Community Information from the 2006 Federal Census

Population

The 2006 Census gives some useful information about Onoway.  Onoway has a greater proportion of children, youth and elderly compared to the provincial figure. This has remained constant for the past two decades.

Age	Onoway	Alberta
0 – 14 years	22.3%	19.2%
15 – 24 years	17.1%	14.9%
25 – 64 years	49.7%	55.2%
65 + years	14.9%	10.7%

Onoway also has more females than males, particularly in the 25 – 49 years age group. This contrasts with Alberta province having an even number of males and females.

	Onoway	Onoway	Alberta	Alberta
	Male	Female	Male	Female
All	48.6%	51.4%	50%	50%
25 - 49 years	43.3%	56.7%	50.3%	49.7%

Employment and Income

While the employment rate is very good, there are many residents who are not part of the work force at all. This may affect employment uptake and turnover within the Town.

•  Unemployment rate: 2.4% (compared to Alberta: 4.3%)
•  People over 14 years of age not in the work force: 36.6% (compared to Alberta: 25.9%)

Income is comparable to the province, but family income is much lower – suggesting that there are more family dependents on lower or no incomes being supported by other income earners compared to Alberta as a whole. Notably, the median income in Onoway has increased significantly from $18,753 in 1998 to be much closer to the provincial average.

•  Median income for people over 14 years of age: $26,633 (compared to Alberta median: $28,896)
•  Median family income: $58,023 (compared to Alberta median: $73,823)

Households

Over half of the households in the town have two or less people in them – suggesting that there may be demand for different housing types other than single detached medium-sized homes.

Average household size: 2.6 people

•  Households with a couple and no children: 18%
•  Households with children: 32%
•  One-person households: 31%
•  Other households: 19%

Not many people move within Onoway itself. Once they establish their residence, they tend to stay there.

•  Lived in the same place for more than 5 years: 52%
•  Changed address within the Town in last 5 years: 16%
•  Moved to the Town in last 5 years: 32%

Education

Educational achievement in Onoway is lower than the provincial average. This may be reflected in the higher percentage of people not in the work force and, as shown in the statistics above, may affect the type of employment undertaken in the town.

Educational achievement for people over 14 years of age:

Education	Onoway	Alberta
No certificate, diploma or degree	40%	23%
High school certificate	24%	26%
Apprenticeship or trade	13%	11%
College or university diploma or degree	23%	40%

Source: 2006 Census Portrait: http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/analysis/popdwell/ProvTerr5.cfm,

accessed October 22, 2008.