Cranston has higher household incomes than 98% of Canadian towns
At the 2021 census, 76% of Cranston’s 15-to-64s were in work, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. Home was the workplace for 30% of its workers in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. Commutes from Cranston average 27.3 minutes, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns.
The short version on work in Cranston
Work near the middle
76% 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 68%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household had $128,500 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.
Jobs & income in Cranston: graded B+
Better than 70% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #118 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 Cranston had $128,500
That puts Cranston 39% above the median of Alberta’s towns, $92,250. 23 of the 166 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 6 have a higher median. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Work and the working-age population of Cranston
Of the 166 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 6, 121 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 67% of the wider area’s adults in work. Counting those looking for work too, 75% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. 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: 5.7% of Cranston’s commuters
By bus, train or subway: 3.6%, much as in the middle of Canadian towns. 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).
35% more people are on EI in Census Division No. 6 than in 2019
That works out to around 4 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 1%. The highest month was January 2021: 97,600 people, 3.2 times the 2019 level.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for Census Division No. 6, not by town. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Cranston on foot: a A− grade
Better than 78% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #283 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Cranston next to Canadian towns of 14,000 to 27,100: 102nd of 459 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| 3 | Cap-Rouge Quebec | 17,139 | 81% | 4.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Canmore Alberta | 17,341 | 79% | 9.7% | $107K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Lloydminster (Part) Alberta | 21,267 | 75% | 11% | $98K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 35 | Cold Lake Alberta | 17,798 | 75% | 7.8% | $105K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 100 | Convent Glen - Orleans Woods Ontario | 14,118 | 74% | 11% | $110K | B+ |
| 101 | Summerside Alberta | 16,760 | 77% | 9.8% | $128K | B+ |
| 102 | Cranston Alberta | 20,055 | 76% | 9.5% | $129K | B+ |
| 103 | Loretteville Quebec | 15,653 | 81% | 7.3% | $74K | B+ |
| 104 | Esquimalt British Columbia | 19,512 | 78% | 7.9% | $76K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 459 | South Parkdale Ontario | 21,663 | 64% | 17% | $57K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Cranston, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Work next door to Cranston
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranston | 76% | 9.5% | $129K | 27.3 min | B+ | A− |
| Auburn Bay 1.5 km | 77% | 9% | $126K | 26.5 min | A− | A− |
| Mahogany 3.4 km | 79% | 9.1% | $122K | 27.4 min | A− | B− |
| Chaparral 3.5 km | 73% | 12% | $140K | 26.8 min | B | A− |
| Legacy 3.6 km | 80% | 8.9% | $103K | 31.4 min | B+ | C+ |
| McKenzie Towne 3.7 km | 78% | 9.9% | $108K | 25.6 min | A− | A− |
| McKenzie Lake 3.9 km | 74% | 12% | $131K | 24 min | A− | B |
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 Cranston, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- 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’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- 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.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
- Neighbourhood figures. Cranston’s 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 Cranston
How many jobs are there in Cranston?
Jobs are counted by municipality, not neighbourhood: the page for Calgary has the jobs based there and where its commuters go.
What is the unemployment rate in Cranston?
Two figures answer it: 9.5% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6.6% for the Calgary metro area in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Cranston?
At $128,500 before tax in 2020, the median household in Cranston compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Cranston get to work?
92% of commuters go by car, 3.6% take public transit, 1.8% walk and 0.3% cycle. On census day 30% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
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).