Riding Mountain WestManitoba
It lies in Division No. 16. 1,511 people call this town in Manitoba home.
Is Riding Mountain West a good place to live?
Where it does best is cost of living (A+). Health is its weak spot (C). It is hard to get around without a car (C+).
Riding Mountain West is graded subject by subject, but Canadian towns need 2,500 residents for an overall grade.
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. No Safety Grade: no police service publishes a crime rate for this place on its own. Crime here is counted against the people who live here, but many visitors or second-home owners add to it, so the rate per resident runs higher than residents' own risk. 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.
What makes Riding Mountain West stand out
The 3 things Riding Mountain West does most differently from other towns.
How Riding Mountain West grades
Each subject compares Riding Mountain West with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Riding Mountain West is graded subject by subject, but Canadian towns need 2,500 residents for an overall grade.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Riding Mountain West.
Rent takes less of local pay in Riding Mountain West than in Manitoba’s towns or Canadian towns: 10% of household income
Shelter took 30% or more of income for 5% of households, below both Manitoba’s towns (15%) and Canadian towns (18%). Households that own their home make up 89%.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Riding Mountain West | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent as a share of income | 10% | 20% | 20% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 5% | 15% | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 89% | 75% | 74% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Home values are owners’ own estimates at the May 2021 census, and incomes are for 2020.
Riding Mountain West’s region trails the typical Canadian town by 2.7 years: life expectancy 78.8
Residents have 21 km to cover to reach a hospital, above Manitoba’s towns (3.1 km) and Canadian towns (3.7 km) alike. At 15%, the share of adults who smoke tops the 12% for Manitoba. About as many adults call their health very good or excellent here as across Manitoba, 51% against 51%.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Riding Mountain West | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 15% | 10% | 12% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 78.8 | 80.0 | 81.5 |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · Data for health survey and life expectancy covers the Prairie Mountain Health Region
Riding Mountain West ranks among the Canadian towns where most working-age people have jobs
Commutes averaged 27 min, higher than Manitoba’s towns (24 min) and near Canadian towns (26 min). Driving is how just over nine in ten commuters got to work at the census.
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Riding Mountain West | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 27 min | 24 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 91% | 87% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so commuting and work figures carry the lockdowns’ mark.
Summers stay cool in Riding Mountain West: July afternoons reach 23.7°C, below Manitoba’s towns and Canadian towns
Snow totals 95 cm over the year, below both Manitoba’s towns (126 cm) and Canadian towns (141 cm). Midwinter nights in Riding Mountain West bottom out at −22.3°C on average. Most of the snow comes in December, about 20 cm. For the wettest month, look to June: 88 mm on average.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Riding Mountain West | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| July afternoon high | 23.7°C | 25.8°C | 25.5°C |
| January night low | −22.3°C | −21.2°C | −13.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 448 mm | 519 mm | 883 mm |
| Days with frost a year | 206 | 193 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Roblin)
Riding Mountain West skews older, with 24% of residents 65 or over, more than in Manitoba’s towns and across Canadian towns
14% are under 15, below both Manitoba’s towns (17%) and Canadian towns (16%). First Nations, Métis and Inuit people make up 13% of residents, above 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
46.7% of Riding Mountain West’s residents are women
Here the census found 770 men and 675 women; the figure for women across Canada is 50.9%.
| Riding Mountain West | Manitoba | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 17% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 62% | 64% | 64% |
| 65+ | 24% | 17% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 43% | 52% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Manitoba and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
A normal November in Riding Mountain West runs from −11°C to −2°C
Snowfall in a normal November: 13 cm. A normal December brings highs of −10°C, lows of −19°C. Expect about 18 mm of rain and snow over November. July brings the warmest days, 24°C; January the coldest nights, −22°C.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −10°C | −21°C | 49 mm |
| Spring | 8°C | −5°C | 94 mm |
| Summer | 23°C | 10°C | 229 mm |
| Autumn | 8°C | −3°C | 76 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Roblin); the forecast is on the Weather page
Riding Mountain West sends Dan Mazier (Conservative Party of Canada) to the Commons from Riding Mountain
Across Manitoba, 7 of the 14 MPs sit with the Conservative Party of Canada.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Riding Mountain West has no public library of its own; the nearest is Russell Library, 21 km away
After it comes Langenburg Branch Library (Langenburg), 37 km away.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Step out of Riding Mountain West and you are in Riding Mountain National Park
Of the land within 10 km, 8.3% has protected status, higher than both Manitoba’s towns (1.1%) and Canadian towns (2.3%). Inside the town itself, 9% of the land is protected. 56 protected areas lie within 10 km.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Riding Mountain West | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 8.3% | 1.1% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 3 | 12 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Around Riding Mountain West, 35% of tested homes have radon above the guideline
Shared with the rest of the Assiniboine health region: radon tests
Flood mapping exists: a study by Hydrologic Forecasting and Water Management Branch of Manitoba Transporation and Infrastructure . Seismic risk runs low: $0.005 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. Burn scars are few around Riding Mountain West, with 0.6% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.02% a year).
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Riding Mountain West | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 35% | 12% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.005 | $0.006 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Riding Mountain West: 1 historic place, with the highest designation
Historic places by designation · inside the town
Among them
| Heritage | Riding Mountain West | Manitoba | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1961 | 35% | 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 Riding Mountain West
Questions about Riding Mountain West
Who are the people of Riding Mountain West?
1% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% for the median of Canadian towns; 13% have an Indigenous identity and 7% are immigrants.
What kind of homes are in Riding Mountain West?
95% 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 2.2 people; 30% are one person living alone.
Has Riding Mountain West grown?
It added people: 1,420 in 2016, 1,442 in 2021, 1.5% more, where the middle of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. Statistics Canada’s 2025 estimate is 1,511.
Is Riding Mountain West a young town or an old one?
At 52, its median age compares with 45.2 across Canadian towns. Children make up 14% of the population and seniors 24%.
About Riding Mountain West
Town in Manitoba
Statistics Canada treats Riding Mountain West as a single census subdivision in Manitoba, and TownRatings keeps to that line.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 1,511 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Manitoba
- Census division
- Division No. 16
- Census subdivision
- 4616020
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · 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).