Working-age people in Thorncliffe are less likely to have a job than in 79% of Canadian towns
Out of work in May 2021: 15% of Thorncliffe’s labour force; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. Half the households in Thorncliffe had more than $82,500 in 2020, before tax, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. At 25 minutes on average, the trip to work from Thorncliffe compares with 26 in the middle of Canadian towns.
Thorncliffe at work: what stands out
Fewer people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 68% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 54%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
15% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 6.6% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
On jobs and income, Thorncliffe grades C
Better than 34% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #355 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.
68% of working-age people in Thorncliffe have jobs
Of the 166 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 6, 27 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 67% in work in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 64%. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 54%. 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.
Household income in Thorncliffe
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 62% of Canadian towns.
124 of the 166 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 6 have a higher median. Against the middle of Alberta’s towns ($92,250), Thorncliffe’s median is 11% below. Pandemic benefits paid in 2020 lifted the incomes at the bottom, and they are counted here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 12% of Thorncliffe’s commuters
Working at home: 26% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. More people take transit to work here than in the middle of Alberta’s towns: 9.4% against 5.7%. Fewer drive than in the middle of Alberta’s towns: 82% against 88%.
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.
35% more people are on EI in Census Division No. 6 than in 2019
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 1%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 97,600 people on EI, 3.2 times 2019’s average. 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. 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).
On getting around on foot, Thorncliffe grades A+
Better than 95% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #111 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
341st of 553: where Thorncliffe ranks among Canadian towns of 10,900 to 21,000
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | Canmore Alberta | 17,341 | 79% | 9.7% | $107K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 32 | Lakeview Alberta | 12,799 | 75% | 11% | $125K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 36 | Lake Bonavista Alberta | 11,154 | 76% | 11% | $138K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 339 | Lairet Quebec | 15,251 | 77% | 10% | $49K | C |
| 340 | Heart Lake South Ontario | 19,573 | 69% | 12% | $117K | C |
| 341 | Thorncliffe Alberta | 15,570 | 68% | 15% | $83K | C |
| 342 | Grand Falls-Windsor Newfoundland and Labrador | 14,510 | 62% | 16% | $66K | C |
| 343 | Riverview Ontario | 14,030 | 69% | 12% | $76K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 553 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Thorncliffe, and others among Alberta’s towns.
How Thorncliffe compares with the places nearby
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thorncliffe | 68% | 15% | $83K | 25 min | C | A+ |
| Huntington Hills 1.7 km | 64% | 17% | $80K | 26.4 min | C− | A+ |
| Highland Park 1.8 km | 69% | 14% | $67K | 25.3 min | C− | A+ |
| Mount Pleasant 2.7 km | 76% | 11% | $108K | 23.9 min | A− | A+ |
| Beddington Heights 2.9 km | 70% | 13% | $93K | 26.7 min | C+ | A |
| Charleswood 3 km | 73% | 15% | $116K | 21.6 min | A− | A+ |
| Tuxedo Park 3.2 km | 75% | 13% | $82K | 22.1 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 Thorncliffe, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- 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. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- Trip times. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s average.
- Employment Insurance. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- 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.
- Neighbourhood figures. We add up Thorncliffe’s dissemination areas for its census figures. Flows between places and timed averages exist only for the whole municipality: see Calgary’s page.
Questions about work in Thorncliffe
What is the unemployment rate in Thorncliffe?
Two figures answer it: 15% 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 Thorncliffe?
Thorncliffe’s middle household had $82,500 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Thorncliffe get to work?
Driving takes 82% of commuters to work, 9.4% take public transit, 1.9% walk and 0.8% cycle, and on census day 26% of those in work were at home.
How many jobs are there in Thorncliffe?
Jobs are counted by municipality, not neighbourhood: the page for Calgary has the jobs based there and where its commuters go.
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).