City Releases 2015 Census Results

The latest census data, covering a period from April 2014 to April 2015, shows that Calgary’s population now stands at 1,230,915. We gained 35,721 new Calgarians, making this is our third largest year of population growth!

This is an increase of 2.99 per cent, approximately 3,000 fewer people than 2014 which was a record year for growth in Calgary.



In 2015, we invited Calgarians to complete their census online for the first time and we're happy to report that over 86,000 residents submitted their census data through the new system. Thank you to everyone who completed their census online and even shared  we hope to increase that number.

Census takers collected data from the remainder of households using mobile computing devices. With the online and mobile data collection, the need for post collection data entry was eliminated and resulted in more timely and better quality data.

Accurate census information is essential in decision-making and planning for Calgary’s future needs.

Specific results from the 2015 Civic Census

• Evanston is this year’s leader in community growth with a population increase of 2,853. 
• New communities along Calgary's outskirts understandably gained many new residents: Mahogany (2,300), Auburn Bay (2,064), Cranston (1,831), Copperfield (1,468), Saddle Ridge (1,219), Nolan Hill (1,173), Redstone (1,120) and Skyview Ranch (1,055).
• Between April 2014 and April 2015, 24,909 more people moved to Calgary than moved away.
• Natural increase (the result of births over deaths) remained similar to the number from last year, at 10,812.
• The number of housing units, both existing and under construction, continues to rise, increasing by 14,400 to 492,623; an increase of 2.92 per cent.

The Civic Census Results Book and data tables in excel and PDF format will be available on calgary.ca/census

How do Calgarians commute to work? You told us...

Calgarians commute to work in a variety of ways, but more and more people are choosing to carpool, take transit or ride their bicycle. Beginning in 2011, the Transportation Department has included a question every three years on the Civic Census asking Calgarians how they commute to work. 2011 and 2014 Civic Census shows that over a three-year span, Calgarians have been using more sustainable ways to travel to and from work.  

More Calgarians are choosing sustainable ways to get to work.

The answers given to the census question help us analyse trends in Calgarians’ choices for travelling to work. They also give us a better understanding of how travel behaviour changes after major transportation projects open. “Due to the opening of the West LRT in 2012, more people in the southwest area of Calgary reported taking transit to work in 2014,” said Ekke Kok, Manager of Transportation Data.

By telling us how you commute to work, we are able to track whether or not we are meeting our Calgary Transportation Plan (CTP) targets. One of our primary CTP targets is to increase the number of people choosing to commute to work by walking, cycling, or taking transit. The census data shows that this has already begun to happen, as there was a positive change in the number of people walking, cycling and taking transit between 2011 and 2014 in many communities. At a glance, it is easy to see areas where significant change has taken place due to infrastructure improvements and areas where more choices should be provided so that it is easier to make more sustainable transportation choices.

Individual maps showing the responses for walking, cycling, carpooling, transit, and driving alone to work can be found on the Transportation Data webpage.

Civic Census Data - Click to see larger version.

For more information on how this data was collected, please see Calgary.ca/census.

Interested in doing a job that counts? The City is recruiting annual Civic Census takers

Census taker recruitment is now underway with The City’s annual Civic Census beginning in April. We're looking for nearly 1,000 flexible workers to help with door-to-door census data collection and recording.


"Census workers are essential to the collection process," says Leader of Election and Census, Paul Denys. "We need people interested and available for flexible short-term work beginning in May."

Being able to walk in seasonable weather conditions and to easily operate a tablet computer are considered assets to become a census taker. Work schedules are set by each individual, but some work may be required during evenings and weekend when most people are at home.

Census takers will be assigned an area to collect census information, generally between 400 to 600 dwellings, and should take no longer than three weeks to complete.

If you're interested in becoming a census taker, download an application online today. Applications are accepted in-person at The City of Calgary Election and Information Services’ office at 1103 55 Ave NE, between 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. Applicants will also be required to complete a written skills assessment test (approx. 30 minutes to complete).

Find more information about the Civic Census and how to become a census taker at Calgary.ca/census

Census shows record growth for Calgary

Calgary’s population has reached 1,195,194; an increase of 3.33% or 38,508 residents from last year, resulting in record growth for the city.

"Accurate census information is essential in decision making and planning for The City’s future needs," said Mayor Naheed Nenshi.



2014 by the numbers:

Community Growth

Saddleridge leads the way in community growth, with a population increase of 2,373.  Seven other Calgary neighbourhoods saw notable migration increases including: Auburn Bay (2,242), Cranston (1,858), Skyview Ranch (1,759), Evanston (1,704), Panorama Hills (1,384), Aspen Woods (1,095) and Beltline (1,091).

Housing 

While housing starts are up, Calgary's vacancy rate continues to decline. Overall vacancy rate in the city is 2.01%, down from 2.59% in 2013.

For the second year in a row census takers used tablets to collect census information, saving nearly 50,000 sheets of paper.

For complete 2014 Civic Census results, please visit calgary.ca/census.