NantonAlberta
2,522 residents make their home in this town in Alberta. Its census division is Division No. 3.
Is Nanton a good place to live?
Nanton does the important things well, at a cost. School results are strong (A). The town’s overall grade, A−, puts it better than four fifths of Canadian towns. Its place in the ranking is #87 of 473 in Alberta. The drawback is cost of living (C). Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for safety and B for hazard risk.
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 is the police detachment's figure, shared with the towns and countryside around it. 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 Nanton grades
Each subject compares Nanton 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 Nanton stand out
The 3 things Nanton does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Nanton.
2 schools serve Nanton, 1 elementary school and 1 secondary school
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| A B Daley Community School Top fifth in AlbertaLargest elementary schoolElementary · Grades K–6 | Elementary · Grades K–6 | 182 | English public |
| J. T. Foster School Fourth fifth in AlbertaLargest secondary schoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | Secondary · Grades 7–12 | 180 | English public |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025/26
A hospital trip from Nanton means 27 km on average, in a straight line
Statistics Canada puts life expectancy at 83.0, above Alberta’s towns (81.2) and Canadian towns (81.5) alike. The region has fewer smokers than Alberta, 7.9% of adults to 11%. Even so, the survey puts the region’s share in very good or excellent health at 56%, ahead of the 53% for Alberta.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Nanton | 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 · Health survey and life expectancy: one figure for all of the Calgary Zone
Half the owned homes in Nanton are worth more than $300,000, half less
Nearly a quarter of households spent 30% or more of their income on shelter, higher than both Alberta’s towns (21%) and Canadian towns (18%). Households that own their home make up 80%.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Nanton | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 23% | 21% | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 80% | 74% | 74% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $300,000 | $400,000 | $406,000 |
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.
Nanton has a larger share of its working-age people in jobs than 96% of Canadian towns
Commutes averaged 27 min, close to both Alberta’s towns (26 min) and Canadian towns (26 min). The car took 88% of commuters, in line with Alberta’s towns (88%) and Canadian towns (89%).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Nanton | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 27 min | 26 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 88% | 88% | 89% |
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.
Wildfire low, radon 8.1%: how Nanton stands on hazards
Seismic risk in Nanton sits near the middle: $0.036 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. Wildfire is rare near Nanton: 0.1% of the land within 25 km has burned since 1986, a burn rate of 0.003% a year. No flood study for Nanton is on the national inventory.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Nanton | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 8.1% | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.036 | $0.013 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory · Data for radon tests covers the Calgary Health Region
Visible minorities make up less of Nanton than of Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: 3.3%
11% of residents came to Canada as immigrants, above both Alberta’s towns (8.9%) and Canadian towns (6.4%).
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
52.1% of Nanton’s residents are women
By the 2021 count the town had 1,130 women and 1,040 men, while Canada has 50.9% women.
| Nanton | Alberta | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 55% | 67% | 64% |
| 65+ | 31% | 15% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 19% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 48% | 54% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Alberta and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
July highs in Nanton: 25.2°C, against 23.5°C in Alberta’s towns and 25.5°C in Canadian towns
Gardeners get 110 frost-free days, from 25 May to 13 September. Counting rain and snow alike, 428 mm falls in a year, close to Alberta’s towns (431 mm) and below Canadian towns (883 mm). June is the wettest month, with 93 mm of rain and snow on average. Snow peaks in March: 22 cm in a normal year.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Nanton | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precipitation a year | 428 mm | 431 mm | 883 mm |
| July afternoon high | 25.2°C | 23.5°C | 25.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 191 | 193 | 159 |
| Snowfall a year | 111 cm | 127 cm | 141 cm |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Claresholm)
Expect November days around 5°C in Nanton, nights around −8°C
Rain and snow over a typical November come to 18 mm. Expect around 16 cm of snow in November. ECCC’s forecast for Stavely is on the Weather page, hour by hour.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 1°C | −13°C | 44 mm |
| Spring | 12°C | −2°C | 123 mm |
| Summer | 24°C | 8°C | 182 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | −2°C | 80 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Claresholm); the forecast is on the Weather page
In 2021, John Barlow carried Foothills by 37,339 votes, a margin wider than 98% of Canada’s ridings
Nanton sends one MP to Ottawa from Foothills, its riding (a federal electoral district, which elects one MP): John Barlow (Conservative Party of Canada).
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Fewer visits per person served than three in four Alberta’s town libraries: Nanton Library counts 2.4
Nanton Library serves 2,181 people from a single building.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Protected land is absent from the 10 km around Nanton
No national park lies within 100 km. Willow Creek Provincial Park is the closest provincial park, at 24 km.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Nanton | 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
Violent crime weighs less where Nanton is policed than in Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: a violent severity index of 46
Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000 for the Nanton detachment area
The index for the force that serves it came to 64, lower than both Alberta’s towns (110) and Canadian towns (67). Violent crime in the area its police cover: 10.8 per 1,000 people a year. Its police area records 29.7 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Nanton | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 46 | 109 | 86 |
| Crime Severity Index | 64 | 110 | 67 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 29.7 | 45 | 31.2 |
| Violent crime | 10.8 | 14.2 | 12 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Everything we know about Nanton
Bomber Command Museum of Canada and 4 more in and around Nanton
The best-known places to visit in and around Nanton come first; the full list is on the Attractions page.
MuseumCanadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centrein townHistoric shipHistoric shipAvro Canada CF-100 Mk 3D Canuckin townHistoric shipHistoric shipCanadair Silver Star Mk 3PTin townMuseumMuseumNanton Lancaster Air Museum (Operated By the Nanton Lancaster Society)in townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (1)
- Canadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centre: Cody Kapcsos, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
About Nanton
Town in Alberta
Nanton is a municipality in Alberta, read by TownRatings as Statistics Canada draws it: one census subdivision, so its figures cover the whole municipality.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 2,522 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Alberta
- Census division
- Division No. 3
- Census subdivision
- 4803026
Questions about Nanton
Who are the people of Nanton?
Visible minorities are 3% of the population, where the middle of Canadian towns is 15%. Immigrants make up 11%, and Indigenous people 6%.
How old are the people of Nanton?
Its median age is 52.8, where Canadian towns sit at 45.2. Under-15s are 14% of residents; over-65s, 31%.
What kind of homes are in Nanton?
Single-detached houses make up 82% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 0% are in high-rise apartments. 29% of households are one person, and the average is 2.2.
Is Nanton growing?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it fell from 2,181 to 2,167 residents (0.6% down; Canadian towns’ median grew 4.1%); Statistics Canada now estimates 2,522.
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).