Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domainOlder than 90% of Canadian towns: half of Riding Mountain West is over 52
95% of households live in a single-detached house; across Canada’s towns the figure is 64%. By contrast, residents who moved in within the year are rarer here than in 97% of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census found 665 households in Riding Mountain West; by July 2025 the population was about 1,511. For Riding Mountain West, the census puts visible minority residents at 1.4%.
What stands out about the people of Riding Mountain West
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
13% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 92% of Canadian towns; 2.8% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Riding Mountain West’s residents are under 52 and half over; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 24% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Riding Mountain West changed by +2% from 2016 to 2021, behind 68% of Canadian towns
All figures are the 2021 Census’s unless another date is shown. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +4% across Manitoba’s towns. Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 5% higher again.
24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 77% of Canadian towns
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
No age band is larger than 55–59: 11% of residents, 1.6 times the share across Canada’s towns. Across the comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. The share of residents aged 15 to 24 stands at 9.3%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 74% of Canadian towns
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Manitoba’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
One-person households: 30% here and 27% across Canada’s towns. The share of one-parent families stands at 3%.
Riding Mountain West: 61% of residents 15 and over are married, above 97% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
18% of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. To put it in context, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. For Riding Mountain West, the census puts common-law partners at 8.9%.
Below 83% of Canadian towns: 12% of households rent their home
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. 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
Older homes outnumber new: 35% predate 1961, 17% date from 2001 or later. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of Canadian towns. Renter households: 25% across Canada’s towns, for comparison.
Half above, half below $77,000 a year in household income
Incomes are 2020’s, the census’s reference year, and include pandemic benefits such as CERB. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Riding Mountain West had $77,000 before tax, 10% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). For Manitoba’s towns, the median household income is $83,000. The pandemic’s benefits: 15% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
6.6% of residents are immigrants
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
11% of immigrants arrived between 2011 and 2021, against 27% across Canada’s towns. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (74%) and in the Americas (16%). Riding Mountain West has fewer immigrants than 75% of Canadian towns, at 6.6%.
More Indigenous residents than 92% of Canadian towns: 13%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion is 37%, against 35% across Canada’s towns. The wider picture: 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns.
92% have English as their mother tongue; 3.1% also speak French
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Riding Mountain West sits close to the norm on residents whose mother tongue is French: 1%, about the same as across Canada’s towns. On bilingual residents, Riding Mountain West sits lower than 93% of Canadian towns: 3.1%.
Below 80% of Canadian towns: 16% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 7.6% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
An employment rate of 68%
These rates date from May 2021, during the pandemic, and run lower than a normal year’s. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 68%, more residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Riding Mountain West is younger than 1 of its 5 nearest neighbours
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page. Distances here run 28–42 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Riding Mountain West.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riding Mountain West | 1,511 | — | 52 | 24% | 6.6% |
| Russell | 2,715 | 27.6 km | 43.2 | 24% | 11% |
| Roblin | 3,184 | 31.1 km | 49.2 | 29% | 4.5% |
| Langenburg | 1,256 | 37.4 km | 40.8 | 25% | 8.6% |
| Waywayseecappo First Nation | 1,714 | 39.6 km | 21.6 | 4.6% | 0% |
| Grandview | 1,387 | 42.3 km | 52.4 | 34% | 4% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Manitoba’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Manitoba’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.
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- 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.
Questions about Riding Mountain West’s residents
Is Riding Mountain West bilingual?
3.1% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 97% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1%.
How diverse is Riding Mountain West?
6.6% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 1.4% belong to a visible minority and 13% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Riding Mountain West?
63% are Christian and 37% have no religion; 1% follow another religion.
Is Riding Mountain West good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 62% of households. One-parent families: 3%. Schools near Riding Mountain West are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Riding Mountain West?
The median household in Riding Mountain West took in $77,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Riding Mountain West?
Riding Mountain West had about 1,511 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 1,442, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Riding Mountain West?
A median age of 52. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 24%.
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).