Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Airdrie have higher incomes than those in 93% of Canadian towns
11% of the labour force in Airdrie was out of work at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. The census counted 13,940 people working in Airdrie and 22,340 residents commuting to a fixed workplace. At the 2021 census, 75% of Airdrie’s 15-to-64s were in work, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
The work numbers behind Airdrie
Work near the middle
75% of people aged 15 to 64 had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; counting everyone 15 and over, retirees included, it was 66%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household had $110,100 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Airdrie earns B for jobs and income
Better than 64% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #156 of 474 in Alberta.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, trip times.
Graded against Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more; less unemployment and a shorter commute count in its favour.
How the grade works
Census 2021 measures, weighed equally against every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 people or more: the share of residents aged 15 to 64 in work, median household income (2020), the unemployment rate and the average commute. Each becomes a percentile; their average sets the letter.
Before tax, the median household in Airdrie had $110,100
Set beside Alberta’s towns, where the median is $92,250, Airdrie sits 19% above. Of the 166 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 6, 63 have a higher median. Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Airdrie is quieter on a working day than at night
It sends out some 3 workers for every one it takes in. 39% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
61% of Airdrie’s residents in work leave it to work; Calgary takes the most
- Calgary3,595
- Rocky View County390
- Crossfield240
- Carstairs165
- Cochrane130
- Mountain View County110
- Chestermere95
- Beiseker70
- Irricana50
- Didsbury40
- Calgary10,260
- Rocky View County1,650
- Fort McMurray265
- Crossfield230
- Cochrane155
- Olds115
- Didsbury90
- Carstairs65
- Innisfail60
- Drumheller55
In the other direction the biggest source is Calgary, with 3,595.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
In and out of work in Airdrie
Of the 166 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 6, 110 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting those looking for work too, 74% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 67% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: people in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64, and the census unemployment rate (15 and over); the 25-to-54 rate is Statistics Canada’s own (98-10-0485). The Labour Force Survey and business counts are context, not grade inputs.
Walking, cycling or transit: 4.5% of Airdrie’s commuters
21% worked at home on census day, about the same as in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 1.3%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. Nearly everyone drives: 92% of commuters go by car, truck or van.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
A commute like the middle of Canadian towns: 27.2 minutes from Airdrie
Timed exactly, the average is 25 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Alberta’s towns averages 25.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 29%, fewer than the 39% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. An hour or more: 4.9% of commuters, under the 7% in the middle of Alberta’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting duration in five bands; our average uses each band’s middle (75 minutes for an hour or more), so it runs about two minutes above Statistics Canada’s own.
35% more people are on EI in Census Division No. 6 than in 2019
Airdrie doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from Census Division No. 6.
January 2021 was the busiest month, with 97,600 people on EI, 3.2 times 2019’s average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4 are on EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 1%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
On getting around on foot, Airdrie grades B+
Better than 70% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #335 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Airdrie is 11th of 47 Canadian towns of 64,800 to 124,900 people for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Albert Alberta | 74,621 | 77% | 9.1% | $118K | A |
| 2 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 97,845 | 79% | 7.3% | $123K | A |
| 3 | Grande Prairie Alberta | 71,160 | 73% | 12% | $103K | A |
| 4 | Strathcona County Alberta | 107,345 | 77% | 9.1% | $124K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 66,624 | 80% | 7.5% | $86K | B+ |
| 10 | Mirabel Quebec | 68,471 | 83% | 5.4% | $90K | B+ |
| 11 | Airdrie Alberta | 92,544 | 75% | 11% | $110K | B |
| 12 | Delta British Columbia | 124,670 | 77% | 7.3% | $108K | B |
| 13 | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Quebec | 100,806 | 80% | 5.8% | $75K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 47 | Chomedey Quebec | 81,813 | 69% | 12% | $66K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Airdrie, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Airdrie and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airdrie | 75% | 11% | $110K | 27.2 min | B | B+ |
| Livingston 10.8 km | 75% | 12% | $118K | 30 min | B | C+ |
| Carrington 11.8 km | 73% | 9.6% | $118K | 30.1 min | B− | B− |
| Coventry Hills 12.7 km | 72% | 13% | $117K | 27.6 min | B− | B+ |
| Redstone 13.3 km | 73% | 11% | $107K | 28.7 min | B− | B+ |
| Country Hills Village 13.5 km | 73% | 12% | $69K | 28.4 min | C− | A+ |
| Evanston 13.7 km | 76% | 9.8% | $124K | 29.2 min | B | A− |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Airdrie, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Household income. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- Trip times. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- Where people commute. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
Questions about work in Airdrie
Where do people in Airdrie work?
39% work in Airdrie itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Calgary (10,260), then Rocky View County (1,650).
How many jobs are there in Airdrie?
About 13,940 people had their usual place of work in Airdrie at the 2021 census, 0.6 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 2,252 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Airdrie?
The 2021 census found 11% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Calgary metro area, is 6.6% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Airdrie?
Before tax, half the households in Airdrie had more than $110,100 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Airdrie get to work?
92% of commuters go by car, 1.3% take public transit, 2.8% walk and 0.4% cycle. On census day 21% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Airdrie?
On average 27.2 minutes; 29% take under 15 minutes and 4.9% take an hour or longer.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, tables 98-10-0458 and 98-10-0459 (commuting) · Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0323 (EI beneficiaries) · Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (14-10-0459, 14-10-0462) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Business Counts (33-10-1176) · grades: TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).