Evidence suggests that individual socioeconomic status is a better predictor of preterm birth (PTB) than other individual social characteristics, but it is not clear if socioeconomic (material) area context is likewise more strongly related to PTB than social area characteristics. We compared material and social area deprivation to determine which was more strongly associated with PTB. Live singleton births from Québec, Canada were obtained for 1999-2006 (N = 581,898). PTB was defined as