Photo: Jason Woodhead · CC BY 2.0Bow Island is younger than 99% of Canadian towns: a median age of 30.6
Households in Bow Island hold 2.9 people on average (Canada’s towns: 2.4). With about 2,310 residents in July 2025, Bow Island counted 675 households at the 2021 Census. Across Bow Island, 83% of households live in a single-detached house. Visible minority residents are rarer here than in four fifths of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of Bow Island
Younger than most towns
Line Bow Island’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 30.6; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 28% are under 15 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
+3% since 2016: slower than 59% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Residents at the 2016 and 2021 censuses and the latest estimate, with the 2016–2021 change beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 13% higher again. For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +1% across Alberta’s towns.
A larger share of children under 15 than 99% of Canadian towns: 28%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
No age band is larger than 0–4: 11% of residents, 2.3 times the share across Canada’s towns. Locally, 14% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Among Alberta’s towns, Country Hills Village has the highest share aged 65 or over, at 36%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split.
One-person households make up 24% in Bow Island, less than in 59% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Fewer one-parent families than in 64% of Canadian towns: 7.4%. The share of one-person households across Canada’s towns is 27%.
Bow Island sits below 94% of Canadian towns for common-law partners (4.1%)
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 26% of adults, beside a typical 27%. Married residents 15 and over are more common here than in 88% of Canadian towns. The share of common-law partners across Canada’s towns is 11%.
31% of households rent their home, a share 60% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. Prices, rents and shelter costs are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Owners and renters · share of households
When homes were built · share of homes
Nearly a quarter of homes were built before 1961 and 20% in 2001 or later. The comparison figure for renter households is 25% across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns.
Households here have a median income of $76,500 a year
The income year is 2020: a year of pandemic benefits such as CERB, which the figures count. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Bow Island’s median household took in $76,500 before tax, 11% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Alberta’s towns the median is $92,200. COVID-19 benefits went to 16% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
Residents who moved in within the year make up 13% in Bow Island, more than in 67% of Canadian towns
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Immigrants here were most often born in the Americas (87%), then in Europe (7.8%). At 2.9%, the share of residents without Canadian citizenship is lower than in 66% of Canadian towns. The comparison figure for residents who moved in within the year is 11% across Canada’s towns. A fifth of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%).
Bow Island ranks below 95% of Canadian towns on residents with no religion: 14%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Across Canada’s towns, 2.8% of residents have an Indigenous identity; in Bow Island, 1.3%. The comparison figure for residents with no religion is 35% across Canada’s towns.
52% have English as their mother tongue; 1% also speak French
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home, 32% mostly speak another language; 4% speak neither English nor French. Fewer bilingual residents than in 99% of Canadian towns: 1%. The share of residents whose mother tongue is French is 0.5%, against 1.5% across Canada’s towns.
7.3% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, fewer than in 99% of Canadian towns
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
49% of those aged 25 to 64 have no formal credential, where the typical town has 9.5%.
A job for 63% of residents aged 15 and over
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
The employment rate of 63% is above the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Bow Island and its 5 nearest towns: 4 of them are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page. Distances here run 22–54 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Bow Island.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bow Island | 2,310 | — | 30.6 | 14% | 20% |
| Forty Mile County No. 8 | 3,927 | 22.0 km | 31.8 | 13% | 20% |
| Redcliff | 5,916 | 48.3 km | 40.4 | 16% | 9.5% |
| Cypress County | 7,855 | 50.9 km | 40.8 | 15% | 8.1% |
| Taber | 8,009 | 53.6 km | 27.4 | 10% | 25% |
| Medicine Hat | 68,714 | 53.8 km | 42.4 | 21% | 9.9% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
- The census’s own words. The census takes “visible minority” from the Employment Equity Act: anyone other than Indigenous peoples who is non-white in colour or race. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are what residents reported, compared here with other towns and never used as a label.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. A figure here is set beside two middles, the median across Alberta’s places of 2,500 people or more and the median across all Canadian towns that size; reserves and entire cities are excluded from both.
Questions about Bow Island’s residents
How diverse is Bow Island?
Immigrants: 20% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 2.6%. Indigenous identity: 1.3%.
What religion are people in Bow Island?
14% said they have no religion and 85% that they are Christian; 1.1% named another faith.
Is Bow Island good for families?
28% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 62% of households and one-parent families 7.4%. Schools near Bow Island are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Bow Island?
Half of Bow Island’s households had more than $76,500 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Bow Island?
About 2,310, by Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025. The 2021 Census found 2,036 people in Bow Island, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Bow Island?
The median age is 30.6. 28% are under 15 and 14% 65 or older.
Is Bow Island bilingual?
English and French: 1% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 95%. French only: 0%. French mother tongue: 0.5%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population · Statistics Canada, population estimates for 1 July 2025 (table 17-10-0155). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).