In South Calgary, 9.3% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 94% of Canadian towns
Against a figure of 64% across Canada’s towns, the share of households in single-detached houses in South Calgary comes in at 24%. Census day 2021: 4,412 residents and 2,280 households locally. Here, 53% of residents said they have no religion. Compared with other places, residents without Canadian citizenship are common here: 9.9%, more than in two thirds of Canadian towns.
What stands out about the people of South Calgary
A neighbourhood people move to
27% of residents lived at another address a year before the census, 2.5 times the typical share; 59% moved within five years. Immigrants & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Line South Calgary’s residents up by age and the one in the middle is 36; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 12% are under 15 and 9.3% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Many people living alone
One-person households make up 41%, more than in 90% of Canadian towns, and 9.3% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Many graduates
55% of residents aged 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 90% of Canadian towns; 11% have a master’s. Qualifications ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Half of South Calgary is under 36, younger than 87% of Canadian towns
Figures are from the 2021 Census unless dated otherwise. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with 14% of residents, 2.2 times the share across Canada’s towns. Across South Calgary, 12% of residents are under 15.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ South Calgary, 36. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
More one-person households than 90% of Canadian towns: 41%
Household types, then household sizes.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Shared houses stand out: 8.4% of households are unrelated adults living together, more than in 93% of Canadian towns. As a yardstick, 27% of households are one person living alone across Canada’s towns. There are 1.9 people in the average household. 5.7% of households are one-parent families, against 8.2% across Canada’s towns.
Common-law partners make up 20% in South Calgary, more than in 84% of Canadian towns
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
35% of adults have never married and don’t live common-law (typical: 27%). Measured more widely, 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
A larger share of renter households than 85% of Canadian towns: 49%
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. 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
47% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 17% built before 1961. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. The benchmark for renter households across Canada’s towns: 25%.
Before tax, the median household income is $97,300 a year
Census incomes are for 2020, the year before the census, when CERB and other pandemic benefits topped up many households. Income per household, before tax, with the groups it falls into.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; South Calgary’s, at $97,300, is 13% higher. $92,200 is the median household income across Alberta’s towns. Pandemic benefits reached 31% of residents with an income, against a typical 28%.
South Calgary sits above 98% of Canadian towns for residents who moved in within the year (27%)
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
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
37% of immigrants arrived from 2011 to 2021 (typical: 27%), and non-permanent residents make up a further 2.5% of residents. Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across Canada’s towns. The largest groups of immigrants were born in Europe (32%) and in Asia (31%).
South Calgary sits above 66% of Canadian towns for Indigenous residents (4.4%)
Visible minority and Indigenous identity, then religion.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Here just over a fifth of residents belong to a visible minority, where the figure across Canada’s towns is 15%. Indigenous residents make up 2.8% across Canada’s towns.
South Calgary: 13% of residents speak English and French, above 67% of Canadian towns
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
At home, 6% mostly speak another language; 0.3% speak neither English nor French. Across Canada’s towns, the share of bilingual residents is 7.5%. South Calgary has more residents whose mother tongue is French than just over three fifths of Canadian towns, at 2%.
In South Calgary, 55% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than in 90% of Canadian towns
Highest certificate, diploma or degree of residents aged 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
No diploma or degree: 2.9% here, 9.5% in the typical town. The usual figure: 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
67% of residents 15 and over were in work
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 67%, more residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Among 41 towns of 4,326 to 4,501 people, the 6th youngest
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Highlands East is the oldest at 58.8, Glenridding Heights the youngest at 31.9. High Level (34.8), Pollard Meadows (35.9), De Salaberry (36.8) and White City (36.8): the towns nearest South Calgary in median age.
Around South Calgary, 4 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The closest towns, coloured by how old their residents are.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Calgary | 4,412 | — | 36 | 9.3% | 19% |
| Richmond | 4,811 | 0.7 km | 36.6 | 11% | 21% |
| Bankview | 5,610 | 0.7 km | 34.2 | 7.7% | 24% |
| Altadore | 7,675 | 1.2 km | 37 | 8.5% | 15% |
| Sunalta | 4,151 | 1.3 km | 34.8 | 7.5% | 28% |
| Upper Mount Royal | 2,758 | 1.4 km | 45.9 | 20% | 15% |
| Garrison Woods | 3,138 | 1.4 km | 44 | 20% | 16% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
- Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, and over all Canadian towns of that size (whole cities and First Nations reserves left out). Percentiles are within Canada only.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Built up from dissemination areas: Statistics Canada stops at the municipality. Rounded counts are added together and medians estimated from the published groups. The 2016 areas don’t line up with these, so the change since 2016 isn’t shown.
- What these tables don’t give. For origins the charts stop at visible minority and Indigenous identity, and the Census Profile has nothing on unpaid care, cars or the internet, or on change by age since 2016.
Questions about South Calgary’s residents
What is the population of South Calgary?
The 2021 Census counted 4,412 people in South Calgary.
What is the average age in South Calgary?
The median age is 36, younger than 87% of Canadian towns. 12% are under 15 and 9.3% 65 or older.
Is South Calgary bilingual?
Across Canada’s towns a typical 7.5% are bilingual; here 13% are. Another 0% speak only French and 86% only English, and French is the first language of 2%.
How diverse is South Calgary?
Immigrants: 19% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 21%. Indigenous identity: 4.4%.
What religion are people in South Calgary?
53% said they have no religion and 41% that they are Christian; 5.4% named another faith.
Is South Calgary good for families?
12% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 42% of households and one-parent families 5.7%. Schools near South Calgary are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in South Calgary?
Half of South Calgary’s households had more than $97,300 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. 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).