Esri provides CensusPlus, an advanced demographics dataset, for Canada sourced from data supplied by Environics Analytics. Visit Where to find Esri Location Data to learn more about using advanced demographics.
CensusPlus is an authoritative catalog of the Canadian population based on data collected during the 2021 Census by Statistics Canada. It includes core census information, such as age and sex by 5-year age cohorts, family households by presence of children, children by age group, housing type and tenure, as well as after-tax income.
New in 2021, the Census introduced the concept of gender and makes the distinction between sex at birth and gender. This introduced the terms Male+ and Female+ within the CensusPlus variable descriptions. Male+ includes cisgender and transgender men while Female+ includes cisgender and transgender women. Due to the small size of the nonbinary population, nonbinary persons are distributed over these two categories to maintain confidentiality.
For this product, Environics Analytics developed a set of proprietary algorithms for adjusting Census data. This dataset is enhanced to fill in missing values where data has been suppressed by Statistics Canada and to correct for random rounding, while adhering to the content or substance of the original Census. This work ensures that there are no missing values in CensusPlus and the variables add up within thematic categories and across all levels of geography.
Release dates
The CensusPlus dataset was updated in October 2023; the vintage is 2021.
Base level geography
CensusPlus variables are available at the dissemination area base level geography.
Sample questions and use cases
Sample questions that can be answered using CensusPlus data may include the following:
- What is the population breakdown by age within my trade area?
- How many women aged 25 to 34 live in the Calgary CMA?
- What can the data reveal about the demographics within my trade area?
- How many households in Canada speak Italian at home?
- Which municipalities have an average household income over $100,000?
Example use cases for CensusPlus include the following:
 | Advertisers can use the CensusPlus demographic data to analyze custom trade areas to help locate attractive target markets for more effective direct mail campaigns. |
 | Retailers can enhance their customer databases with demographic profiles to better understand their customers. The CensusPlus multicultural data can also help users analyze their customers to make more informed decisions about how to meet their needs. |
 | Creating target sets by grouping together demographically similar customer segments can help marketing strategists develop meaningful messaging that is more likely to resonate with current and prospective customers. |
Related links
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