Photo: Benlarhome · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Renfrew have higher incomes than those in 82% of Canadian towns
Of Renfrew’s residents aged 15 to 64, 77% were employed when the 2021 census was taken, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. On census day, 38% of workers here were at home, next to 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Commutes from Renfrew average 21.8 minutes, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns.
Work in Renfrew, in a few figures
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 21.8 minutes; the middle of Canadian towns is 26. Getting to work ↓
Many work from home
On census day, 38% of those in work were working at home; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. Getting to work ↓
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 Renfrew: graded A
Better than 88% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #36 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.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 18% of Renfrew’s commuters
77% drive to work, fewer than the 88% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. Transit takes 7.5% of commuters, above the 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. More people walk to work here than in the middle of Alberta’s towns: 7.7% against 2.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
Work for 77% of 15-to-64s in Renfrew
Of the 166 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 6, 138 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. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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.
Household income in Renfrew: $96,400 at the median
Against the middle of Alberta’s towns ($92,250), Renfrew’s median is 4% above. 92 of the 166 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 6 have a higher median. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes 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).
EI claims in Census Division No. 6 run 35% above their 2019 level
For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4 are on EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 1%. At its peak, in January 2021, 97,600 people were on EI, 3.2 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: 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).
Renfrew on foot: a A+ grade
Better than 97% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #82 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Renfrew next to Canadian towns of 4,700 to 9,000: 74th of 697 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 11 | Altadore Alberta | 7,675 | 80% | 8.1% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | Parkview Alberta | 5,729 | 80% | 9% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 22 | Richmond Alberta | 4,811 | 79% | 9.2% | $114K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 72 | Jackson Ontario | 8,124 | 73% | 11% | $111K | A |
| 73 | Whyte Ridge Manitoba | 7,299 | 76% | 7.6% | $140K | A |
| 74 | Renfrew Alberta | 6,685 | 77% | 11% | $96K | A |
| 75 | Stoneybrook Ontario | 7,662 | 74% | 9% | $116K | A |
| 76 | Edgemont Alberta | 5,059 | 79% | 9.2% | $122K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 697 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Renfrew, and others among Alberta’s towns.
The places around Renfrew, side by side
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renfrew | 77% | 11% | $96K | 21.8 min | A | A+ |
| Crescent Heights 1 km | 78% | 12% | $74K | 23.7 min | B− | A+ |
| Bridgeland/Riverside 1.1 km | 77% | 9.6% | $78K | 23.6 min | B | A+ |
| Winston Heights/Mountview 1.5 km | 76% | 13% | $90K | 22.1 min | A− | A+ |
| Tuxedo Park 1.7 km | 75% | 13% | $82K | 22.1 min | B | A+ |
| Downtown East Village 1.9 km | 59% | 7.4% | $59K | 25.8 min | D | A+ |
| Eau Claire 2.1 km | 79% | 10% | $94K | 23.4 min | A | 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 Renfrew, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- 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. 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. People in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64 (2021 Census). The census doesn’t cross work with age below the municipality, so this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood has; retirees don’t weigh on it.
- 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.
- 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; Renfrew’s own figures sum its dissemination areas.
Questions about work in Renfrew
What is the unemployment rate in Renfrew?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Calgary metro area at 6.6%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 11%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Renfrew?
The census puts Renfrew at $96,400 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Renfrew get to work?
77% of commuters drive, 7.5% take public transit, 7.7% walk and 2.5% cycle; 38% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How many jobs are there in Renfrew?
Jobs and commuting flows exist only for Calgary as a whole, and its page carries them.
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).