Red Deer is home to 5,232 new residents – an increase of 5.7% over the 2011 municipal census. That brings Red Deer’s total population to 97,109 from 91,877 in 2011.

“It’s great to see continued growth in Red Deer; it remains encouraging that we are still a growing city,” said Frieda McDougall, legislative services manager.

This year’s census collected information on the number of people living in each household as well as the gender, year of birth, and citizenship of each person in the house.

The strongest growth occurred in the areas of Clearview Ridge with 714 new residents and Timberlands with 631 new residents. Anders Park East and Eastview saw slight declines in population of 33 and 32 residents respectively; however, this could indicate that residents have relocated to another area in the City and their previous residence is still vacant or that children in those areas have grown up and left the family home.

The average age of people living in Red Deer was 32 with females representing 49.4% of the population and males making up 50.1% of the population. Census workers also tallied that 63,979 residents under the age of 18 and 16,736 residents over 18 were Canadian citizens.

“Collecting information about citizenship helps us to anticipate and prepare for the number of eligible voters in the upcoming municipal election,” said McDougall.

New this year, residents were asked to complete their census online. Over 30,000 Red Deerians completed their census online with the highest percentage of participation in the areas of Rosedale and Anders on the Lake.

Census information is vitally important to City planning, from infrastructure to programs and services, and to ensure the City of Red Deer receives the appropriate amount of grant funding from other levels of government.

“We greatly appreciate that our citizens are so willing to provide the information we require on an annual basis,” said McDougall. “Without the participation and cooperation of our residents we would be unable to gain this important information.”

The 2013 Census Report is expected to be released by the end of June.

– Fawcett