Bearspaw is older than 81% of Canadian towns: a median age of 48.2
Against a figure of 11% across Canada’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year in Bearspaw comes in at 8.1%. The neighbourhood had 5,192 residents in 2,145 households at the 2021 Census. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 27%. On renter households, Bearspaw sits lower than nearly three quarters of Canadian towns: 15%.
14% of residents are under 15, fewer than in 70% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
The largest age band is 60–64: nearly one in ten residents. Lower than in just over three fifths of Canadian towns: 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Bearspaw, 48.2. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Smaller households than 57% of Canadian towns: 2.4 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Alberta’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Across Canada’s towns, the share of one-parent families is 8.2%; Bearspaw has 7%. The share of one-person households stands at 27%.
Bearspaw ranks below 84% of Canadian towns on common-law partners: 6.3%
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Married residents 15 and over: 55%, above nearly four fifths of Canadian towns. The share of common-law partners across Canada’s towns is 11%.
Below 56% of Canadian towns: 60% of households live in a single-detached house
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
Households in buildings of five or more storeys are rarer here than in 74% of Canadian towns. By way of comparison, 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. Newer homes outnumber old: 3.2% date from 2001 or later, 0.5% from before 1961.
The median household brings in $99,500 a year
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run high in Bearspaw: half had more than $99,500, 16% above the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Across Alberta’s towns, half of households had more than $92,200 before tax. Emergency and recovery benefits reached 25% of those with an income, beside a typical 28%.
More immigrants than 75% of Canadian towns: 32%
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 40%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Most immigrants were born in Asia (58%) or in Europe (23%). On residents without Canadian citizenship, Bearspaw sits higher than just over two thirds of Canadian towns: 10%. The share of immigrants across Canada’s towns is 17%. Of the immigrants living here, 29% came between 2011 and 2021; across Canada’s towns the share is 27%.
Visible minority residents: 32%, a higher share than 70% of Canadian towns
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (4.9%). Higher than in 66% of Canadian towns: 40% of residents said they have no religion. The comparison figure for visible minority residents is 15% across Canada’s towns. Nothing unusual on Indigenous residents: 2.6%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
65% have English as their mother tongue; 6.7% also speak French
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, 16% mostly speak another language; 2.2% speak neither English nor French. Little separates the share of residents whose mother tongue is French here, 1.4%, from the figure across Canada’s towns.
Above 79% of Canadian towns: 45% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the bottom of the ladder, 3.7% hold no certificate of any kind, against 9.5% in the typical town. Across the comparison, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 52% 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. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
With 27% of residents 65 or over, the employment rate of 52% sits under the typical 58% across Canada’s towns.
Oldest by rank: 9th of 41 towns of 5,108 to 5,277 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Oliver is the oldest at 58, Rundle Heights the youngest at 32.9. By median age, Bearspaw sits among Grand Bay-Westfield (45.2), Ogilvie Ridge (45.3), Centre Hastings (49.2) and Marystown (50.8).
No nearby town is as old as Bearspaw
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bearspaw | 5,192 | — | 48.2 | 27% | 32% |
| Skyrattler | 2,956 | 1.6 km | 42.3 | 20% | 33% |
| Ermineskin | 7,483 | 1.7 km | 41.4 | 24% | 36% |
| Twin Brooks | 5,102 | 2.1 km | 46.7 | 19% | 34% |
| MacEwan | 6,102 | 2.4 km | 36.9 | 12% | 38% |
| Blue Quill | 4,567 | 2.4 km | 33.5 | 11% | 38% |
| Cavanagh | 7,300 | 2.5 km | 38.5 | 15% | 41% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada reports the census by municipality; a neighbourhood’s figures are the sum of its dissemination areas, rounded counts and all, with medians estimated from age and income groups and no 2016 count, as the 2016 areas don’t fit.
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
- 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. Two medians frame each figure: one for Alberta’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, one for all Canadian towns of that size, with whole cities and First Nations reserves left out. Percentiles rank the town within Canada.
Questions about Bearspaw’s residents
What is the average age in Bearspaw?
A median age of 48.2, older than 81% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 14%, and people 65 and over 27%.
Is Bearspaw bilingual?
6.7% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 91% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.4%.
How diverse is Bearspaw?
32% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 32% belong to a visible minority and 2.6% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Bearspaw?
51% are Christian and 40% have no religion; 9% follow another religion.
Is Bearspaw good for families?
Under 15: 14% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 57% of households. One-parent families: 7%. Schools near Bearspaw are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Bearspaw?
The median household in Bearspaw took in $99,500 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Bearspaw?
The 2021 Census counted 5,192 people in Bearspaw.
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).