Most Canadian adults

with aging parents

live in close proximity to their parents’ home. As the parents grow older and need regular help, their adult children often choose to move closer to provide support. This proximity can have a significant impact on the socioeconomic outcomes of adult children, as well as on

labour

and

housing markets

both regionally and nationally.

A recent study published in the journal

Population, Space and Place

, and summarized separately by Statistics Canada, used Canadian tax data to show that more than half of adult children in their fifties lived within 20 kilometres of their parents.

The authors, Samuel MacIsaac, Yuri Ostrovsky and Grant Schellenberg, tracked Canadian teenagers who lived with their parents in the 1980s and assessed how far they had moved from their parents decades later. An even larger proportion of adult children, nearly three out of four, resided in the same or nearby towns within 100 kilometres of their parents.

The tendency to live near aging parents influences labour market outcomes, especially for women. Canadian data indicates that daughters tend to live closer to their mothers than to their fathers. Previous research has also shown that daughters usually reside closer to their

aging parents

, which can influence their career decisions.

Statistics Canada

data provides nuance on how space influences or limits an individual’s socioeconomic mobility. This is becoming more relevant for those whose aging parents live in smaller towns with few employment options, as adult children may need to move closer to their parents to

act as caregivers

, which might impact their careers.

While it is plausible that adult children have already been living near their aging parents or may have relocated when the parents needed more support, it is also possible that parents have moved to be close to their children and grandchildren. These two scenarios have different implications for aging parents and their grown children.

When aging parents move closer to their adult kids, it is less likely to disrupt their children’s careers, which is a preferred outcome for the economy since it allows workers in their

prime earning years

to continue to contribute while fulfilling their family responsibilities. For elderly parents, this may involve renting or owning in a more expensive housing market than the one in which they previously lived. It could also mean ending up far from their long-time friends and familiar places.

Canada’s uneven geography and job distribution had the greatest impact on adult children in the Maritimes, with most living much farther than 20 kilometres away from their aging parents compared to people in Central Canada.

For example, the average distance between aging parents and adult children was 1,530 kilometres for Newfoundlanders and 1,030 kilometres for Nova Scotians. Interestingly, adult residents of Quebec, Canada’s sole Francophone province, lived much closer (approximately 270 kilometres on average) to their elderly parents than did residents of the rest of Canada.

American economists

Raj Chetty and Nathaniel Hendren

previously found that the location of one’s childhood home greatly influences future earnings. According to their study, children who moved from Manhattan to Queens (two of New York City’s five boroughs) during childhood went on to earn more money. Essentially, children born into low-income families saw a 10 per cent increase in their incomes if they moved to a wealthier area early on, rather than stayed in the one they were born in.

The economists also observed that areas with better employment and income outcomes had more expensive housing that may restrict parents’ ability to relocate to high-priced places despite the associated better outcomes for their children in the future.

Canadian data reveals similar trends. Children raised by wealthy parents were less likely to live within 20 kilometres of them decades later than those raised by low-income parents. Having affluent parents can lead to greater spatial and financial mobility for their grown-up children. This also suggests that wealthier parents may be less reliant on their children for caregiving than most.

Canada is home to eight million people aged 65 and older. In 1971, the median age in Canada was 26.2 years. That rose to 40.6 years by 2025, indicating a steady, persistent aging of the population. Where seniors will live and who will be their primary caregiver will have a considerable impact on Canada’s future housing needs.

Most seniors are aging in place, preferring to continue living in the homes and communities where they have long resided. But as baby boomers graduate from young seniors to old seniors, some may require assisted living. Given the large aging cohort, the need for senior-oriented housing will likely increase.

Statistics Canada data suggest that failing to provide sufficient senior housing could shift the caregiving burden to adult children, who may have to adapt or retrofit homes for aging parents. They may also need to relocate or change jobs, which could adversely impact labour markets.

The good news about aging is that it’s predictable. We all become one year older each year. Given this predictability, Canada should be able to plan senior housing needs — and their attendant economic impact — ahead of time.

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Murtaza Haider is the executive director of the Cities Institute at the University of Alberta and the Radhe Krishna Gupta Executive Chair in Cities and Communities at the Alberta School of Business. Stephen Moranis is a real estate industry veteran.