NHS Focus on Geography Series – Wetaskiwin

Demographic characteristics of Aboriginal people

In 2011, 11.0% (1,330) of the population of Wetaskiwin had an Aboriginal identity.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 1} Of those, 68.4% (910) reported a First Nations identity^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 2} only, 28.6% (380) reported a Métis identity only, and 0.0% (0) reported an Inuit identity only. An additional 0, or 0.0%, reported other Aboriginal identities and 0, or 0.0%, reported more than one Aboriginal identity.

Table 1 – Population by Aboriginal identity, Wetaskiwin

In general, the Aboriginal population in Canada is younger than the non-Aboriginal population.

In Wetaskiwin, Aboriginal children aged 14 and under represented 31.6% of the total Aboriginal population and 18.0% of all children in Wetaskiwin. Non-Aboriginal children aged 14 and under accounted for 17.9% of the non-Aboriginal population.

The age distribution of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit is shown in table 2.

Table 2 – Age distribution by Aboriginal identity, Wetaskiwin

Living arrangements of Aboriginal children

In Wetaskiwin, 35.7% of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under lived in a family^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 3} with both their parents (biological or adoptive) and 36.9% lived in a lone-parent family.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 4} Other Aboriginal children in that age group were stepchildren,^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 5} grandchildren living in a skip-generation family,^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 6} foster children^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 7} or children living with other relatives.

Living arrangements of First Nations, Métis and Inuit children aged 14 and under are illustrated in table 3.

Table 3 – Percentage distribution of the population aged 14 and under by living arrangement for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Wetaskiwin

Language and Aboriginal peoples

In Wetaskiwin, 90 Aboriginal people, or 6.8% of the population who had an Aboriginal identity, responded that they were able to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language. In 2011, the Aboriginal language most frequently reported by Aboriginal people was: Cree languages (65).

In 2011, 6.4% of the Aboriginal identity population reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, defined as the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood.

As well, 4.5% of Aboriginal people reported speaking an Aboriginal language at home: 0.0% spoke it most often while another 3.0% spoke it on a regular basis.

Linguistic characteristics of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit are shown in tables 4 to 6.

Table 4 – Number and proportion of Aboriginal identity population, First Nations people, Métis and Inuit for selected Aboriginal language indicators, Wetaskiwin

In Wetaskiwin, 98.1% of the Aboriginal identity population reported that they were able to conduct a conversation only in English or only in French. Additionally, 1.9% of Aboriginal people reported that they were able to conduct a conversation in both of Canada's official languages. The other 0.0%, or 0, reported that they were not able to conduct a conversation in either of these two languages.

Table 5 – Percentage distribution of the population by knowledge of official languages for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Wetaskiwin

In Wetaskiwin, among the 90 Aboriginal people who reported being able to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language, 83.3% reported that same language as their mother tongue. The other 16.7% reported a different language, such as English or French, as mother tongue, which suggests these individuals have acquired an Aboriginal language as a second language.

On the other hand, among the 85 Aboriginal people who reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, 0.0% could no longer conduct a conversation in this language, despite the fact that they still understand it.

Table 6 – Population who reported an ability to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language that is not their mother tongue and population who reported an Aboriginal mother tongue but who could not conduct a conversation in that language, for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Wetaskiwin

Immigrant population

According to the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS), 1,140 (9.5%) of the population of Wetaskiwin were foreign-born (immigrants), 10,800 (89.6%) were Canadian-born (non-immigrants) and 110 (0.9%) were non-permanent residents.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, the proportion of the population of Alberta who were immigrants was 18.1%, 80.3% were non-immigrants, and 1.7% were non-permanent residents.

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Wetaskiwin (City)

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Wetaskiwin (City)

Of the immigrants living in Wetaskiwin in 2011, 385 came to Canada between 2006 and 2011. These recent immigrants made up 33.8% of the immigrants in Wetaskiwin.

The most common countries of birth of immigrants living in Wetaskiwin were: Philippines (accounting for 28.5% of the immigrant population in Wetaskiwin) and United Kingdom (12.7%). In comparison, the top countries of birth of immigrants living in Alberta were: Philippines (accounting for 10.8% of the immigrant population in Alberta), and India (9.2%).

In 2011, among Wetaskiwin's immigrant population, 81.6% spoke English and/or French most often at home. Meanwhile, the three most frequently reported non-official languages spoken most often at home by immigrants in Wetaskiwin were Tagalog (Pilipino,Filipino), German and Urdu. This compared to the top three non-official languages for immigrants in Alberta, which were Tagalog (Pilipino,Filipino), Panjabi (Punjabi) and Chinese, n.o.s..^{Ethnocultural Footnote 2}

Table 1 – Immigrants by non-official languages spoken most often at home, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

Visible minority population and ethnic origins

The 2011 NHS estimated that 990 individuals in Wetaskiwin belonged to a visible minority group, accounting for 8.2% of its total population.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, visible minorities comprised 18.4% of Alberta's population.

The largest visible minority groups living in Wetaskiwin were Filipino, Chinese and Black. In Alberta, the largest visible minority groups were South Asian and Chinese.

The three most frequently reported ethnic origins in Wetaskiwin, for people reporting either one or multiple ethnic origins, were German, Canadian and English. This compared to the top three in Alberta, which were English, Canadian and German.

Table 2 – Most frequently reported ethnic origins, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

Religion

According to the 2011 NHS, 66.1% of the population in Wetaskiwin reported a religious affiliation, while 33.9% said they had no religious affiliation.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} For Alberta as a whole, 68.4% of the population reported a religious affiliation, while 31.6% had no religion.

The most frequently reported religious affiliation in Wetaskiwin was Roman Catholic, reported by 2,040 (16.9%) of the population. Other frequently reported religions included: Lutheran (10.1%) and United Church (9.2%). In comparison, the top three most frequently reported religions in Alberta were: Roman Catholic (reported by 23.8% of the population of Alberta), United Church (7.5%) and Christian, n.i.e. (7.2%).

Table 3 – Most frequently reported religions, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

Educational attainment ^{Education Footnote 1}

In 2011, 47.4% of the 8,255 adults aged 25 years and over in Wetaskiwin had completed some form of postsecondary education, compared with 59.6% at the national level.

Of the population aged 25 years and over in Wetaskiwin, 15.3% had a university certificate or degree. An additional 17.3% had a college diploma and 14.9% had a trades certificate.

The share of the adult population that had completed a high school diploma as their highest level of educational attainment was 25.0%, and 27.6% had completed neither high school nor any postsecondary certificates, diplomas or degrees.

Table 1 – Population aged 25 and over by highest level of educational attainment^{Education Footnote 1}, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta, Canada

Overall, successive generations of Canadians have been completing high school and attaining postsecondary qualifications in increasing proportions. In 2011, 41.7% of Canadians aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential; this compares with 69.5% among adults between the ages of 25 and 44. As well, 35.7% of those aged 65 years and over had not completed any certificate, diploma or degree compared with 9.5% of individuals aged 25 to 44.

In Wetaskiwin, 35.7% of those aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential, compared to 53.1% of adults between 25 and 44 years of age; 45.2% of individuals aged 65 years and over had no certificate, diploma or degree, compared to 17.9% of 25 to 44 year-olds.

Wetaskiwin (City) – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Wetaskiwin (City) – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Major field of study

Table 2 – Most common fields of study^{Education Footnote 9} for the population aged 25 years and over with postsecondary qualifications, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta, Canada

Location of study^{Education Footnote 11}

In 2011, there were 3,915 residents of Wetaskiwin aged 25 years and over with postsecondary credentials. Of these graduates, 70.5% had studied in Alberta, 19.2% had studied in another province or territory and 10.2% had studied outside Canada. Nationally, 72.5% of graduates had studied in the same province/territory in which they lived in 2011, 10.4% had studied in another province or territory and 17.1% had studied outside Canada.

In all provinces, individuals with trades or college certificates were more likely than those with university credentials to have earned their highest certificate, diploma or degree in the province in which they lived in 2011.

Table 3 – Population aged 25 years and over with postsecondary qualifications by location of study and by level of educational attainment, Wetaskiwin (City)

Labour

In Wetaskiwin, 5,595 people were employed and 565 were unemployed for a total labour force of 6,160 in May 2011. The employment rate was at 57.6% and the unemployment rate was at 9.2%.

Table 1 Total population aged 15 years and over by labour force status, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

Within Wetaskiwin, 14.4% of the employed labour force was aged 15 to 24 and 15.8% was aged 55 to 64. This compares to 14.3% and 14.3% respectively for Alberta.

Table 2 Employed labour force by age groups, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

Within Wetaskiwin, the top occupations were: Industrial, electrical and construction trades; Service support and other service occupations, n.e.c.; Maintenance and equipment operation trades. For Alberta as a whole the top occupations were: Industrial, electrical and construction trades; Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations; Service support and other service occupations, n.e.c..

Table 3 Top occupations for the employed labour force, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

Within Wetaskiwin, the top industries were: Retail trade; Health care and social assistance; Construction. For Alberta as a whole the top industries were: Retail trade; Health care and social assistance; Construction.

Table 4 Top industries for the employed labour force, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

The number of self-employed in Wetaskiwin amounted to 515 or 9.2% of all total employed workers.

Table 5 Employed labour force by class of workers, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

In 2011, 0.0% of commuters within Wetaskiwin used public transit to get to work. This compares to Alberta at 10.5%. 82.6% of the population used a car, truck or van as a driver, while 6.6% used a car, truck or van as a passenger. The average commuting time to work in Wetaskiwin was 18.4 minutes, this compares to Alberta at 25.1 minutes.

Within Wetaskiwin, 81.9% of the employed labour force aged 15 years and over worked at their usual place, 4.5% worked at home and 13.5% had no fixed workplace address.

Table 6 Employed labour force by mode of transportation, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

Table 7 Average commuting duration for the employed labour force, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

Table 8 Employed Labour force by time leaving for work, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

Table 9 Employed labour force by place of work status, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

In Wetaskiwin, 99.5% (6,675) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported English only as the language used most often at work, 0.0% (0) reported French only and 0.0% (0) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. In addition, 0.3% of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language equally most often at work and 0.0% a non-official language only.

Furthermore, 0.0% (0) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported working in English on a regular basis, 0.7% (45) in French on a regular basis and 0.0% (0) in the country's two official languages on a regular basis. In addition, 0.0% (0) of of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language on a regular basis at work and 1.6% (105) a non-official language only.

In Alberta, 98.5% (2,224,725) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported English only as the language used most often at work, 0.3% (6,355) reported French only and 0.1 (2,920) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. Furthermore, 0.4% of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language equally most often at work.

As for the language used at work on a regular basis in Alberta, the proportions are as follows: 0.5% (11,055) reported using English; 0.9% (20,110) use French; 0.0% (20) use both official languages; 0.1% (1,705) reported using an official language and a non-official language; and 1.9% (43,340) a non-official language only.

Table 10 Languages used at work, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

In Wetaskiwin, the non-official languages most used, most often or regularly, with or without an official language, are Cree languages and Tagalog (Pilipino,Filipino), which account respectively for 0.3% (35) and 0.1% (20) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011.

In Alberta, the non-official languages most used, most often or regularly, with or without an official language, are Chinese languages, Spanish and Tagalog (Pilipino,Filipino), which account respectively for 0.3% (15,175), 0.2% (8,525) and 0.2% (6,845) of the population aged 15 years and older who worked in 2010 or 2011.

Table 11 Non-official languages used at work, Wetaskiwin (City), Alberta

Income composition

The total income for the population in private households can be broken down into two basic components: market income^{Income Footnote 1} and government transfers.^{Income Footnote 2} In Wetaskiwin, 86.2% of total income was from market income in 2010 and 13.8% was from government transfers. (Aggregate total income for Wetaskiwin was 370.3 million dollars in 2010.)

Figure 1 Income composition for the population in private households in 2010

Income composition for the population in private households in 2010

Market income's main component was employment income. In Wetaskiwin, it accounted for $84.50 of every $100 of market income, below the figure for Alberta of $87.70. For the two components of employment income, wages and salaries represented $81.60 and net income from self-employment, $2.90.

The other components of market income were smaller than employment income: in Wetaskiwin, investment income represented $8.70 per $100 of market income, retirement income, $6.10 and $0.80 came from other private sources of money.

The government transfers received in Wetaskiwin were Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan with $32.30 of every $100 of total government transfers received, Old Age Security (OAS) pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement ($31.40), Other income from government sources ($17.80), Child benefits ($11.50), and Employment Insurance benefits ($6.90).

Table 1 – Income composition for the population in private households in 2010, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada

High total income

Among the Canadian population in private households aged 15 years and over, ten percent had total incomes of more than $80,400 in 2010. To be in the top five percent, Canadians needed to have a total income of slightly above $102,300 and to be in the top one percent required just over $191,100, nearly seven times the national median income of $27,800.^{Income Footnote 3}

In Wetaskiwin, 4.8% percent of the population aged 15 years and over had total income that put them in the top five percent and 1.0% in the top one percent. This compared with 5.0% and 1.0% in Canada.

Table 2 – Population aged 15 years and over by total income, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada

A national map showing the spatial distribution of persons with total income in the top five percent of persons with the highest total income is also available. Canada. Percentage of population in top five percent of total income in 2010 by 2011 census division (CD)

Employment income

Of those persons with employment income in Wetaskiwin, 52.3% worked full year, full time^{Income Footnote 4} in 2010 compared to 51.9% in Alberta. The median employment income was $48,424 for these workers ($55,507 for those in Alberta).

The top two most common occupations for those working full-year full-time in 2010 in Wetaskiwin were Industrial, electrical and construction trades; Maintenance and equipment operation trades.

Table 3 – Median earnings of the most common full-year, full-time occupations in 2010, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada

Family income

The median after-tax income of economic families in Wetaskiwin in 2010 was $62,025, the median for couple families was $66,711 and for lone-parent families, $45,007. For persons not in economic families (persons living alone or with non relatives only), the median after-tax income was $24,532.

These compare to the medians in Alberta of $80,271 for after-tax family income of all economic families, $85,786 for couple families, $49,270 for lone-parent families and $32,451 for persons living alone or without relatives.

Table 4 – Median after-tax income in 2010 for economic families and persons not in economic families, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada

Figure 2 Median after-tax income in 2010 for Wetaskiwin, Alberta and Canada

Median after-tax income in 2010 for Wetaskiwin, Alberta and Canada

Families came in different sizes and larger families may have benefited from pooling of resources and economies of scale. In Wetaskiwin, based on their after-tax income adjusted for family size, 43.4% of the population was in the top half of the income distribution, below the rate of 60.1% in Alberta.

In Wetaskiwin, the percentage of the population in the lowest income decile group^{Income Footnote 6} at 8.2% was similar to that in Alberta (8.4%). The percentage of the population in the highest decile group was 8.7%, lower than in Alberta (17.1%).

Table 5 – Population in private households by adjusted after-tax family income in 2010, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada

Low income^{Income Footnote 7}

In the NHS, a relative measure is used to classify persons by income status: the low-income measure based on after-tax income (LIM-AT). For this measure, the income threshold is half the Canadian median of after-tax household income. The income has been adjusted to account for household size. Persons in households with a household income below this threshold^{Income Footnote 8} were considered to be in low income.

Based on the after-tax income low-income measure, the proportion of the population in low income in Wetaskiwin was 13.7%, above the rate of 10.7% observed in Alberta. In Wetaskiwin, compared to the population of all ages, for persons under 18, the rate was higher (17.2%) and for the population aged 65 years and over, it was higher at 15.0%.

Table 6 – Income status based on after-tax low-income measure (LIM-AT) in 2010, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada

A map showing the proportion of the population in low income within Prairies Region is also available.

Housing

The number of households in Wetaskiwin was 5,130. The homeownership rate^{Housing Footnote 1} in Wetaskiwin was 62.9% - which was lower than the Alberta homeownership rate of 73.6%.

Table 1 – Housing tenure for all households, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada

Wetaskiwin – Affordability^{Housing Footnote 2}

Households in Wetaskiwin that paid 30% or more of household total income toward shelter costs represented 30.2% of non-farm, non-reserve households with total income greater than zero. This proportion was higher than the Alberta proportion (23.7%).

A lower proportion of owner households paid 30% or more compared to tenant households in Wetaskiwin (19.6% for owners versus 48.4% for renters).

Households in Wetaskiwin paid an average monthly shelter cost of $1,019 – which was lower than the Alberta amount of $1,252. The average monthly shelter cost for tenant households was $930, this was lower than the average monthly shelter cost for owner households of $1,071.

Table 2 – Housing affordability for non-farm, non-reserve households, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada

Wetaskiwin – Need for major repairs^{Housing Footnote 3}

In Wetaskiwin, 7.3% of households reported living in dwellings that required major repairs. This was higher than the Alberta proportion of 7.0%. The proportion of households reporting major repair requirements was higher for owners than renters (7.6% for owner-occupied dwellings and 6.6% for renter-occupied dwellings).

Table 3 – Need for major repairs by housing tenure, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada

Wetaskiwin – Suitability

In Wetaskiwin, 4.4% of households lived in dwellings that were not suitable; that is, the dwelling was crowded because there were not enough bedrooms based on the National Occupancy Standard.^{Housing Footnote 4} This was lower than the Alberta proportion of 5.0%. The proportion of households living in dwellings that were not suitable was lower for owners than renters (3.1% for owner households and 6.8% for renter households).

Table 4 – Housing suitability by housing tenure, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada

Related data

• 2011 NHS Profile – Wetaskiwin, City (Census Subdivision), Alberta
• 2011 NHS Data Tables – Wetaskiwin, City (Census Subdivision), Alberta
  • Aboriginal Peoples
  • Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity
  • Education and Labour
  • Income and Housing
• 2011 Census Focus on Geography Series – Wetaskiwin, City (Census Subdivision), Alberta