Top 10 trends of the 2016 Calgary Census

The results of the 2016 City of Calgary census are in, and despite a downturn in the economy, our city’s population grew and housing is up too. You can read the census results in their entirety online here, but here’s the top 10 trends we found from this year’s census:

• Population is up: Despite net migration being down this past year, our population grew by 0.36 per cent to 1,235,171. This trend is being attributed to the birth of more babies, and a lower number of deaths.
• We have more homes: Even though construction of new homes was down, the total number of homes in Calgary grew 1.32 per cent. This equates to an increase of 6,599 dwellings, for a total of 499,222 homes in Calgary.
• Calgarians prefer single-family homes: 69.7 per cent of the occupied dwellings in Calgary are in single-family homes (up 0.63 per cent from 2015).
• There’s a higher rate of vacancy: There was an increase of vacant dwellings; we’re now sitting at 20,843 vacancies, which is a rate of 4.3 per cent (compared to 2.64 per cent in 2015).
• More homeowners: 69.78 per cent of the occupied dwellings in Calgary are owner-occupied, compared to 69.15 per cent last year.
• Less home construction: last year at this time, there were 12,998 homes under construction, which leads to a drop in 2016 to only 9,508 under construction.
• The suburbs are growing in popularity: six Calgary suburb communities grew by more than 1,000 residents each last year: Mahogany, Nolan Hill, Evanston, Auburn Bay and SkyView Ranch.
• Most people still drive to work: the vast majority of Calgarians, 67.34 per cent, still drive alone to work. That’s followed by 16.41 per cent who take transit and 4.93 per cent who walk.
• Majority of “working age” people are still employed: 63.52 per cent of the “working age” population is employed, which equates to 637,781. The number of Calgarians 15-years-old or older is 1,003,952.
• More dog owners: there’s 135,070 owner-owned dogs in Calgary this year, up from 122,325 in 2015. Much less cat owners (70,023 down from 91,1551).

Are any of these trends surprising to you? We’re interested in hearing your feedback, you can connect with us on Twitter to chat.