Photo: Dwayne Reilander · CC BY-SA 4.0Working-age people in Bowness have jobs less often than in 72% of Canadian towns
The median household in Bowness had $71,000 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. A typical one-way commute from Bowness lasts 27.7 minutes, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. In May 2021, unemployment in Bowness reached 13%; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
Bowness and work: the main findings
Work near the middle
At the 2021 census 70% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 58%. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $71,000 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
The Jobs & income grade for Bowness: C−
Better than 16% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #440 of 474 in Alberta.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
Earnings at home in Bowness: households
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 64% of Canadian towns.
Bowness’ median is 23% below the middle of Alberta’s towns ($92,250). Of the 166 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 6, 150 have a higher median. CERB and the other emergency payments of 2020 are counted in these incomes, which lifted the lower ones that year.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
In Bowness, 70% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 166 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 6, 50 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
A more recent figure, for the wider area: 67% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Working or looking, 67% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. Counting retirees, 58% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at home.
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.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 11% of Bowness’ commuters
By bus, train or subway: 8.1%, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. 84% drive to work, fewer than the 88% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. Working at home: 22% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
EI claims in Census Division No. 6 run 35% above their 2019 level
In January 2021 it reached 97,600, the most in the series and 3.2 times the 2019 average. Roughly 4 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 1%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of Census Division No. 6. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Everyday places on foot in Bowness: A
Better than 93% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #136 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Bowness is 571st of 649 Canadian towns of 8,100 to 15,600
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 2 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 3 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | West Hillhurst Alberta | 10,319 | 78% | 9.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 37 | Lakeview Alberta | 12,799 | 75% | 11% | $125K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 44 | Lake Bonavista Alberta | 11,154 | 76% | 11% | $138K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 569 | Rivière-Gatineau Quebec | 14,875 | 65% | 13% | $63K | C− |
| 570 | Dufferin Grove Ontario | 11,276 | 72% | 14% | $80K | C− |
| 571 | Bowness Alberta | 11,548 | 70% | 13% | $71K | C− |
| 572 | Pineridge Alberta | 10,062 | 63% | 16% | $76K | C− |
| 573 | Pleasant View Ontario | 15,248 | 64% | 17% | $92K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 649 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Bowness, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Bowness
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowness | 70% | 13% | $71K | 27.7 min | C− | A |
| Silver Springs 2.1 km | 72% | 13% | $112K | 24.7 min | B+ | A− |
| Cougar Ridge 2.2 km | 77% | 9.6% | $158K | 28.2 min | B+ | B+ |
| Varsity 2.8 km | 70% | 13% | $91K | 23 min | B | A+ |
| Montgomery 2.8 km | 75% | 12% | $90K | 23.2 min | B+ | A+ |
| Coach Hill 3.2 km | 77% | 11% | $105K | 25.9 min | A− | B+ |
| Dalhousie 3.5 km | 65% | 13% | $89K | 24.4 min | C+ | 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 Bowness, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Trip times. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- 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. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
- Neighbourhood figures. Bowness’ census figures are summed from its dissemination areas. Commuting flows and Statistics Canada’s timed averages are published only for the whole municipality, so they are on Calgary’s page.
Questions about work in Bowness
How do people in Bowness get to work?
By car: 84% of commuters, 8.1% take public transit, 2% walk and 1.2% cycle; on census day 22% of those in work worked from home.
How many jobs are there in Bowness?
The census places jobs by municipality, so the answer is in Calgary’s figures, with the flows of its commuters.
What is the unemployment rate in Bowness?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 13% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Calgary metro area at 6.6% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Bowness?
Bowness’s middle household had $71,000 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · 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).