McConachie, at 30.9, to Alexandria, at 51.6. Next to Whitecourt on this scale come Victoria Hills (33.5), Stittsville East (33.8), Grand River South (35.9) and Bassin-de-la-Lièvre (36).
No nearby town is as young as Whitecourt
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. No closer places have figures: these lie 9–75 km from Whitecourt.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitecourt | 10,708 | — | 34.8 | 9.5% | 9.7% |
| Woodlands County | 4,778 | 9.4 km | 43.6 | 16% | 5.2% |
| Mayerthorpe | 1,419 | 40.9 km | 49.2 | 31% | 6.4% |
| Yellowhead County | 10,966 | 62.4 km | 44.8 | 19% | 6.3% |
| Swan Hills | 1,430 | 66.3 km | 42 | 13% | 5% |
| Barrhead County No. 11 | 6,186 | 74.7 km | 40.8 | 19% | 7.7% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Alberta’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
Questions about Whitecourt’s residents
What religion are people in Whitecourt?
51% said they have no religion and 46% that they are Christian; 3% named another faith.
Is Whitecourt good for families?
22% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 52% of households and one-parent families 11%. Schools near Whitecourt are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Whitecourt?
Half of Whitecourt’s households had more than $100,000 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Whitecourt?
About 10,708, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 9,927 people in Whitecourt, 3% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Whitecourt?
The median age is 34.8, younger than 91% of Canadian towns. 22% are under 15 and 9.5% 65 or older.
Is Whitecourt bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 4.8% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 95% speak only English and 0.1% only French; 1.9% grew up with French.
How diverse is Whitecourt?
Immigrants: 9.7% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 11%. Indigenous identity: 13%.
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).