Red Deer is getting older as it continues to grow.
Last week, the City of Red Deer announced that it had reached a population of 100,807, up 2,222 residents over 2014. The announcement was part of the preliminary 2015 municipal census results.
Red Deer is the first of the mid-sized Alberta cities to surpass the 100,000 mark. Lethbridge, which is often compared to Red Deer, is the fourth largest city in Alberta. Its recently released 2015 census shows there are 94,804 residents in the southern city.
And on Friday, the complete census findings were released.
They show the areas of growth, more detail about the population and the demographics.
The census shows the average age of people now living in Red Deer is 37, compared to 31 in 2014 and 32 in 2013.
Males outnumber females in the city, for the third consecutive year. There are 48,566 males, up 600, compared to 48,520 females, up 870.
The strongest area of growth for the third straight year was Timberlands with 529 new residents. Vanier Woods followed closely with 429 new residents.
In all, there are 42,034 households in Red Deer.
As part of this year’s census, residents were asked whether anyone in the household prefers to communicate with the city in a language other than English.
A total of 40,444 residents responded No and 803 said Yes. The top five languages specified were Tagalog, Spanish, French, Chinese and Korean.
Municipalities conduct a census to help determine future growth and development. As well, the province allocates certain grant funding based on population.
Some census questions were not answered, resulting in gaps in the statistics. The city will conduct a basis census in 2016.
Census tidbits
l Over the last five years, the average rate of growth in Red Deer was 2.32 per cent. There was no census conducted in 2012. The rate in 2015 was 2.2 per cent; 1.5 per cent in 2014; 5.7 per cent in 2013; 2.0 in 2011; and 0.2 in 2010.
l The highest growth rate in recent history was in 1977, at 6.7 per cent, bringing the population to 33,717, up 2,173 residents from 31,544 in 1976.
l Officials believe the city will reach 200,000 by 2020.
l Lancaster/Lonsdale boasts the largest neighbourhood population with 6,150 residents, including 3,021 females and 2,941 males.
l There are a total of 22,208 single detached dwellings; 3,865 townhouses; and 8,786 apartments are in Red Deer.
l There are 1,002 women aged 85 and older and 478 men in the same category.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com