A system data analyst for the Rural Ontario Institute says recent statistics show a slight difference in the ages of people living in rural communities and urban centres.
Danielle Letang says the median age for people living in rural communities is 47 compared to 44 in urban centres. She says there are number of factors that play into that. Newcomers to Canada tend to go to urban centres, younger people tend to prefer living in the city and so it's not surprising that urban populations tend to be younger.
“One of the most obvious implications of an older rural population is the demand on health care services," said Letang. "So if people are older in rural areas, it's likely that they would require additional health care services. But those services might not be as readily available in a rural area.”
Letang says there are thing rural communities can do to keep their senior residents healthier longer. Things like making sure their community is walkable so people aren't always dependent on their cars to get around.
“We do note a bit of a young population in urban areas, so it would be interesting for rural areas to design more programs that would encourage youth to stay in a rural area and participate in that local labour force, as opposed to moving to an urban area,” Letang said.