The latest census figures show Delta continues to grey faster than other areas of Canada.

Stats Canada recently released population numbers broken down by age group and gender.

Delta's senior contingent is above the national average, and getting older.

According to Stats Canada, the percentage of Delta's population 65 and over stood at 15.5 per cent in 2011, compared to the national average of 14.8 per cent.

The 65-and-over category in Delta increased by 21.9 per cent from the census five years earlier, well above the 14.1 per cent rise nationally.

Delta's overall population stood at 99,865 in 2011, a 3,235 increase from 2006.

The median age in Delta in 2011 was 42.8, almost two years older than the last census.

Mayor Lois Jackson, first elected to council in the early 1970s and now a senior herself, said the aging trend isn't a surprise.

She said questions need to be answered on how and who will assist the growing number of seniors struggling with health and financial issues, those with no family or those that can't afford to stay in their homes.

Delta Hospital Foundation says the hospital has begun to add services to meet the challenges of chronic diseases of the elderly, including starting a memory clinic.

The hospital also has a pilot project, Palliative Dementia Education, to increase the skill of staff to meet the needs of people living and dying with dementia.

sgyarmati@delta-optimist.com