Working-age people in Forest Heights are less likely to have a job than in 90% of Canadian towns
A typical one-way commute from Forest Heights lasts 28.3 minutes, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. The median household in Forest Heights had $81,500 before tax in 2020, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. When the 2021 census was taken, 16% of people in Forest Heights who wanted a job had none; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
What the numbers say about work in Forest Heights
Fewer people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 63% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 53%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 16% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 6.6%. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Forest Heights earns C− for jobs and income
Better than 18% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #432 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.
63% of working-age people in Forest Heights have jobs
Of the 166 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 6, 6 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 67% in October 2026. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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.
Earnings at home in Forest Heights: households
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 60% of Canadian towns.
Of the 166 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 6, 131 have a higher median. The middle of Alberta’s towns is $92,250, and Forest Heights is 12% below it. In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Walking, cycling or transit: 15% of Forest Heights’ commuters
Fewer drive than in the middle of Alberta’s towns: 83% against 88%. Home was the workplace for 7.1%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. The middle of Alberta’s towns has 5.7% on transit; here it is 14%.
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
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 1%. The highest month was January 2021: 97,600 people, 3.2 times the 2019 level. That works out to around 4 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: 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).
Forest Heights on foot: a A+ grade
Better than 98% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #80 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 699 Canadian towns of 4,300 to 8,300, Forest Heights comes 599th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 3 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Altadore Alberta | 7,675 | 80% | 8.1% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Parkview Alberta | 5,729 | 80% | 9% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 18 | Wainwright No. 61 Alberta | 4,576 | 84% | 5.5% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 597 | Homesteader Alberta | 6,059 | 59% | 16% | $82K | C− |
| 598 | Central St. Boniface Manitoba | 7,772 | 70% | 11% | $54K | C− |
| 599 | Forest Heights Alberta | 6,120 | 63% | 16% | $82K | C− |
| 600 | Electoral Area G, Cariboo British Columbia | 5,887 | 66% | 12% | $68K | C− |
| 601 | Highland Park Alberta | 4,908 | 69% | 14% | $67K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 699 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Forest Heights, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Forest Heights and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Heights | 63% | 16% | $82K | 28.3 min | C− | A+ |
| Marlborough 1.3 km | 63% | 16% | $82K | 27.1 min | C− | A+ |
| Albert Park/Radisson Heights 1.4 km | 61% | 16% | $68K | 26.5 min | D | A+ |
| Forest Lawn 1.6 km | 50% | 24% | $61K | 27.1 min | D− | A+ |
| Penbrooke Meadows 1.7 km | 59% | 20% | $71K | 27.3 min | D | A |
| Marlborough Park 2 km | 63% | 17% | $84K | 26.4 min | C− | A |
| Applewood Park 2.8 km | 65% | 16% | $88K | 27.6 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 Forest Heights, 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. 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.
- 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. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so it isn’t an unemployment 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.
- 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. Commuting flows and Statistics Canada’s timed averages stop at the municipality, so Calgary’s page carries them; Forest Heights’ own figures sum its dissemination areas.
Questions about work in Forest Heights
How do people in Forest Heights get to work?
By car: 83% of commuters, 14% take public transit and 1.2% walk; on census day 7.1% of those in work worked from home.
How many jobs are there in Forest Heights?
There is no count for a neighbourhood: the jobs figure, and where commuters go, are published for Calgary as one municipality.
What is the unemployment rate in Forest Heights?
The census put unemployment at 16% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Calgary metro area at 6.6%.
What is the average household income in Forest Heights?
Before tax, half the households in Forest Heights had more than $81,500 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
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).