Powell River residents once again find themselves ahead of a curve, with census figures showing the senior population is larger proportionally than provincial and national averages.
Newly released 2011 census numbers for age and gender put the median age of Powell River Regional District at 50.6. That compares to 41.9 in BC and 40.6 nationally.
Seniors, defined as people 65 or older, make up about 22 per cent of Powell River’s population, with 4,460 people. The number of people 85 years and over increased 18 per cent, from 440 in 2006 to 520 in 2011, the largest increase of any of the age groups.
The share of seniors among the Canadian population was 14.8 per cent in 2011, up from 13.7 per cent in 2006. The number of Canadians who are seniors is close to five million.
BC’s share of seniors was 15.7 per cent. BC has seven of the 10 municipalities in Canada with the highest population of seniors. Qualicum Beach is still the hotspot for people 65 and older, with nearly one out of every two people (47.2 per cent) being seniors living in the Vancouver Island community, the highest share of all municipalities across Canada. Parksville, at 37.1 per cent, and Sidney, at 36.2 per cent, followed close behind. Creston, Nanaimo and White Rock also made the top 10.
The shift toward an older population comes as the boomer generation in the regional district moves along the demographic grid. According to 2006 census numbers, the median age in the area was 47.5, while the most populous age bracket was 50 to 54 years. In 2011, the most people were in the 55 to 59 years bracket.
The population of children aged four and under increased 3.1 per cent between 2006 and 2011. Nationally, the population of children in this age bracket increased 11 per cent in the same time frame, the highest growth rate for this age group since the 1956 to 1961 period, during the baby boom.
Children aged 14 and under make up just 13 per cent of the population in the regional district, with 2,635 in the area.
The number of children five to 19 years old decreased by almost 14 per cent between 2006 to 2011. However, the age group between 20 to 29 increased by about the same percentage.
Powell River has 64.3 per cent of its population in the working age group, 15 to 65.
While females tend to outnumber males in Powell River in all age groups, there are a few exceptions. There are more boys than girls in the under four-years-old bracket and more men than women in the 10 to 19, 20 to 24 and 60 to 74 age groups.
