A changing trend in Canada is showing more people are choosing to live alone while more couples are living without children. In fact, single person households are the most common in Moose Jaw at 34% while the Canadian average is 29%.

A new Census Canada report is focusing on how households and families are made up. Dr Stacey Hallman says most people in Moose Jaw are still living as couples but the change comes when you take a look at children in the home.

"83% of Census families are couples, 17% are lone parents. The majority of couples are married with only 18% of couples living in common law. For those who are in couples, there are more that are living without children at 53% than who are living with children."

Hallman says Moose Jaw's higher average age likely leads to the finding that more couples are living without their children because they've grown up and moved onto their own households.

One theory behind the single person household statistic is again attributed to the higher than average age of local residents, suggesting more single or widowed retired women are still living at home than ever before. Add to that the fact that younger women are more comfortable living alone than ever before.