PembinaManitoba
Some 2,502 people live in this town, in Manitoba. It is part of Division No. 4, a census division.
Is Pembina a good place to live?
Pembina’s best grade is for safety (A+). Housing is within reach (A). Overall, that makes an A, good for #4 of 181 in Manitoba. It comes out better than 92% of Canadian towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for health, C+ for jobs & income, B for walkability and B for hazard risk.
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Safety is the police detachment's figure, shared with the towns and countryside around it. No School Grade: this province doesn't publish comparable results school by school. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Pembina grades
Each subject compares Pembina with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Pembina stand out
The 3 things Pembina does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Pembina.
The police who cover Pembina record less serious crime than Manitoba’s towns or Canadian towns: a Crime Severity Index of 27
Shared with the rest of the Manitou detachment area: Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000
The violent index for its police area came to 37, below Manitoba’s towns (198) and Canadian towns (86) alike. Property crime in the area its police cover: 9.2 per 1,000 people a year. Add to that, the force’s area logs 5.6 violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Pembina | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crime per 1,000 | 9.2 | 58.8 | 31.2 |
| Crime Severity Index | 27 | 129 | 67 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 37 | 198 | 86 |
| Violent crime | 5.6 | 18 | 12 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Rent takes less of local pay in Pembina than in Manitoba’s towns or Canadian towns: 15% of household income
86% of households own their home. Shelter took 30% or more of income for 12% of households, lower than both Manitoba’s towns (15%) and Canadian towns (18%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Pembina | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent as a share of income | 15% | 20% | 20% |
| Households owning their home | 86% | 75% | 74% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 12% | 15% | 18% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · The 2021 census asked owners what their home was worth; those values, and 2020 incomes, are what this compares.
January in Pembina bites harder than in 85% of Canadian towns
Snow peaks in December: 34 cm in a normal year. There are 182 days of frost in a typical year, lower than Manitoba’s towns (193) yet higher than Canadian towns (159). The frost-free season runs from 15 May to 28 September, 135 days. Also worth knowing: rain and snow peak in June, at 89 mm.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Pembina | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| January night low | −18.5°C | −21.2°C | −13.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 528 mm | 519 mm | 883 mm |
| Days with frost a year | 182 | 193 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Morden)
Most of Pembina works elsewhere: the town has 0.6 jobs for each resident in work
Commutes averaged 26 min, above Manitoba’s towns (24 min) and close to Canadian towns (26 min). At the census, 91% of commuters went by car.
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Pembina | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 26 min | 24 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 91% | 87% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · The 2021 census was taken in May 2021, during COVID-19 restrictions: more people than usual worked from home or were off work.
Children make up 20% of Pembina, above Manitoba’s towns and Canadian towns
People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town. First Nations, Métis and Inuit people make up 2.2% of residents, lower than both Manitoba’s towns (12%) and Canadian towns (2.8%).
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
49.8% of Pembina’s residents are women
Census 2021 put women at 1,200 and men at 1,210; women are 50.9% of Canada.
| Pembina | Manitoba | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 17% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 59% | 64% | 64% |
| 65+ | 21% | 17% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 23% | 16% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 43% | 52% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Manitoba and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
43% of homes tested in Pembina’s area are above the radon guideline
Measured across the Central health region: radon tests
Seismic risk runs low: $0.004 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. Flood mapping: none on the national inventory for Pembina.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Pembina | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 43% | 12% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.004 | $0.006 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Expect November days around 1°C in Pembina, nights around −8°C
A normal December brings highs of −7°C, lows of −15°C. Rain and snow over a typical November come to 27 mm. Expect around 22 cm of snow in November. July brings the warmest days, 26°C; January the coldest nights, −19°C.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −8°C | −17°C | 55 mm |
| Spring | 9°C | −2°C | 126 mm |
| Summer | 25°C | 13°C | 227 mm |
| Autumn | 11°C | 1°C | 120 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Morden); the forecast is on the Weather page
Pembina sends Grant Jackson (Conservative Party of Canada) to the Commons from Brandon—Souris
7 of the 14 MPs from Manitoba belong to the Conservative Party of Canada.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Pembina has one public library, Manitou Library
It stands 0.3 km from the centre of Pembina.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Very good or excellent health for 51% of adults in Pembina’s health region
Area-wide: health survey and life expectancy, counted over the Southern Health Region
Women in the region live to 82.9 and men to 78.7, 80.7 years taken together (2022/2024). The survey counts 13% of adults as smokers, higher than both Manitoba’s towns (10%) and Canadian towns (12%). Closer to home, a hospital is 8.9 km from the average resident of Pembina, further than the usual 3.7 km.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Pembina | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 13% | 10% | 12% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 80.7 | 80.0 | 81.5 |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Pembina Valley Provincial Park reaches the edge of Pembina
Out to 10 km from the town’s edge, 1.1% of the land is protected; 2.3% is typical for a Canadian town. National parks are all over 100 km off. Public parks and reserves within 10 km: 4, about level with Canadian towns (4) and below Manitoba’s towns (12).
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Pembina | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 4 | 12 | 4 |
| Protected land within 10 km | 1.1% | 1.1% | 2.3% |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
In Pembina, 40% of homes go back before 1961
| Heritage | Pembina | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1961 | 40% | 23% | 18% |
Canadian Register of Historic Places, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel, Wikidata; Census 2021 homes by period
Everything we know about Pembina
Famous people from Pembina
7 notable people were born in Pembina.
Photo credits
Justin Falk: Saruwine, CC BY-SA 3.0
About Pembina
Town in Manitoba
TownRatings follows Statistics Canada’s map: Pembina is one municipality in Manitoba, figures and all.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 2,502 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Manitoba
- Census division
- Division No. 4
- Census subdivision
- 4604034
Questions about Pembina
Who are the people of Pembina?
At the 2021 census, 7% were immigrants and 1% belonged to a visible minority (Canadian towns’ median: 15%). 2% identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What kind of homes are in Pembina?
92% of homes are single-detached houses, against 64% for the median of Canadian towns, and 0% are in apartment buildings of five storeys or more. A household averages 2.4 people; 29% are one person living alone.
Has Pembina grown?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it went from 2,347 to 2,406 residents (up 2.5%; Canadian towns’ median: 4.1%), and Statistics Canada now estimates 2,502.
Is Pembina a young town or an old one?
The median resident is 40.8 years old, against 45.2 for the median of Canadian towns. 20% are under 15 and 21% are 65 or over.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. 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).