Calgary population grows by three percent

The City of Calgary is growing once more, posting an increase of just over 35,000 people from the previous year.

Officials say that the city’s total population now sits at 1,230,915 increasing 2.99 percent over 2014.

In the population increase, 24,909 residents moved to the city over those that moved away, and the natural increase was 10,812.

Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi says that despite the economic downturn, the city experienced the third largest year over year growth. "It's a little bit less than last year, which was the largest growth in Calgary's history, but still much higher than we have seen historically."

Taking into account over the past two years, Nenshi says that Calgary has grown by the population of Red Deer, the province's third largest community, but it's important to keep up with the growth in terms of education, infrastructure, transit, and other areas.

2015 was also the first year that you could go online to submit your information, and officials say that about 86,000 residents took that route, ensuring timely and better quality data.

From this year’s results, the city found that Evanston was the year’s leader in population growth, boosting their numbers by 2,853.

Seven other communities also experience higher growth in excess of 1,000 people:

Housing is also increasing in the City of Calgary, with 492,623 homes in the city, an increase of 2.92 percent.

2.64 percent of those homes are vacant and suitable for occupancy.

Census information helps direct the city’s decision making and planning for the future.

Full information on the census is available on the city's website.