It’s not just you – it’s a bit more crowded around here these days.
Both the District of Kent and Harrison Hot Springs experienced modest growth between 2011 and 2019 according to the latest provincial municipal population data released in January from Statistics Canada.
In 2011, the District of Kent was estimated to be the home of 5,764 people while Harrison Hot Springs was at approximately 1,478. Fast forward to 2019, and the district sits at an estimate of 6,704 people (an increase of 16 per cent overall, on par with the Fraser Valley average) and Harrison Hot Springs grew to 1,632 (an estimated 1o per cent increase, a bit lower than the regional average). Altogether, between the two municipalities, there is an estimated population increase of 1,094 people – 940 more people in the District of Kent and 154 in Harrison Hot Springs.
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The growth rates varied wildly among the municipalities from year to year. The District of Kent experienced no loss in population all throughout the eight-year period. The lowest growth happened during the 2012-13 season with a 0.2 per cent growth, in which the district grew from 5,862 to 5,872 – an increase of 10 people. On the other side of the coin, the district’s growth spiked during the 2015-16 count, rising by 5 per cent. During that year, the population grew from 6,051 to 6,356 – an increase of 305 people.
Harrison Hot Springs experienced a 2.8 per cent loss in 2011-12 – a drop from 1,478 to 1,436, less 42 people – and their top growth period was identical in percentage seven years later – up 2.8 per cent in 2018-19. The village grew from 1,587 to 1,632 between 2018 and 2019, which is an increase in 45 people.
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The Fraser Valley, which includes Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Harrison Hot Springs, Hope, District of Kent, Mission and unincorporated areas, grew from an estimated 283,966 people in 2011-12 to 331,533 in 2018-19, an overall increase of about 16.7 per cent, or 47, 567 people.
The province overall grew from 4,502,104 to 5,071,336, an overall increase of about 12.6 per cent, or 569,232 people.
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