Photo: Ccyyrree · CC0Downtown ranks above 99% of Canadian towns on renter households: 83%
Half of Downtown’s residents are over 51.4, older than in 89% of Canadian towns. The 2021 Census counted 4,282 residents in 3,030 households. For Downtown, the census puts children under 15 at 4.8%. Most recent wave: three in five immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%).
What stands out about the people of Downtown
First Nations, Métis and Inuit residents
11% of residents identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit, more than in 88% of Canadian towns; 5.9% are Registered or Treaty Indians. Identity & religion ↓
A neighbourhood of renters
83% of households rent their home, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 95% live in an apartment. Homes ↓
Many people living alone
74% of households are one person living alone, more than in 99% of Canadian towns; 34% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
A neighbourhood of high-rises
Buildings of five storeys or more hold 54% of households, more than in 96% of Canadian towns, and 24% of homes are condos. Homes ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 97% of Canadian towns, at 34%
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 7.2%, against 11% across Canada’s towns. Typically, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Downtown, 51.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
More one-person households than 99% of Canadian towns: 74%
Who shares a home: household types and sizes.
Against Saskatchewan’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
At 1.4 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across Canada’s towns. Across Canada’s towns, one-person households come to 27%. One-parent families account for 2.3%.
Married residents 15 and over make up 24% in Downtown, less than in 97% of Canadian towns
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Common-law partners: 7.1% here and 11% across Canada’s towns. The usual figure: 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
54% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, a share 96% of Canadian towns don’t reach
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
27% of homes were built before 1961 and 8.3% in 2001 or later. At 2.8%, the share of households in single-detached houses is lower than in 96% of Canadian towns.
Half of households earn more than $42,800 a year
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The middle household in Downtown had $42,800 before tax, 50% below the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $86,500 is the median household income across Saskatchewan’s towns. Pandemic benefits reached 23% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
Downtown sits above 90% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (18%)
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
Just over a fifth of residents are immigrants, against 17% across Canada’s towns. Downtown has more residents without Canadian citizenship than just over four fifths of Canadian towns, at 15%. To put it in context, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns.
More Indigenous residents than 88% of Canadian towns: 11%
Residents’ own answers on visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Hindu (5%) and Muslim (2.3%). By way of comparison, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity across Canada’s towns. At 38%, the share of residents with no religion is higher than in three fifths of Canadian towns. Compared with 15% across Canada’s towns, a quarter of residents belong to a visible minority here.
2.1% of residents have French as their mother tongue, more than in 62% of Canadian towns
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
At home, 11% mostly speak another language; 1.4% speak neither English nor French. Across Canada’s towns, the share of residents whose mother tongue is French is 1.5%. Bilingual residents: 7.3%, near enough the figure across Canada’s towns.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64 make up 48% in Downtown, more than in 82% of Canadian towns
The highest diploma or degree of adults of working age (25 to 64).
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Without any certificate: 7.1% of 25- to 64-year-olds (typical: 9.5%).
An employment rate of 49%
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 49%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 34% are 65 or over.
Among 41 towns of 4,206 to 4,361 people, the 8th oldest
The Canadian towns closest in population, from youngest to oldest.
Between Fraipont (33.6) and Claresholm (56.8) lies the rest of the group. Closest in median age to Downtown are Lantzville (50.8), Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay (51.2), Beaupré (52.8) and Richmond County, Subdivision A (54.4).
Of the 6 towns nearest Downtown, 1 are older
Places nearby, shaded by median age, each linked to its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown | 4,282 | — | 51.4 | 34% | 21% |
| Heritage | 5,172 | 1.1 km | 37.1 | 13% | 29% |
| Cathedral Village | 7,311 | 1.2 km | 37.4 | 14% | 13% |
| Dewdney Place | 3,021 | 1.4 km | 54.7 | 39% | 22% |
| Lakeview | 7,770 | 2.0 km | 42.3 | 20% | 13% |
| North Central | 9,124 | 2.2 km | 35.1 | 9.8% | 15% |
| Al Ritchie | 8,087 | 2.4 km | 35.5 | 11% | 21% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada publishes the census for municipalities, not neighbourhoods, so these figures add up the dissemination areas inside the neighbourhood. Counts are sums of StatCan’s rounded counts; the median age and income are worked out from the published age and income groups; and 2016 areas don’t add up to these, so there is no 2016 count.
- 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. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against Saskatchewan’s towns and Canada’s towns. Two medians frame each figure: one for Saskatchewan’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 Downtown’s residents
Is Downtown good for families?
Under 15: 4.8% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 19% of households. One-parent families: 2.3%. Schools near Downtown are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Downtown?
The median household in Downtown took in $42,800 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Downtown?
The 2021 Census counted 4,282 people in Downtown.
What is the average age in Downtown?
A median age of 51.4, older than 89% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 4.8%, and people 65 and over 34%.
Is Downtown bilingual?
7.3% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 91% English only. French is the mother tongue of 2.1%.
How diverse is Downtown?
21% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 25% belong to a visible minority and 11% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Downtown?
49% are Christian and 38% have no religion; 13% follow another religion.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. 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).