BowdenAlberta
1,315 residents make their home in this town in Alberta. Its census division is Division No. 8.
Is Bowden a good place to live?
Pupils here do better than most (B+). Incomes are on the low side (D). Homes are dear (C). Natural hazards are less of a worry than in most Canadian towns (A−).
Bowden has subject grades but no overall grade: Canadian towns get one from 2,500 residents.
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Safety less sure: no police service names this town, so its crime figure is the nearest police detachment's, shared with a wider area. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Bowden grades
Each subject compares Bowden with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Bowden has subject grades but no overall grade: Canadian towns get one from 2,500 residents.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Bowden stand out
The 3 things Bowden does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bowden.
Trips to work from Bowden take longer than from Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: 30 min on average
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Bowden | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 30 min | 26 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Counted in May 2021, under pandemic rules: fewer commutes and more people between jobs than in a normal year.
Hazards in Bowden: wildfire low, radon over the guideline in 7.5% of tested homes
Shaking is less of a worry than in most places, at $0.015 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). Flood mapping: none on the national inventory for Bowden.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Bowden | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.015 | $0.013 | $0.030 |
| Radon tests above the guideline | 7.5% | 7.5% | 6.6% |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory · Data for radon tests covers the David Thompson Regional Health Authority
Bowden (Grandview) School is the only school in and around Bowden
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowden (Grandview) School Middle fifth in AlbertaLargest secondary schoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | All grades · Grades K–12 | 261 | English public |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025/26
Rent takes more of local pay in Bowden than in Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: 25% of household income
Owners put the median home at $210,000, below both Alberta’s towns ($400,000) and Canadian towns ($406,000). Shelter took 30% or more of income for just over a fifth of households, close to Alberta’s towns (21%) and above Canadian towns (18%).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Bowden | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent as a share of income | 25% | 20% | 20% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $210,000 | $400,000 | $406,000 |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 21% | 21% | 18% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Values come from owners at the 2021 census and incomes from 2020, so they predate the later rise in rates.
Life expectancy around Bowden is 79.1 years, 2.4 less than for the typical Canadian town
Source area for health survey and life expectancy: the Central Zone
Homes here are 11 km from a hospital on average, above both Alberta’s towns (3.1 km) and Canadian towns (3.7 km). The region has more smokers than Alberta, 15% of adults to 11%. Across the region, 52% of adults say their health is very good or excellent, much as in Alberta (53%).
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Bowden | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 79.1 | 81.2 | 81.5 |
| Smokers | 15% | 12% | 12% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Bowden has cooler summers than Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: July highs of 22.9°C
Between the last spring frost, 22 May, and the first in autumn, 12 September, lie 112 days. Frost comes on 212 days a year, above both Alberta’s towns (193) and Canadian towns (159). On a January night, the temperature in Bowden falls to about −17.6°C.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Bowden | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| July afternoon high | 22.9°C | 23.5°C | 25.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 212 | 193 | 159 |
| January night low | −17.6°C | −14.7°C | −13.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 483 mm | 431 mm | 883 mm |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Red Deer)
Violent crime weighs less where Bowden is policed than in Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: a violent severity index of 65
A best guess: the nearest detachment’s figures, since none is filed under Bowden
Across the area its police cover, the Crime Severity Index averaged 74 over 2023–25, below Alberta’s towns (110) but above Canadian towns (67). Property crime in the area its police cover: 28.3 per 1,000 people a year. The force’s area logs 10.3 violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Nobody publishes Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000 for Bowden alone, so this card uses the figure for the Innisfail detachment area.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Bowden | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 65 | 109 | 86 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 28.3 | 45 | 31.2 |
| Crime Severity Index | 74 | 110 | 67 |
| Violent crime | 10.3 | 14.2 | 12 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Expect November days around 1°C in Bowden, nights around −11°C
Then December: −4°C by day, −16°C at night. A typical November adds 20 cm of snow. A normal November brings 17 mm of rain and snow. For today and the week ahead, the Weather page carries ECCC’s Red Deer forecast.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −5°C | −17°C | 42 mm |
| Spring | 9°C | −4°C | 106 mm |
| Summer | 22°C | 8°C | 258 mm |
| Autumn | 10°C | −4°C | 77 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Red Deer); the forecast is on the Weather page
Blaine Calkins (Conservative Party of Canada) represents Bowden in Ottawa as MP for Ponoka—Didsbury
Because the Legislative Assembly of Alberta’s boundaries come with non-commercial terms, this page doesn’t say which riding Bowden is in.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Fewer loans per person served than 86% of Alberta’s town libraries: Bowden Public Library lends 2.9
Bowden Public Library serves 1,240 people from a single building.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
More of Bowden’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: 11%
Immigrants make up 4.3% of residents, below both Alberta’s towns (8.9%) and Canadian towns (6.4%). Over-65s are 19% of the population. Children are 17% of the town.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
Women make up 49.0% of Bowden
Here the census found 650 men and 625 women; the figure for women across Canada is 50.9%.
| Bowden | Alberta | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 65% | 67% | 64% |
| 65+ | 19% | 15% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 26% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 45% | 54% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Alberta and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
No protected area lies within 10 km of Bowden
National parks are all over 100 km off. For a provincial park, Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park lies 68 km off.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Bowden | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 0% | 0.4% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Bowden
Famous people from around Bowden
No notable person born in Bowden is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Photo credits
Rebecca Jenkins: Markbellis, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Danielle Lappage: In-Ting Ho (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada), CC BY-SA 4.0 · Blake Richards: Robert Thivierge (Thivierr), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jay Rosehill: Jessica, CC BY-SA 2.0
About Bowden
Town in Alberta
The boundary here is Statistics Canada’s: Bowden is one census subdivision in Alberta, and TownRatings describes all of it.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 1,315 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Alberta
- Census division
- Division No. 8
- Census subdivision
- 4808006
Bowden’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
Questions about Bowden
Who are the people of Bowden?
Visible minorities are 4% of the population, where the middle of Canadian towns is 15%. Immigrants make up 4%, and Indigenous people 11%.
Has Bowden grown?
It added people: 1,240 in 2016, 1,280 in 2021, 3.2% more, where the middle of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. Statistics Canada’s 2025 estimate is 1,315.
What kind of homes are in Bowden?
Single-detached houses make up 62% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 0% are in high-rise apartments. 36% of households are one person, and the average is 2.2.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. 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).