Location of Residence
More seniors in urban areas
Approximately 81.5% of Alberta's seniors were located in urban areas in 2006.3 The majority lived in the two Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) of Edmonton and Calgary (61.1%). 4 Seniors accounted for 11.1% of the population in the Edmonton CMA and 9.4% of the population in the Calgary CMA.
A greater proportion of older seniors live in urban settings. In 2006, 88.3% of seniors aged 90 years and older resided in urban areas, an increase of 2.1% from 2001.
Male seniors made up a greater proportion of the seniors population in rural areas, whereas female seniors made up the majority in urban areas. In 2006, 53.8% of seniors in rural areas were male, while in urban areas, only 43.7% of seniors were male.
Chart 5
A Higher Percentage of Older Seniors Live in Urban Areas
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Canada Custom Tabulations
As a percentage of the total population, the Camrose (20.3%) and Wetaskiwin (18.9%) Census Agglomerations (CAs) had the highest proportion of seniors, followed by the Medicine Hat (14.5%) and Lethbridge (14.2%) CAs 5 . Alberta's most northern CA, Wood Buffalo, continued to have the lowest percentage of seniors (2.0%).
The age distribution of seniors also varied throughout the province. For example, in 2006, 30.5% of all Alberta seniors were 65 to 69 years of age. In comparison, almost half of the seniors in the Wood Buffalo CA were 65 to 69 years old (46.1%).
The Wetaskiwin and Camrose CAs had the highest proportion of older seniors, with 6.6% and 6.4% of their total population aged 80 years and older.
3 As defined by Statistics Canada, urban areas have a population of 1,000 or more and a population density of at least 400 people per square kilometre. Rural areas include all territory lying outside urban areas.
4 Statistics Canada defines a Census Metropolitan Area as being a very large urban area that is combined together with adjacent urban and rural areas and has an urban core population of at least 100,000 based on the previous Census.
5 Statistics Canada defines a Census Agglomeration as an area that is combined with other municipalities that has an urban core of at least 10,000 people.
