NHS Focus on Geography Series – Charlottetown

Demographic characteristics of Aboriginal people

In 2011, 0.9% (300) of the population of Charlottetown had an Aboriginal identity.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 1} Of those, 66.7% (200) reported a First Nations identity^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 2} only, 26.7% (80) reported a Métis identity only, and 0.0% (0) reported an Inuit identity only. An additional 0, or 0.0%, reported other Aboriginal identities and 0, or 0.0%, reported more than one Aboriginal identity.

Table 1 – Population by Aboriginal identity, Charlottetown

In general, the Aboriginal population in Canada is younger than the non-Aboriginal population.

In Charlottetown, Aboriginal children aged 14 and under represented 16.7% of the total Aboriginal population and 1.0% of all children in Charlottetown. Non-Aboriginal children aged 14 and under accounted for 14.4% of the non-Aboriginal population.

The age distribution of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit is shown in table 2.

Table 2 – Age distribution by Aboriginal identity, Charlottetown

Living arrangements of Aboriginal children

In Charlottetown, 0.0% of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under lived in a family^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 3} with both their parents (biological or adoptive) and 90.0% lived in a lone-parent family.^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 4} Other Aboriginal children in that age group were stepchildren,^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 5} grandchildren living in a skip-generation family,^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 6} foster children^{Aboriginal Peoples Footnote 7} or children living with other relatives.

Living arrangements of First Nations, Métis and Inuit children aged 14 and under are illustrated in table 3.

Table 3 – Percentage distribution of the population aged 14 and under by living arrangement for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Charlottetown

Language and Aboriginal peoples

In 2011, 0.0% of the Aboriginal identity population reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, defined as the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood.

As well, 0.0% of Aboriginal people reported speaking an Aboriginal language at home: 0.0% spoke it most often while another 0.0% spoke it on a regular basis.

Linguistic characteristics of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit are shown in tables 4 to 6.

Table 4 – Number and proportion of Aboriginal identity population, First Nations people, Métis and Inuit for selected Aboriginal language indicators, Charlottetown

In Charlottetown, 96.7% of the Aboriginal identity population reported that they were able to conduct a conversation only in English or only in French. Additionally, 0.0% of Aboriginal people reported that they were able to conduct a conversation in both of Canada's official languages. The other 0.0%, or 0, reported that they were not able to conduct a conversation in either of these two languages.

Table 5 – Percentage distribution of the population by knowledge of official languages for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Charlottetown

In Charlottetown, among the 0 Aboriginal people who reported being able to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language, % reported that same language as their mother tongue. The other % reported a different language, such as English or French, as mother tongue, which suggests these individuals have acquired an Aboriginal language as a second language.

On the other hand, among the 0 Aboriginal people who reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, % could no longer conduct a conversation in this language, despite the fact that they still understand it.

Table 6 – Population who reported an ability to conduct a conversation in an Aboriginal language that is not their mother tongue and population who reported an Aboriginal mother tongue but who could not conduct a conversation in that language, for selected Aboriginal identity categories, Charlottetown

Immigrant population

According to the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS), 3,435 (10.3%) of the population of Charlottetown were foreign-born (immigrants), 29,420 (88.3%) were Canadian-born (non-immigrants) and 460 (1.4%) were non-permanent residents.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, the proportion of the population of Prince Edward Island who were immigrants was 5.2%, 94.2% were non-immigrants, and 0.7% were non-permanent residents.

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Charlottetown (City)

Figure 1 Percentage of Canadian born (non-immigrants), foreign born (immigrants) and non permanent residents in Charlottetown (City)

Of the immigrants living in Charlottetown in 2011, 1,845 came to Canada between 2006 and 2011. These recent immigrants made up 53.7% of the immigrants in Charlottetown.

The most common countries of birth of immigrants living in Charlottetown were: China (accounting for 33.9% of the immigrant population in Charlottetown) and Iran (8.4%). In comparison, the top countries of birth of immigrants living in Prince Edward Island were: China (accounting for 21.0% of the immigrant population in Prince Edward Island), and United States (18.7%).

In 2011, among Charlottetown's immigrant population, 43.4% spoke English and/or French most often at home. Meanwhile, the three most frequently reported non-official languages spoken most often at home by immigrants in Charlottetown were Chinese, n.o.s., Persian (Farsi) and Mandarin. This compared to the top three non-official languages for immigrants in Prince Edward Island, which were Chinese, n.o.s., Persian (Farsi) and Mandarin.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 2}

Table 1 – Immigrants by non-official languages spoken most often at home, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

Visible minority population and ethnic origins

The 2011 NHS estimated that 2,975 individuals in Charlottetown belonged to a visible minority group, accounting for 8.9% of its total population.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} In comparison, visible minorities comprised 3.1% of Prince Edward Island's population.

The largest visible minority groups living in Charlottetown were Chinese and South Asian. In Prince Edward Island, the largest visible minority groups were Chinese and South Asian.

The three most frequently reported ethnic origins in Charlottetown, for people reporting either one or multiple ethnic origins, were Scottish, Irish and English. This compared to the top three in Prince Edward Island, which were Scottish, Canadian and English.

Table 2 – Most frequently reported ethnic origins, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

Religion

According to the 2011 NHS, 79.2% of the population in Charlottetown reported a religious affiliation, while 20.8% said they had no religious affiliation.^{Ethnocultural Footnote 1} For Prince Edward Island as a whole, 85.6% of the population reported a religious affiliation, while 14.4% had no religion.

The most frequently reported religious affiliation in Charlottetown was Roman Catholic, reported by 13,180 (39.6%) of the population. Other frequently reported religions included: United Church (11.3%) and Presbyterian (6.2%). In comparison, the top three most frequently reported religions in Prince Edward Island were: Roman Catholic (reported by 42.9% of the population of Prince Edward Island), United Church (15.4%) and Presbyterian (6.4%).

Table 3 – Most frequently reported religions, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

Educational attainment ^{Education Footnote 1}

In 2011, 64.8% of the 23,425 adults aged 25 years and over in Charlottetown had completed some form of postsecondary education, compared with 59.6% at the national level.

Of the population aged 25 years and over in Charlottetown, 32.8% had a university certificate or degree. An additional 23.3% had a college diploma and 8.6% had a trades certificate.

The share of the adult population that had completed a high school diploma as their highest level of educational attainment was 22.3%, and 13.0% had completed neither high school nor any postsecondary certificates, diplomas or degrees.

Table 1 – Population aged 25 and over by highest level of educational attainment^{Education Footnote 1}, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island, Canada

Overall, successive generations of Canadians have been completing high school and attaining postsecondary qualifications in increasing proportions. In 2011, 41.7% of Canadians aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential; this compares with 69.5% among adults between the ages of 25 and 44. As well, 35.7% of those aged 65 years and over had not completed any certificate, diploma or degree compared with 9.5% of individuals aged 25 to 44.

In Charlottetown, 52.8% of those aged 65 years and over had a postsecondary credential, compared to 71.6% of adults between 25 and 44 years of age; 26.2% of individuals aged 65 years and over had no certificate, diploma or degree, compared to 4.9% of 25 to 44 year-olds.

Charlottetown (City) – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Charlottetown (City) – Proportion of the population aged 25 years and over by level of educational attainment and age groups

Major field of study

Table 2 – Most common fields of study^{Education Footnote 9} for the population aged 25 years and over with postsecondary qualifications, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island, Canada

Location of study^{Education Footnote 11}

In 2011, there were 15,170 residents of Charlottetown aged 25 years and over with postsecondary credentials. Of these graduates, 57.5% had studied in Prince Edward Island, 31.9% had studied in another province or territory and 10.6% had studied outside Canada. Nationally, 72.5% of graduates had studied in the same province/territory in which they lived in 2011, 10.4% had studied in another province or territory and 17.1% had studied outside Canada.

In all provinces, individuals with trades or college certificates were more likely than those with university credentials to have earned their highest certificate, diploma or degree in the province in which they lived in 2011.

Table 3 – Population aged 25 years and over with postsecondary qualifications by location of study and by level of educational attainment, Charlottetown (City)

Labour

In Charlottetown, 17,335 people were employed and 2,090 were unemployed for a total labour force of 19,425 in May 2011. The employment rate was at 60.8% and the unemployment rate was at 10.8%.

Table 1 Total population aged 15 years and over by labour force status, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

Within Charlottetown, 16.7% of the employed labour force was aged 15 to 24 and 16.8% was aged 55 to 64. This compares to 14.0% and 18.3% respectively for Prince Edward Island.

Table 2 Employed labour force by age groups, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

Within Charlottetown, the top occupations were: Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations; Service support and other service occupations, n.e.c.; Professional occupations in education services. For Prince Edward Island as a whole the top occupations were: Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations; Service support and other service occupations, n.e.c.; Industrial, electrical and construction trades.

Table 3 Top occupations for the employed labour force, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

Within Charlottetown, the top industries were: Public administration; Retail trade; Health care and social assistance. For Prince Edward Island as a whole the top industries were: Public administration; Retail trade; Health care and social assistance.

Table 4 Top industries for the employed labour force, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

The number of self-employed in Charlottetown amounted to 1,210 or 7.0% of all total employed workers.

Table 5 Employed labour force by class of workers, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

In 2011, 2.4% of commuters within Charlottetown used public transit to get to work. This compares to Prince Edward Island at 1.3%. 74.8% of the population used a car, truck or van as a driver, while 10.0% used a car, truck or van as a passenger. The average commuting time to work in Charlottetown was 14.2 minutes, this compares to Prince Edward Island at 18.0 minutes.

Within Charlottetown, 87.8% of the employed labour force aged 15 years and over worked at their usual place, 3.2% worked at home and 8.3% had no fixed workplace address.

Table 6 Employed labour force by mode of transportation, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

Table 7 Average commuting duration for the employed labour force, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

Table 8 Employed Labour force by time leaving for work, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

Table 9 Employed labour force by place of work status, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

In Charlottetown, 96.6% (20,025) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported English only as the language used most often at work, 0.8% (170) reported French only and 0.5% (100) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. In addition, 0.3% of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language equally most often at work and 1.7% a non-official language only.

Furthermore, 0.7% (140) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported working in English on a regular basis, 2.9% (605) in French on a regular basis and 0.0% (0) in the country's two official languages on a regular basis. In addition, 0.0% (0) of of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language on a regular basis at work and 0.6% (130) a non-official language only.

In Prince Edward Island, 97.5% (83,190) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported English only as the language used most often at work, 1.4% (1,190) reported French only and 0.4 (350) said they used both official languages (English and French) equally. Furthermore, 0.1% of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011 reported using an official language and a non-official language equally most often at work.

As for the language used at work on a regular basis in Prince Edward Island, the proportions are as follows: 1.1% (910) reported using English; 2.7% (2,320) use French; 0.0% (0) use both official languages; 0.0% (0) reported using an official language and a non-official language; and 0.3% (260) a non-official language only.

Table 10 Languages used at work, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

In Charlottetown, the non-official languages most used, most often or regularly, with or without an official language, are Chinese languages and Persian (Farsi), which account respectively for 0.8% (350) and 0.1% (55) of the population aged 15 years and over who worked in 2010 or 2011.

In Prince Edward Island, the non-official languages most used, most often or regularly, with or without an official language, are Chinese languages, Spanish and Persian (Farsi), which account respectively for 0.3% (435), 0.1% (110) and 0.0% (55) of the population aged 15 years and older who worked in 2010 or 2011.

Table 11 Non-official languages used at work, Charlottetown (City), Prince Edward Island

Income composition

The total income for the population in private households can be broken down into two basic components: market income^{Income Footnote 1} and government transfers.^{Income Footnote 2} In Charlottetown, 85.2% of total income was from market income in 2010 and 14.8% was from government transfers. (Aggregate total income for Charlottetown was 984.0 million dollars in 2010.)

Figure 1 Income composition for the population in private households in 2010

Income composition for the population in private households in 2010

Market income's main component was employment income. In Charlottetown, it accounted for $81.20 of every $100 of market income, below the figure for Prince Edward Island of $83.50. For the two components of employment income, wages and salaries represented $78.50 and net income from self-employment, $2.70.

The other components of market income were smaller than employment income: in Charlottetown, investment income represented $6.00 per $100 of market income, retirement income, $10.90 and $1.90 came from other private sources of money.

The main government transfer received in Charlottetown was Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan with $33.40 of every $100 of total government transfers received, followed by: Old Age Security (OAS) pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement ($26.60), Employment Insurance benefits ($22.80), Other income from government sources ($9.10), and Child benefits ($8.10).

Table 1 – Income composition for the population in private households in 2010, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

High total income

Among the Canadian population in private households aged 15 years and over, ten percent had total incomes of more than $80,400 in 2010. To be in the top five percent, Canadians needed to have a total income of slightly above $102,300 and to be in the top one percent required just over $191,100, nearly seven times the national median income of $27,800.^{Income Footnote 3}

In Charlottetown, 3.6% percent of the population aged 15 years and over had total income that put them in the top five percent and 0.6% in the top one percent. This compared with 5.0% and 1.0% in Canada.

Table 2 – Population aged 15 years and over by total income, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

A national map showing the spatial distribution of persons with total income in the top five percent of persons with the highest total income is also available. Canada. Percentage of population in top five percent of total income in 2010 by 2011 census division (CD)

Employment income

Of those persons with employment income in Charlottetown, 51.1% worked full year, full time^{Income Footnote 4} in 2010 compared to 46.7% in Prince Edward Island. The median employment income was $42,873 for these workers ($41,130 for those in Prince Edward Island).

The top four most common occupations for those working full-year full-time in 2010 in Charlottetown were Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations; Professional occupations in education services; Service support and other service occupations, n.e.c.; and Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services.

Table 3 – Median earnings of the most common full-year, full-time occupations in 2010, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Family income

The median after-tax income of economic families in Charlottetown in 2010 was $61,093, the median for couple families was $68,151 and for lone-parent families, $39,337. For persons not in economic families (persons living alone or with non relatives only), the median after-tax income was $21,103.

These compare to the medians in Prince Edward Island of $59,750 for after-tax family income of all economic families, $64,670 for couple families, $36,595 for lone-parent families and $21,752 for persons living alone or without relatives.

Table 4 – Median after-tax income in 2010 for economic families and persons not in economic families, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Figure 2 Median after-tax income in 2010 for Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and Canada

Median after-tax income in 2010 for Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and Canada

Families came in different sizes and larger families may have benefited from pooling of resources and economies of scale. In Charlottetown, based on their after-tax income adjusted for family size, 42.2% of the population was in the top half of the income distribution, similar to the rate of 40.9% in Prince Edward Island.

In Charlottetown, the percentage of the population in the lowest income decile group^{Income Footnote 6} at 13.4% was higher than in Prince Edward Island (8.6%). The percentage of the population in the highest decile group was 6.5%, higher than in Prince Edward Island (4.4%).

Table 5 – Population in private households by adjusted after-tax family income in 2010, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Low income^{Income Footnote 7}

In the NHS, a relative measure is used to classify persons by income status: the low-income measure based on after-tax income (LIM-AT). For this measure, the income threshold is half the Canadian median of after-tax household income. The income has been adjusted to account for household size. Persons in households with a household income below this threshold^{Income Footnote 8} were considered to be in low income.

Based on the after-tax income low-income measure, the proportion of the population in low income in Charlottetown was 20.0%, above the rate of 15.8% observed in Prince Edward Island. In Charlottetown, compared to the population of all ages, for persons under 18, the rate was higher (22.2%) and for the population aged 65 years and over, it was identical at 20.0%.

Table 6 – Income status based on after-tax low-income measure (LIM-AT) in 2010, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

A map showing the proportion of the population in low income within Atlantic Region is also available.

Housing

The number of households in Charlottetown was 15,000. The homeownership rate in Charlottetown was 52.0% - which was lower than the Prince Edward Island homeownership rate of 73.4%.

Table 1 – Housing tenure for all households, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Charlottetown – Affordability^{Housing Footnote 1}

Households in Charlottetown that paid 30% or more of household total income toward shelter costs represented 27.2% of non-farm, non-reserve households with total income greater than zero. This proportion was higher than the Prince Edward Island proportion (19.5%).

A lower proportion of owner households paid 30% or more compared to tenant households in Charlottetown (14.2% for owners versus 41.3% for renters).

Households in Charlottetown paid an average monthly shelter cost of $881 – which was higher than the Prince Edward Island amount of $821. The average monthly shelter cost for tenant households was $751, this was lower than the average monthly shelter cost for owner households of $1,001.

Table 2 – Housing affordability for non-farm, non-reserve households, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Charlottetown – Need for major repairs^{Housing Footnote 2}

In Charlottetown, 6.4% of households reported living in dwellings that required major repairs. This was lower than the Prince Edward Island proportion of 7.5%. The proportion of households reporting major repair requirements was lower for owners than renters (5.8% for owner-occupied dwellings and 7.0% for renter-occupied dwellings).

Table 3 – Need for major repairs by housing tenure, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Charlottetown – Suitability

In Charlottetown, 4.7% of households lived in dwellings that were not suitable; that is, the dwelling was crowded because there were not enough bedrooms based on the National Occupancy Standard.^{Housing Footnote 3} This was higher than the Prince Edward Island proportion of 3.7%. The proportion of households living in dwellings that were not suitable was lower for owners than renters (2.7% for owner households and 7.0% for renter households).

Table 4 – Housing suitability by housing tenure, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Related data

• 2011 NHS Profile – Charlottetown, City (Census Subdivision), Prince Edward Island
• 2011 NHS Data Tables – Charlottetown, City (Census Subdivision), Prince Edward Island
  • Aboriginal Peoples
  • Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity
  • Education and Labour
  • Income and Housing
• 2011 Census Focus on Geography Series – Charlottetown, City (Census Subdivision), Prince Edward Island