Red Deer.
Education, Industry and Progress.
Compared with the rest of the province, people in Red Deer tend to work in lower-paying industries and have lower rates for university education than other places in Alberta. There is also a high Filipino population as well as diverse Indigenous populations.
(metro pop. 100,415)
Red Deer’s demographics are on par with the rest of the province, though still younger than the national average. Household income, however, is lower than the provincial average: 7% fewer families make more than $100k than what others in Alberta make.
There are also fewer educated professionals working in Red Deer than elsewhere in the country, with only 20% having university education and the rates of trade certificates being only marginally higher than the provincial or national rates. Those having no post-secondary education at all is only slightly higher than the rest of Canada.
The lower household income in Red Deer may speak to the types of industries being offered for the bulk of employment. Forty-four percent of people living in Red Deer work in either hotel and food service, construction, retail or healthcare—traditionally industries that are not as high paying as the oil sector. Retail and healthcare jobs make up more than a quarter of all jobs in the city.
Red Deer is a much more diverse city for its size than many others, with Filipinos comprising the largest percentage of visible minorities and new Canadians. There is also a large diversity of those in Red Deer who speak Indigenous languages: from several types of Cree, to Ojibway, Dene, South Slavey, Shuswap, Dakota and Stoney. The total Indigenous or Métis population of Red Deer is still smaller than the provincial average, but it is more diverse than many other cities.
