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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census agglomeration of Sylvan Lake, Alberta ¹

Map of Sylvan Lake

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Sylvan Lake, CA - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank

Nat. rank

136

In 2011, the population of Sylvan Lake census agglomeration (CA) was 12,762, representing a percentage change of 19.2% from 2006. This compares to the national growth of 5.9% and to the average growth among all CAs of 4.2%.

In Sylvan Lake, the land area is 16.84 square kilometres with a population density of 758.0 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the national land area of 8,965,121.42 square kilometres with a population density of 3.7 persons per square kilometre. The land area of all CAs is 232,264.62 square kilometres with 18.56 persons per square kilometre.

In total, there were 4,770 private dwellings occupied by usual residents in Sylvan Lake in 2011. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 23.4%. For Canada as a whole, the number of private dwellings occupied by usual residents increased 7.1%.

Population and dwelling counts

Census subdivisions in the Sylvan Lake CA

Table 1 Sylvan Lake CA – Census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	Type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	Type	2011	2006	% change
Sylvan Lake	T	12,327	10,250 A	20.3
Norglenwold	SV	232	270	-14.1
Jarvis Bay	SV	203	183	10.9

Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) or census agglomerations (CAs) in Alberta

Table 2 Alberta – Metropolitan areas, population rank and population change, 2006 to 2011
CMA or CA name	Type	Population			Rank
CMA or CA name	Type	2011	2006	% change	Nat.	Prov.
Calgary	CMA	1,214,839	1,079,310	12.6	5	1
Edmonton	CMA	1,159,869	1,034,945	12.1	6	2
Lethbridge	CA	105,999	95,196	11.3	34	3
Red Deer	CA	90,564	83,154 A	8.9	43	4
Medicine Hat	CA	72,807	68,822	5.8	50	5
Wood Buffalo	CA	66,896	52,643	27.1	51	6
Grande Prairie	CA	55,032	47,107 A	16.8	59	7
Lloydminster	CA	30,798	27,023	14.0	87	···
Lloydminster (Saskatchewan part / partie de la Saskatchewan)		12,766	11,113	14.9	···	9
Lloydminster (Alberta part / partie de l'Alberta)		18,032	15,910	13.3	···	10
Okotoks	CA	24,511	17,150 A	42.9	101	8
Brooks	CA	23,430	22,452	4.4	103	9
Camrose	CA	17,286	15,630 A	10.6	117	11
Cold Lake	CA	13,839	11,991	15.4	127	12
High River	CA	12,920	10,716 A	20.6	134	13
Sylvan Lake	CA	12,762	10,703 A	19.2	136	14
Wetaskiwin	CA	12,525	11,689 A	7.2	138	15
Strathmore	CA	12,305	10,280 A	19.7	140	16
Canmore	CA	12,288	12,039	2.1	141	17
Lacombe	CA	11,707	10,752 A	8.9	144	18

Age and sex

Sylvan Lake – Age distribution

Chart C: Sylvan Lake - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Sylvan Lake - Population by broad age groups

Table 3 Sylvan Lake – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
0 to 14	23.3%	23.7%	23.0%
15 to 64	69.8%	70.6%	69.1%
65 and over	6.8%	5.7%	7.8%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Sylvan Lake was 6.8%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 69.8% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 23.3%. In comparison, the national percentages were 68.5% for the population aged 15 to 64 and 16.7% for the population aged 0 to 14.

Sylvan Lake – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 4 Sylvan Lake – Population by broad age groups and sex, and population change between 2006 and 2011, 2006 to 2011 censuses
Broad age groups by sex	Population
Broad age groups by sex	2011	2006	change	% change
Both sexes
Total	12,765	10,705	2,060	19.2
0 to 14	2,980	2,550	430	16.9
15 to 64	8,915	7,380	1,535	20.8
65 and over	865	780	85	10.9
Males
Total	6,455	5,445	1,010	18.5
0 to 14	1,530	1,270	260	20.5
15 to 64	4,555	3,855	700	18.2
65 and over	370	325	45	13.8
Females
Total	6,315	5,250	1,065	20.3
0 to 14	1,455	1,280	175	13.7
15 to 64	4,365	3,525	840	23.8
65 and over	495	455	40	8.8

Sylvan Lake – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Sylvan Lake - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 5 Sylvan Lake – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
Total - Age groups	12,765	6,455	6,315
0 to 4 years	1,050	550	500
5 to 9 years	940	475	465
10 to 14 years	990	500	490
15 to 19 years	885	450	440
20 to 24 years	915	500	415
25 to 29 years	1,125	575	550
30 to 34 years	1,155	590	560
35 to 39 years	1,035	520	520
40 to 44 years	885	455	430
45 to 49 years	925	450	480
50 to 54 years	860	450	410
55 to 59 years	690	350	335
60 to 64 years	450	215	230
65 to 69 years	275	135	135
70 to 74 years	240	115	130
75 to 79 years	140	55	85
80 to 84 years	110	45	60
85 to 89 years	55	10	40
90 to 94 years	35	5	30
95 to 99 years	15	5	10
100 years and over	0	0	0
Median age	32.1	31.6	32.6

Sylvan Lake – Median age² of the population

Chart E: Canada, Alberta and Sylvan Lake - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, Alberta and Sylvan Lake - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

The median age in Sylvan Lake was 32.1 years. In comparison, the median age of Alberta was 36.5 years.

Table 6 Canada, Alberta and Sylvan Lake – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
	Median age
	2006	2011
Canada	39.5	40.6
Alberta	36.0	36.5
Sylvan Lake	31.8	32.1

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families³ in Sylvan Lake was 3,555, which represents a change of 19.5% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.

In Sylvan Lake, 66.1% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 18.6% were common-law-couples and 15.5% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Sylvan Lake - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Sylvan Lake - Census families by family structure

Sylvan Lake – Family structure

Table 7 Canada, Alberta, Sylvan Lake – Distribution of census families by family structure, 2011 Census
Geographic name	Total families	Married-couple families		Common-law-couple families		Lone-parent families		% change, census families, 2006 to 2011
Geographic name	Total families	number	%	number	%	number	%	% change, census families, 2006 to 2011
Canada †	9,389,695	6,293,950	67.0	1,567,905	16.7	1,527,840	16.3	5.5
Alberta †	999,525	719,355	72.0	135,660	13.6	144,510	14.5	10.5
Sylvan Lake	3,555	2,350	66.1	660	18.6	550	15.5	19.5

Sylvan Lake – Presence of children within couple families

Married couples		Common-law-couples
with children	without children	with children	without children
1,320 (43.9%)	1,025 (34.1%)	340 (11.3%)	315 (10.5%)

Chart G description: Sylvan Lake - Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census agglomeration of Sylvan Lake, 55.3% were couples with children aged 24 and under at home. In comparison, as a whole, 46.9% of couples in Canada had children aged 24 and under at home.

Among couples with children aged 24 and under at home in the census agglomeration of Sylvan Lake, 81.3% were intact families, that is, in which all children were the biological or adopted children of both parents, while 18.7% were stepfamilies, in which there was at least one child was the biological or adopted child of only one married spouse or common-law partner. For Canada as a whole in 2011, 12.6% of couples with children aged 24 and under were stepfamilies.

Sylvan Lake – Marital status

Chart H description: Sylvan Lake - Marital status

In Sylvan Lake, 62.4% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (48.9%) or living with a common-law partner (13.5%).

The remaining 37.6% were not married and not living with a common-law partner, including those who were single (never-married), separated, divorced or widowed.

Note: Percentages may not total 100 percent due to random rounding.

Table 8 Canada, Alberta, Sylvan Lake – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status	Sylvan Lake		Alberta		Canada
Marital status	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Population 15 years and over	9,775	100.0	2,960,470	100.0	27,869,345	100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner	6,100	62.4	1,756,860	59.3	16,084,490	57.7
Married (and not separated)	4,780	48.9	1,484,705	50.2	12,941,965	46.4
Living common-law	1,320	13.5	272,155	9.2	3,142,525	11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner	3,675	37.6	1,203,615	40.7	11,784,855	42.3
Single (never legally married)	2,440	25.0	823,935	27.8	7,816,045	28.0
Separated	265	2.7	70,855	2.4	698,245	2.5
Divorced	650	6.6	177,375	6.0	1,686,035	6.0
Widowed	315	3.2	131,440	4.4	1,584,525	5.7

Sylvan Lake – Types of private households

There were 4,770 private households⁴ in Sylvan Lake in 2011, a change of 23.4% from 2006. Of these, 34.5% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of 9.7% compared with five years earlier.

Table 9 Canada, Alberta, Sylvan Lake – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type⁵	Sylvan Lake		Alberta		Canada
Household type⁵	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Private households	4,770	100.0	1,390,275	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Couple-family households with children aged 24 and under at home⁶	1,645	34.5	407,145	29.3	3,524,915	26.5
Couple-family households without children aged 24 and under at home⁷	1,300	27.3	406,380	29.2	3,935,540	29.5
Lone-parent family households⁸	510	10.7	128,330	9.2	1,375,450	10.3
One-person households	985	20.6	342,735	24.7	3,673,310	27.6
Multiple-family households⁹	50	1.0	27,900	2.0	268,060	2.0
Other households¹⁰	280	5.9	77,785	5.6	543,340	4.1

Sylvan Lake – Structural type of dwelling

In Sylvan Lake, 72.1% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 0.0% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 10 Canada, Alberta, Sylvan Lake – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling	Sylvan Lake		Alberta		Canada
Structural type of dwelling	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Structural type of dwelling	4,770	100.0	1,390,275	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Single-detached house	3,440	72.1	883,260	63.5	7,329,150	55.0
Semi-detached house	260	5.5	71,850	5.2	646,240	4.9
Row house	345	7.2	97,865	7.0	791,600	5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys	0	0.0	58,205	4.2	1,234,770	9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys	380	8.0	197,945	14.2	2,397,555	18.0
Apartment, duplex	165	3.5	33,505	2.4	704,485	5.3
Other single-attached house¹¹	5	0.1	1,060	0.1	33,310	0.3
Movable dwelling¹²	170	3.6	46,590	3.4	183,510	1.4

Language

Sylvan Lake – Mother tongue

Chart J description: Sylvan Lake - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Note: Counts for mother tongue as well as those for language spoken most often at home include single responses only.

In Sylvan Lake, 94.2% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 1.5% reported French only, and 3.7% reported only a non-official language, in 2011. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 77.0% for English only, 1.9% for French only and 19.4% for only non-official languages.

In 2011, 98.0% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.4% spoke only French and 1.0% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 85.7% for English only, 0.7% for French only and 10.5% for only a non-official language.

Table 11 Sylvan Lake – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages	Mother tongue		Language spoken most often at home
Selected languages	number	%	number	%
Total	12,645	100.0	12,645	100.0
English	11,910	94.2	12,390	98.0
French	190	1.5	50	0.4
Non-official language	470	3.7	130	1.0
Multiple responses	75	0.6	75	0.6

Table 12 Sylvan Lake – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue	Mother-tongue retention¹³ (in percentage)
Mother tongue	Total retention; language spoken at home at least on a regular basis	Complete retention; language spoken most often at home	Partial retention; language spoken at home on a regular basis
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
English	100.0	99.9	0.1
French	53.3	26.7	26.7
Non-official language	63.1	33.0	30.1

Sylvan Lake – Non-official languages

In Sylvan Lake, the three most common mother tongues were German (0.9%), Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) (0.7%) and Dutch (0.4%), in 2011. In comparison, the most common mother tongues at the provincial / territorial level were German (2.3%), Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) (1.9%) and Panjabi (Punjabi) (1.5%).

Table 13 Sylvan Lake – The most common non-official-language mother tongues, 2011 Census
Mother tongue	Number	Percentage of non-official language mother-tongue population	Percentage of total population
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
German	110	21.4	0.9
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino)	85	16.5	0.7
Dutch	45	8.7	0.4
Spanish	45	8.7	0.4
Ukrainian	30	5.8	0.2

Sylvan Lake – Bilingualism

Table 14 Sylvan Lake – Rate of English-French bilingualism by mother tongue and age groups, 2011 Census
Age groups	Mother tongue
Age groups	Total	English	French	Non-official language
Note: Counts for mother tongue include single responses only. Consequently, the total excludes multiple responses.
Total	6.2	5.0	86.8	5.3
0 to 19	8.8	8.3	80.0	7.7
20 to 44	5.9	4.6	100.0	5.4
45 to 64	4.1	2.0	92.3	6.9
65 and over	2.0	0.8	60.0	0.0

Table 15 Sylvan Lake – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages	Number	Percentage
Total	12,645	100.0
English only	11,830	93.6
French only	5	0.0
English and French	810	6.4
Neither English nor French	5	0.0

Symbols:

···: not applicable
†: excludes census data for one or more incompletely enumerated Indian reserves or Indian settlements. For further information, refer to Notes.
¶: incompletely enumerated Indian reserve or Indian settlement. For further information, refer to Notes.
A: adjusted figure due to boundary change. For further information, refer to Content considerations.
E: use with caution. For further information, refer to Cautionary note.

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Sylvan Lake – This census agglomeration has the following data quality indicators (commonly referred to as data quality flags):

2006 adjusted count; most of these are the result of boundary changes.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Median age: Age 'x' that divides a population in two groups of the same population size, one group being older than age 'x' and the other group being younger than age 'x'.

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

Census family: Refers to a married couple (with or without children), a common-law couple (with or without children) or a lone parent family.

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

Household, private: Refers to a person or a group of persons (other than foreign residents) who occupy a private dwelling and do not have a usual place of residence elsewhere in Canada.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Footnote 5

Household type: Refers to the basic division of private households into family and non-family households. Family household refers to a household that contains at least one census family, that is, a married couple with or without children, or a couple living in common-law with or without children or a lone parent living with one or more children.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Footnote 6

Couple-family households with children: Refers to couple households with at least one child aged 24 and under.

Return to footnote 6 referrer

Footnote 7

Couple-family households without children: Refers to couple households without children aged 24 and under. Includes couple households with all children aged 25 and over.

Return to footnote 7 referrer

Footnote 8

Lone-parent-family households: Refers to all lone-parent family households regardless of age of children.

Return to footnote 8 referrer

Footnote 9

Multiple-family households: Refers to a household in which two or more census families (with or without additional persons) occupy the same private dwelling.

Return to footnote 9 referrer

Footnote 10

Other households: Refers to two or more people who share a private dwelling, but who do not constitute a census family.

Return to footnote 10 referrer

Footnote 11

Other single-attached house: A single dwelling that is attached to another building and that does not fall into any of the other categories, such as a single dwelling attached to a non-residential structure (e.g., a store or a church) or occasionally to another residential structure (e.g., an apartment building).

Return to footnote 11 referrer

Footnote 12

Movable dwelling includes mobile homes and other movable dwellings such as houseboats and railroad cars.

Return to footnote 12 referrer

Footnote 13

Mother-tongue retention: Retention refers to the situation where people speak their mother tongue at home. Retention is defined as 'complete' when the mother tongue is the language spoken most often and 'partial' when it is spoken on a regular basis but not most often. The (complete or partial) retention rate refers to the proportion of the population with a given mother tongue that speaks that language at home most often or on a regular basis. The retention rate provides an indication of a group's linguistic vitality, particularly the importance of transmitting languages between generations.

Return to footnote 13 referrer

Source:

Statistics Canada. 2012. Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-310-XWE2011004. Ottawa, Ontario. Analytical products, 2011 Census. Last updated October 24, 2012.

Related data:

2011 Census Topic-based tabulations – Census agglomeration of Sylvan Lake
2011 Census Highlight tables – Census agglomeration of Sylvan Lake
2011 NHS Focus on Geography Series – Census agglomeration of Sylvan Lake

Date modified:: 2019-03-27

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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census