City administration recently released its report on the 2014 municipal census. Here are some of the more noteworthy numbers to come out of this year's headcount...
City administration recently released its report on the 2014 municipal census.
Below are some of the more noteworthy numbers to come out of this year's headcount:
St. Albert's population is now at 63,255. That's up 2,261 people (or 3.71 per cent) since the last municipal census in 2012. Since the mid-1970s, the city has experienced continued and stable population growth.
At that time, St. Albert was home to about 20,000 residents.
Age
In 2014, the city's age distribution shows an age peak of those 50 to 54 years old. Almost 5,000 people are in this age group now.
Other major age groups above 4,000 people are those 40 to 49 years old and 55 to 59 years old. There are also about 4,200 youth between the ages of 15 to 19.
It is expected that the number of people 50 and older will continue to increase in coming years.
In 2014, the gender mix amongst St. Albertans is 49 per cent male and 51 per cent female.
Language
Almost 88 per cent of the city's population speaks English as their mother tongue. About 1.9 per cent speak French, with about five per cent speaking a different language.
There are 28 people (0.05 per cent) whose mother tongue is aboriginal.
Housing
The overall household size has remained at almost three people per dwelling in 2014.
On average, the two to three people now live together in a single detached home, duplex or townhouse, while apartments and basement suites attract one to two people per unit.
Since 2012, a large number of people moved into the neighbourhoods of North Ridge (1,029) and Erin Ridge North (498).
Deer Ridge, Heritage Lakes, and Woodlands showed a slight drip in population, with 49 to 56 people moving out of these neighbourhoods since 2012.
About 44.6 per cent of residents have lived at their current address for 10 years or more. Eighteen per cent of residents have lived at their current address for less than two years.
Of the latter, 45 per cent moved from within St. Albert and 23 per cent out of Edmonton. Only three per cent moved from outside of Canada.
Education and employment
In 2014, almost 46 per cent of residents responded that they work more than 30 hours per week, while almost 12 per cent work less than that time per week.
About 14 per cent of residents are retired, and about 16 per cent said they were not employed or able to work. Most of the latter were children.
There are 3,084 residents in the city now attending post-secondary institutions (22 per cent). In total, 23 per cent of St. Albert's residents were attending some type of educational institution in 2014.
Summary
The census enumeration took place from April 7 until May 31, including both online and door-to-door enumerations. Almost 44 per cent of residents completed their census online.
The maximum completion rate of the census was 99 per cent. Only 80 dwellings could not be reached for enumeration. Sixteen residents refused to be recorded, while 469 records were found to lack information on age.
There were 777 dwellings that were deemed “under construction.”
The city conducts its own census every two years. The next census will take place in 2016.
A complete census report will be made available in September.
