Among Canadian census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in the 2021 Census, median age ranged from 36.8 in Saskatoon, the lowest, to 46.4 in Trois-Rivières, the highest, a gap of 9.6 years. Comparing these figures shows where populations skew younger or older, which affects demand for schools, housing and health services. Median age is only one indicator, so it is most useful alongside the share of residents aged 65 and over and the trend over time.
Why compare median age across Canadian cities?
What median age measures
Median age is the age that splits a population into two equal halves: half the residents are younger, and half are older. A higher median means the city’s population is older overall. Because it is a midpoint, it does not show how residents are spread across age groups. Two cities can share the same median while having very different shares of children or seniors.
Median age versus the 65+ share
The two indicators answer different questions. In 2021, the share of residents aged 65 and over was highest in the Trois-Rivières CMA (25.7%) and lowest in Calgary (13.5%), against a national figure of 19.0%, according to Statistics Canada (2022-04-27). At the provincial level, Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest 65+ share (23.6%) and Alberta the lowest (14.8%), according to the same release.
2021 median ages in Alberta cities
Local press citing Statistics Canada (2022-04-28) reported the following 2021 Census medians for Alberta cities:
| City | Median age (2021) |
|---|---|
| Medicine Hat | 43.2 |
| Red Deer | 38.8 |
| Calgary | 38.0 |
| Lethbridge | 37.2 |
| Edmonton | 36.8 |
| Grande Prairie | 34.0 |
The Alberta median was 38.4 in the same census.
Tracking change over time
Medians move over time, so a single census year gives only a snapshot. Medicine Hat’s median rose from 40.5 in 2016 to 43.2 in 2021, an increase of 2.7 years over one five-year period, according to the same local press report. Wikipedia’s summary of the 2021 Census, a secondary source the page itself flags as needing citations, should be checked against Statistics Canada tables before it is quoted.
Median age: definition and data source
The median age is the age at which half of a population is younger and half is older. Unlike an average, it is not pulled up or down by a small number of very old or very young residents, which makes it a more stable basis for comparing cities. A city with a median of 36.8 has as many residents under 36.8 as over it.
Check where each figure comes from. Statistics Canada publishes census-based age data, and most secondary sources build on its 2021 Census results. Its release of 2022-04-27 reported the share of residents aged 65 and over, a related but different indicator: it counts people past a set age threshold rather than locating the midpoint of the age distribution. The Medicine Hat News (2022-04-28) relays Statistics Canada city-level medians. Wikipedia compiles the same type of figures for census metropolitan areas (CMAs), but it is a secondary source flagged as needing citations, so verify any value against the original census tables before publishing.
Two terms need to stay distinct. Median age describes the midpoint of a population. A census metropolitan area groups a core city with surrounding municipalities, so its median can differ from the median of the city proper.
2021 median age, Alberta cities (Medicine Hat News, citing Statistics Canada, 2022-04-28):
| City | Median age (2021) |
|---|---|
| Medicine Hat | 43.2 |
| Red Deer | 38.8 |
| Calgary | 38.0 |
| Lethbridge | 37.2 |
| Edmonton | 36.8 |
| Grande Prairie | 34.0 |
The Alberta provincial median was 38.4. Across all CMAs in the 2021 Census, Saskatoon had the lowest median (36.8) and Trois-Rivières the highest (46.4), according to Wikipedia. The sources consulted give a 2016 comparison only for Medicine Hat, whose median rose from 40.5.
Youngest census metropolitan area and Alberta’s youngest cities
Among Canadian census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in the 2021 Census, Saskatoon had the lowest median age at 36.8, and Trois-Rivières had the highest at 46.4, according to Wikipedia’s summary of the 2021 Census. Because Wikipedia is a secondary source, check these two figures against the Statistics Canada census profile before citing them.
For Alberta cities, Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census figures, as reported by the Medicine Hat News on 2022-04-28, show a clear spread:
| City | Median age (2021 Census) |
|---|---|
| Grande Prairie | 34.0 |
| Edmonton | 36.8 |
| Lethbridge | 37.2 |
| Calgary | 38.0 |
| Red Deer | 38.8 |
| Medicine Hat | 43.2 |
The Alberta provincial median was 38.4. Medicine Hat is the oldest city in the group. Its median rose from 40.5 in 2016 to 43.2 in 2021, a gain of 2.7 years over five years (a calculation from these two figures).
Median age is one measure. Statistics Canada’s 2022-04-27 release gives a different one: the 65+ share of the population. In 2021, Trois-Rivières had the highest 65+ share among CMAs at 25.7%, and Calgary had the lowest at 13.5%, against a national figure of 19.0%. Calgary has the lowest 65+ share among CMAs (13.5%), but its median age of 38.0 is not the lowest in the Alberta city table, where Grande Prairie (34.0) and Edmonton (36.8) are younger. The sources give no 65+ share for those cities, so the two measures cannot be compared directly. The two measures answer different questions, so a city can rank differently on each.
Which Canadian cities have the oldest populations?
The median age is the age that splits a city’s population in half. In the 2021 Census, Saskatoon had the lowest median age of Canada’s census metropolitan areas (CMAs) at 36.8, and Trois-Rivières had the highest at 46.4, a gap of 9.6 years. These figures come from Wikipedia’s compilation of census data, a secondary source that is flagged as needing citations, so check them against Statistics Canada tables before reusing them.
Statistics Canada (2022) reports a different measure, the 65+ share (the percentage of residents aged 65 and over). In 2021 it was highest in the Trois-Rivières CMA at 25.7% and lowest in Calgary at 13.5%, against a national figure of 19.0%. At the provincial level, Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest share at 23.6%, and Alberta had the lowest at 14.8%.
Median ages for Alberta cities, from the 2021 Census as reported by the Medicine Hat News (2022), citing Statistics Canada:
| City | Median age (2021) |
|---|---|
| Medicine Hat | 43.2 |
| Red Deer | 38.8 |
| Calgary | 38.0 |
| Lethbridge | 37.2 |
| Edmonton | 36.8 |
| Grande Prairie | 34.0 |
The Alberta median was 38.4. Medicine Hat is the oldest city in the table, 4.8 years above that median, and its median rose from 40.5 in 2016 to 43.2 in 2021. Grande Prairie is the youngest, 4.4 years below the provincial figure. Calgary (-0.4), Lethbridge (-1.2) and Edmonton (-1.6) sit below the median.
Provincial differences: share of residents aged 65 and over
Median age varies widely across Canada’s census metropolitan areas (CMAs), and the spread between the youngest and oldest is larger than provincial averages alone suggest. In the 2021 Census, Saskatoon had the lowest median age among CMAs at 36.8, and Trois-Rivières had the highest at 46.4, a gap of 9.6 years. A Wikipedia summary of these figures is flagged as needing citations, so verify them against Statistics Canada tables before reuse.
At the provincial level, the 65+ share shows a similar divide. According to Statistics Canada (2022-04-27), 19.0% of Canadians were aged 65 or older in 2021. Newfoundland and Labrador was the oldest province at 23.6%, and Alberta the youngest at 14.8%. Among CMAs, Trois-Rivières had the highest 65+ share at 25.7%, and Calgary the lowest at 13.5%.
Alberta is a useful case for comparing cities within one province. Citing Statistics Canada, the Medicine Hat News (2022-04-28) reported the 2021 median ages below. The Alberta median was 38.4.
| City | 2021 median age |
|---|---|
| Medicine Hat | 43.2 |
| Red Deer | 38.8 |
| Calgary | 38.0 |
| Lethbridge | 37.2 |
| Edmonton | 36.8 |
| Grande Prairie | 34.0 |
Median age and 65+ share do not rank places identically. Calgary has the lowest 65+ share among CMAs, yet its median of 38.0 sits just below the Alberta median rather than at the bottom of the Alberta city list. Medicine Hat’s median rose from 40.5 in 2016 to 43.2 in 2021, an increase of 2.7 years over five years.
How to read median age alongside the 65+ share when comparing cities
Median age is the age that divides a city’s population into two equal halves. On its own, it shows little about which services a place needs or how its housing will be used. Paired with the share of residents aged 65 and over, it gives a clearer view of demand. In the 2021 Census, the gap between the youngest and oldest census metropolitan areas (CMAs) was wide. A secondary Wikipedia compilation of census data (2021) lists Saskatoon with the lowest median age at 36.8 and Trois-Rivières with the highest at 46.4.
Statistics Canada (April 2022) reports that the 65-and-over share in 2021 was 25.7% in Trois-Rivières and 13.5% in Calgary, against a national figure of 19.0%. Newfoundland and Labrador was the oldest province on this measure at 23.6%, and Alberta the youngest at 14.8%.
Within Alberta, the 2021 Census medians vary by city:
| City | Median age (2021) |
|---|---|
| Medicine Hat | 43.2 |
| Red Deer | 38.8 |
| Calgary | 38.0 |
| Lethbridge | 37.2 |
| Edmonton | 36.8 |
| Grande Prairie | 34.0 |
The Alberta median was 38.4 (Medicine Hat News, citing Statistics Canada, April 2022). Medicine Hat’s median had risen from 40.5 in 2016, a shift of 2.7 years over five years.
How to use median age in a city comparison
- Use the same census year for every city. Medians from different years are not comparable.
- Check the 65-and-over share next to the median. A high median driven by a large senior population points to different service needs than one driven by a small share of young adults.
- Compare the change over time, not only the level. A rising median, as in Medicine Hat, suggests an ageing population whose housing and health needs are shifting.
- Match the age profile against service data, such as clinics, transit routes, and housing types, for the same geography.
How to compare your city with Statistics Canada data
Comparing cities by age starts with one indicator, the median age, and one consistent geography. In the 2021 Census, median ages among census metropolitan areas (CMAs) ranged from 36.8 in Saskatoon to 46.4 in Trois-Rivières, according to Wikipedia (2021). Wikipedia is a secondary source whose figures are flagged as needing citations, so confirm these values against the Statistics Canada census profile before reusing them.
Follow these steps before drawing conclusions:
- Choose the geography first. A CMA, a municipality (census subdivision) and a province are different units. Comparing a CMA with a single municipality inside another CMA produces a misleading gap.
- Use the same census year for every city. Medicine Hat’s median rose from 40.5 in 2016 to 43.2 in 2021, so mixing years would overstate or understate differences.
- Add a second indicator. The median hides how the population is spread across ages. The share of people aged 65+ was 19.0% nationally in 2021, ranging from 13.5% in Calgary to 25.7% in Trois-Rivières, according to Statistics Canada (2022-04-27).
- Benchmark against the provincial figure. The Alberta median was 38.4 in 2021, which lets you classify each city as above or below the provincial level.
The Alberta cities below illustrate the last step. The gap column is calculated against the Alberta median.
| City (2021 Census) | Median age | Gap vs. Alberta (38.4) |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine Hat | 43.2 | +4.8 |
| Red Deer | 38.8 | +0.4 |
| Calgary | 38.0 | -0.4 |
| Lethbridge | 37.2 | -1.2 |
| Edmonton | 36.8 | -1.6 |
| Grande Prairie | 34.0 | -4.4 |
Source: Medicine Hat News (2022-04-28), citing Statistics Canada.
Frequently asked questions
Which Canadian city has the highest median age?
Among census metropolitan areas in the 2021 Census, Trois-Rivières had the highest median age at 46.4, according to Wikipedia’s compilation of Census data. Saskatoon had the lowest at 36.8, so the gap between the two was 9.6 years.
Does a city’s median age show how many seniors live there?
Not on its own, because the median only marks the midpoint of the age distribution. Statistics Canada (2022-04-27) reported that the 65+ share in 2021 was 25.7% in the Trois-Rivières CMA and 13.5% in Calgary, against 19.0% nationally. Checking both figures gives a clearer picture of senior population than either one alone.
Can I compare median ages across Alberta cities directly?
Medicine Hat News (2022-04-28), citing Statistics Canada, reported Alberta medians of 43.2 for Medicine Hat and 36.8 for Edmonton, against a provincial median of 38.4. The official sources consulted do not specify whether these are municipal or CMA figures, so check the geography before comparing them with CMA rankings. Medicine Hat’s median also rose from 40.5 in 2016 to 43.2 in 2021.
