Arbour LakeCalgary
It is one of the 152 neighbourhoods that make up Calgary. In Calgary, this neighbourhood has 10,454 residents.
Is Arbour Lake a good place to live?
Overall, Arbour Lake earns an A−: better than 77% of Canadian towns, and #99 of 473 in Alberta. Its strongest subject is health (A+). Prices are high against local incomes (C−). Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for safety and B− for jobs & income.
Rents here are the metro area's average, shared by every town and neighbourhood in it. Safety less sure: this is the whole city's figure, because the city doesn't publish open neighbourhood crime rates. 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 Arbour Lake grades
Each subject compares Arbour Lake with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Arbour Lake stand out
The 3 things Arbour Lake does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Arbour Lake.
For health, Arbour Lake gets an A+
Area-wide: health survey and life expectancy, counted over the Calgary Zone
For 2022/2024, the region’s figure is 83.0 years at birth, 85.0 for women and 80.9 for men. In the health survey, 56% of adults in the region rated their health very good or excellent, higher than both Alberta’s towns (51%) and Canadian towns (52%). At 7.9%, the share of adults who smoke sits under the 11% for Alberta. Measured from where Arbour Lake’s residents live, a hospital is 2.7 km away, near the 3.7 km most towns see.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Arbour Lake | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very good or excellent health | 56% | 51% | 52% |
| Smokers | 7.9% | 12% | 12% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 83.0 | 81.2 | 81.5 |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
In the top two fifths in Alberta: 12 of the 20 schools around Arbour Lake with results
Taken together, Arbour Lake and its 3 km edge hold 25 elementary schools, 3 secondary schools and 8 schools for every grade for 14,481 students. Robert Thirsk High School is the biggest, at 1,437 students. No single board runs them all: there are 4. Schooling in French is on offer at one of the 36; in Alberta, 2% of schools teach in it.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawkwood School Middle fifth in AlbertaLargest elementary schoolElementary · Grades K–6 | Elementary · Grades K–6 | 702 | English public |
| Robert Thirsk High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary · Grades 10–12 | Secondary · Grades 10–12 | 1,437 | English public |
| École du Nouveau-Monde FrenchTeaches in FrenchElementary · Grades K–6 | Elementary · Grades K–6 | 331 | French public |
| Renert School IndependentResults in the top fifth in AlbertaAll grades · Grades K–12 | All grades · Grades K–12 | 618 | Independent |
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| Schools within 3 km | Arbour Lake | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025/26
Measured against local pay, Arbour Lake costs more to live in than 83% of Canadian towns
The owner-occupied share of households is 86%. The median home value was $500,000, higher than both Alberta’s towns ($400,000) and Canadian towns ($406,000).
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Arbour Lake | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 86% | 74% | 74% |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 17% | 21% | 18% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $500,000 | $400,000 | $406,000 |
| Rent as a share of income | 21% | 20% | 20% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · The 2021 census asked owners what their home was worth; those values, and 2020 incomes, are what this compares. · Rent as a share of income and monthly rent for a two-bedroom: the Calgary metro area
Hazards in Arbour Lake: wildfire low, radon over the guideline in 8.1% of tested homes
The radon tests numbers here cover the Calgary Health Region
NRCan expects $0.023 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in Arbour Lake, near the typical $0.030. The national flood inventory has no study of the town. Nobody publishes earthquake risk for Arbour Lake alone, so this card uses the figure for the city of Calgary.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Arbour Lake | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 8.1% | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.023 | $0.013 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Arbour Lake is drier than 82% of Canadian towns: 445 mm of rain and snow a year
Rain and snow peak in June, at 113 mm. The warmest stretch brings July afternoons of 23.5°C, close to Alberta’s towns (23.5°C) and below Canadian towns (25.5°C). Frost usually lifts by 21 May and returns around 18 September: 119 days without it. Snow peaks in March: 24 cm in a normal year.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Arbour Lake | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precipitation a year | 445 mm | 431 mm | 883 mm |
| July afternoon high | 23.5°C | 23.5°C | 25.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 193 | 193 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Calgary (Airport))
More of Arbour Lake belongs to a visible minority than Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: 41%
People 65 and over make up 20% of the town. First Nations, Métis and Inuit people make up 1.7% of residents, below both Alberta’s towns (4.6%) and Canadian towns (2.8%). Children under 15 count for 14% of the people here.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
51.3% of Arbour Lake’s residents are women
By the 2021 count the town had 5,375 women and 5,095 men, while Canada has 50.9% women.
| Arbour Lake | Alberta | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 66% | 67% | 64% |
| 65+ | 20% | 15% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 11% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 66% | 54% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Alberta and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
In Arbour Lake, November normally means 4°C afternoons and −8°C nights
Hour-by-hour figures come from ECCC’s Calgary (Olympic Park) forecast, on the Weather page. Snow is normal by November, about 19 cm over the month. Into December, the normals move to freezing and −12°C. Expect about 16 mm of rain and snow over November.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −1°C | −12°C | 34 mm |
| Spring | 10°C | −2°C | 108 mm |
| Summer | 22°C | 9°C | 232 mm |
| Autumn | 11°C | −1°C | 71 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Calgary (Airport)); the forecast is on the Weather page
Arbour Lake sends Pat Kelly (Conservative Party of Canada) to the Commons from Calgary Crowfoot
33 of the 37 MPs from Alberta belong to the Conservative Party of Canada.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Calgary Public Library lends 12.7 items per person served, more than 82% of Alberta’s town libraries
Calgary Public Library serves the whole of Calgary, so the library figures on this page are the city’s: 1,285,711 people, Arbour Lake among them.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
For safety, Arbour Lake gets a B−
Shared with the rest of the Calgary service area: Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000
The index for the force that serves it came to 67, below Alberta’s towns (110) and close to Canadian towns (67). Violent crime in the area its police cover: 10.6 per 1,000 people a year. Across its police area, there are 31.9 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Arbour Lake | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Severity Index | 67 | 110 | 67 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 79 | 109 | 86 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 31.9 | 45 | 31.2 |
| Violent crime | 10.6 | 14.2 | 12 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Households in Arbour Lake earn more than those in 93% of Canadian towns
84% of commuters drove to work at the census. The average trip to work took 27 min, in line with Alberta’s towns (26 min) and Canadian towns (26 min).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Arbour Lake | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car or van | 84% | 88% | 89% |
| Average trip | 27 min | 26 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · The 2021 census was taken in May 2021, during COVID-19 restrictions: more people than usual worked from home or were off work.
The nearest provincial park, Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, is 5.1 km from Arbour Lake
The closest of Canada’s national parks is Banff National Park, at 66 km. Of the country within 10 km, 1.2% lies in protected areas; the median Canadian town has 2.3%. 2 beaches are mapped within 5 km, the nearest Bowmont Beach.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Arbour Lake | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 1.2% | 0.4% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Arbour Lake
Butterfield Acres and 13 more within 40 km
2 places to visit are mapped within 5 km of Arbour Lake; with them, the best known within 40 km.
MuseumGlenbow Museum14 km southeast · 149K visitors a year (2019)
AttractionCalgary Tower14 km southeast
ZooCalgary Zoo15 km southeast
MuseumTelus Spark Science Centre15 km southeast · 380K visitors a year
CathedralSt. Mary's Cathedral14 km southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (5)
- Glenbow Museum: Darthrussel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Calgary Tower: Qyd, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Calgary Zoo: Qyd, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Telus Spark Science Centre: CharlesAPhillips63, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St. Mary's Cathedral: Dr Haggis at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
About Arbour Lake
Neighbourhood in Calgary
Arbour Lake is a neighbourhood of Calgary, built by TownRatings from Statistics Canada’s smallest census areas and named from the city’s map or OpenStreetMap.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 10,454 (people, 2021 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Alberta
- City
- Calgary
- Census subdivision
- 4806016
Arbour Lake’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbour Lake | 10,454 | — | A− | C− | B− | A+ |
| Citadel | 10,196 | 1.9 | A− | C+ | B− | A+ |
| Royal Oak | 12,343 | 1.9 | A− | C | B− | A+ |
| Scenic Acres | 8,026 | 2 | A | B− | B− | A |
| Ranchlands | 7,376 | 2.2 | B+ | D | B− | A+ |
| Hawkwood | 9,188 | 2.3 | A− | C | B− | A+ |
| Silver Springs | 9,042 | 3.3 | A− | C− | B− | A |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
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).