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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census subdivision of Dawson Creek, CY - British Columbia

Map of Dawson Creek, CY

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Dawson Creek, CY - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank

Nat. rank

343

In 2011, Dawson Creek (City) had a population of 11,583, representing a percentage change of 5.4% from 2006. This compares to the national average growth of 5.9%.

Land area is 24.37 square kilometres with a population density of 475.4 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the provincial land area of 922,509.29 square kilometres with a population density of 4.8 persons per square kilometre.

In 2011, Dawson Creek (City) had 4,859 private dwellings occupied by usual residents. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 4.5%. For Canada as a whole, the number of private dwellings occupied by usual residents increased 7.1%.

Dawson Creek (City) is part of the census agglomeration of Dawson Creek (British Columbia).

Population and dwelling counts

Dawson Creek (City) – Neighbouring census subdivisions

Table 1 Dawson Creek (City) – Neighbouring census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Peace River D, B.C.	RDA	5,479	5,749	-4.7

British Columbia – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the highest population growth

Table 2 British Columbia – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the highest population growth, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Langford	CY	29,228	22,459	30.1
Lake Country	DM	11,708	9,606	21.9
Port Moody	CY	32,975	27,512	19.9
Kent	DM	5,664	4,738 E	19.5
Surrey	CY	468,251	394,976	18.6

British Columbia – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the lowest population growth

Table 3 British Columbia – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the lowest population growth, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Kitimat	DM	8,335	8,987	-7.3
Peace River D	RDA	5,479	5,749	-4.7
Esquimalt	DM	16,209	16,840	-3.7
Hope	DM	5,969	6,185	-3.5
Okanagan-Similkameen D	RDA	5,717	5,913	-3.3

Age and sex

Dawson Creek, CY – Age distribution

Chart C: Dawson Creek, CY - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Dawson Creek, CY - Population by broad age groups

Table 4 Dawson Creek, CY – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
0 to 14	18.7%	19.5%	18.0%
15 to 64	67.9%	69.5%	66.6%
65 and over	13.3%	11.1%	15.4%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Dawson Creek, CY was 13.3%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 67.9% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 18.7%. 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.

Dawson Creek, CY – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 5 Dawson Creek, CY – Population by broad age groups, 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	11,585	10,995	590	5.4
0 to 14	2,170	2,265	-95	-4.2
15 to 64	7,870	7,430	440	5.9
65 and over	1,540	1,295	245	18.9
Males
Total	5,690	5,430	260	4.8
0 to 14	1,110	1,200	-90	-7.5
15 to 64	3,955	3,675	280	7.6
65 and over	630	555	75	13.5
Females
Total	5,890	5,565	325	5.8
0 to 14	1,060	1,060	0	0.0
15 to 64	3,920	3,750	170	4.5
65 and over	910	745	165	22.1

Dawson Creek, CY – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Dawson Creek, CY - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 6 Dawson Creek, CY – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
Total - Age groups	11,585	5,690	5,890
0 to 4 years	775	395	385
5 to 9 years	675	340	340
10 to 14 years	720	380	340
15 to 19 years	805	415	390
20 to 24 years	925	490	435
25 to 29 years	955	525	430
30 to 34 years	775	375	395
35 to 39 years	710	340	375
40 to 44 years	750	360	395
45 to 49 years	845	440	405
50 to 54 years	855	420	440
55 to 59 years	715	355	355
60 to 64 years	540	235	300
65 to 69 years	370	180	190
70 to 74 years	350	140	205
75 to 79 years	320	120	200
80 to 84 years	265	105	160
85 years and over	235	75	155
Median age	36.2	33.9	38.3

Dawson Creek, CY – Median age¹ of the population

Chart E: Canada, British Columbia and Dawson Creek, CY - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, British Columbia and Dawson Creek, CY - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

In 2011, the median age in Dawson Creek, CY was 36.2 years. In comparison, the median age of British Columbia was 41.9 years.

Table 7 Canada, British Columbia and Dawson Creek, CY – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
	Median age
	2006	2011
Canada	39.5	40.6
British Columbia	40.8	41.9
Dawson Creek, CY	35.6	36.2

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families² in Dawson Creek was 3,065, which represents a change of 2.3% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.

In Dawson Creek, 60.0% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 19.1% were common-law-couples and 20.7% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Dawson Creek - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Dawson Creek - Census families by family structure

Dawson Creek – Family structure

Table 8 Canada, British Columbia, CSD of Dawson Creek, CY and neighbouring census subdivisions – 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
British Columbia †	1,238,155	887,990	71.7	160,360	13.0	189,805	15.3	6.6
Dawson Creek, CY	3,065	1,840	60.0	585	19.1	635	20.7	2.3
Peace River D, RDA	1,650	1,260	76.4	230	13.9	160	9.7	-2.1

Dawson Creek – Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census subdivision of Dawson Creek, 48.4% 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.

Presence of children within couple families
* Children aged 24 and under at home
Married couples with children *	910
Married couples without children *	925
Common-law-couples with children *	265
Common-law-couples without children *	325

Dawson Creek – Marital status

Chart H description: Dawson Creek - Marital status

In Dawson Creek, 53.1% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (40.5%) or living with a common-law partner (12.5%).

The remaining 46.9% 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 9 Canada, British Columbia, Dawson Creek, CY – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status	Dawson Creek, CY		British Columbia		Canada
Marital status	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Population 15 years and over	9,415	100.0	3,722,690	100.0	27,869,345	100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner	5,000	53.1	2,154,575	57.9	16,084,490	57.7
Married (and not separated)	3,815	40.5	1,832,605	49.2	12,941,965	46.4
Living common-law	1,180	12.5	321,965	8.6	3,142,525	11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner	4,415	46.9	1,568,120	42.1	11,784,855	42.3
Single (never legally married)	2,695	28.6	1,014,270	27.2	7,816,045	28.0
Separated	365	3.9	102,035	2.7	698,245	2.5
Divorced	690	7.3	246,515	6.6	1,686,035	6.0
Widowed	660	7.0	205,300	5.5	1,584,525	5.7

Dawson Creek – Types of private households

There were 4,855 private households³ in Dawson Creek in 2011, a change of 4.4% from 2006. Of these, 23.6% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of -4.2% compared with five years earlier.

Table 10 Canada, British Columbia, Dawson Creek, CY – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type⁴	Dawson Creek, CY		British Columbia		Canada
Household type⁴	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total private households	4,855	100.0	1,764,635	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Couple-family households with children aged 24 and under at home⁵	1,145	23.6	431,135	24.4	3,524,915	26.5
Couple-family households without children aged 24 and under at home⁶	1,205	24.8	532,995	30.2	3,935,540	29.5
Lone-parent family households⁷	585	12.0	168,530	9.6	1,375,450	10.3
One-person households	1,595	32.9	498,925	28.3	3,673,310	27.6
Multiple family households⁸	65	1.3	50,410	2.9	268,060	2.0
Other households⁹	270	5.6	82,640	4.7	543,340	4.1

Dawson Creek – Structural type of dwelling

In Dawson Creek, 64.9% 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 11 Canada, British Columbia, Dawson Creek, CY – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling	Dawson Creek, CY		British Columbia		Canada
Structural type of dwelling	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Structural type of dwelling	4,860	100.0	1,764,640	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Single-detached house	3,155	64.9	842,120	47.7	7,329,150	55.0
Semi-detached house	220	4.5	52,825	3.0	646,240	4.9
Row house	295	6.1	130,370	7.4	791,600	5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys	0	0.0	143,970	8.2	1,234,770	9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys	900	18.5	361,150	20.5	2,397,555	18.0
Apartment, duplex	50	1.0	184,355	10.4	704,485	5.3
Other single-attached house¹⁰	5	0.1	2,885	0.2	33,310	0.3
Movable dwelling¹¹	230	4.7	46,960	2.7	183,510	1.4

Language

Dawson Creek, CY – Mother tongue

Chart J description: Dawson Creek, CY - 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 Dawson Creek, 90.9% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 1.4% reported French only, and 6.4% reported a non-official language only, in 2011. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 70.3% for English only, 1.3% for French only and 26.5% for only non-official languages.

In 2011, 96.3% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.3% spoke only French and 2.2% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 80.5% for only English, 0.4% for only French and 15.4% for only a non-official language.

Table 12 Dawson Creek, CY – 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	11,425	100.0	11,425	100.0
English	10,390	90.9	11,000	96.3
French	160	1.4	35	0.3
Non-official language	735	6.4	250	2.2
Multiple responses	140	1.2	135	1.2

Table 13 Dawson Creek, CY – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue	Mother-tongue retention¹² (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	99.9	99.8	0.1
French	35.9	17.9	17.9
Non-official language	66.3	39.5	26.7

Dawson Creek, CY – Non-official languages

In Dawson Creek, the three most common mother tongues were German (1.8%), Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) (1.4%) and Cree, n.o.s. (0.8%), in 2011. In comparison, the most common mother tongues at the provincial / territorial level were Panjabi (Punjabi) (4.5%), Cantonese (3.2%) and Chinese, n.o.s. (2.9%).

Table 14 Dawson Creek, CY – 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	205	23.8	1.8
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino)	160	18.6	1.4
Cree, n.o.s.	95	11.0	0.8
Chinese, n.o.s.	30	3.5	0.3
Panjabi (Punjabi)	30	3.5	0.3
Ukrainian	30	3.5	0.3

Dawson Creek, CY – Bilingualism

Table 15 Dawson Creek, CY – 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	5.5	4.6	77.4	2.7
0 to 19	10.0	9.9	100.0	7.7
20 to 44	4.7	4.0	75.0	2.1
45 to 64	2.8	1.3	66.7	0.0
65 and over	4.0	0.9	80.0	2.5

Table 16 Dawson Creek, CY – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages	Number	Percentage
Total	11,425	100.0
English only	10,770	94.3
French only	5	0.0
English and French	630	5.5
Neither English nor French	20	0.2

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

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 1 referrer

Footnote 2

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 2 referrer

Footnote 3

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 3 referrer

Footnote 4

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 4 referrer

Footnote 5

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

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Footnote 6

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 6 referrer

Footnote 7

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

Return to footnote 7 referrer

Footnote 8

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 8 referrer

Footnote 9

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

Return to footnote 9 referrer

Footnote 10

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 10 referrer

Footnote 11

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

Return to footnote 11 referrer

Footnote 12

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 12 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 subdivision of Dawson Creek, City - British Columbia
2011 Census Highlight tables – Census subdivision of Dawson Creek, City - British Columbia
2011 Census Data Navigator – Census subdivision of Dawson Creek, City - British Columbia
2011 NHS Focus on Geography Series – Census subdivision of Dawson Creek, City - British Columbia

Date modified:: 2019-03-27

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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census