Photo: Tiado · CC BY-SA 3.0Cardston County has a smaller share of its working-age people in jobs than 93% of Canadian towns
The census counted 155 people working in Cardston County and 770 residents commuting to a fixed workplace. Working at home: 35% of its workers, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%. Half the households in Cardston County had more than $89,600 in 2020, before tax, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Cardston County: what the figures say
Fewer people in work than most towns
Counting everyone 15 and over, 65% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 61%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 4.4% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 6.3% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Many work from home
On census day, 35% 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.
Cardston County grades C for jobs and income
Better than 25% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #391 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.
Work for 61% of 15-to-64s in Cardston County
None of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 3 has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 68%. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 59% in work in October 2026. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 0% of Cardston County’s commuters
Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 97% of commuters.
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.
More workers leave Cardston County each day than arrive
About 11 residents leave for work for each person who comes in. Of those who commute, 12% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
88% of Cardston County’s residents in work leave it to work; Cardston takes the most
- Cardston265
- Lethbridge180
- Magrath75
- Improvement District No. 4 Waterton40
- Glenwood40
- Blood 14825
- Pincher Creek20
- Fort Macleod15
- Forty Mile County No. 810
Cardston sends the largest group the other way, 20 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Cardston County work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
How Cardston County’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 74% of Canadian towns.
No other place of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 3 has a higher median. The middle of Alberta’s towns is $92,250, and Cardston County is 3% below it. Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Close to the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Cardston County average 27 minutes
Timed exactly, the average is 24.4 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Alberta’s towns, the average commute is 25.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 37%, fewer than the 39% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. An hour or more: 9.9% of commuters, above the 7% in the middle of Alberta’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting duration in five bands; our average uses each band’s middle (75 minutes for an hour or more), so it runs about two minutes above Statistics Canada’s own.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
17% more people are on EI in Census Division No. 3 than in 2019
For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of Census Division No. 3, Cardston County included.
Roughly 2.8 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 6%. In April 2021 it reached 1,410, the most in the series and 2.4 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. 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, Cardston County grades D−
Better than 2% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #2,587 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Cardston County ranks: 554th of 727 Canadian towns of 3,500 to 6,700
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 2 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | South Tuxedo Manitoba | 3,629 | 85% | 6.8% | $110K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Parkview Alberta | 5,729 | 80% | 9% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 15 | Wainwright No. 61 Alberta | 4,576 | 84% | 5.5% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | Richmond Alberta | 4,811 | 79% | 9.2% | $114K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 552 | Beacon Heights Alberta | 4,389 | 65% | 17% | $86K | C |
| 553 | Beaumaris Alberta | 4,125 | 64% | 16% | $76K | C |
| 554 | Cardston County Alberta | 4,938 | 61% | 4.4% | $90K | C |
| 555 | Carlisle Alberta | 4,609 | 62% | 15% | $83K | C |
| 556 | Big Lakes County Alberta | 5,106 | 62% | 13% | $77K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 727 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Cardston County, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Jobs near Cardston County: the places around it
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardston County | 61% | 4.4% | $90K | 27 min | C | D− |
| Cardston 9 km | 75% | 7.3% | $76K | 18.1 min | B+ | B+ |
| Blood 148 18.8 km | 37% | 23% | $68K | 25.6 min | D | C |
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 Cardston County, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Where people commute. Only people with a usual place of work are in it: those who work from home or have no fixed site are not. Home and work are both counted by municipality.
- 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. 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. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Trip times. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed average.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Cardston County
How many jobs are there in Cardston County?
About 155 people had their usual place of work in Cardston County at the 2021 census, 0.2 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 64 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Cardston County?
The census put unemployment at 4.4% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat economic region at 6.3%.
What is the average household income in Cardston County?
Cardston County’s middle household had $89,600 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Cardston County get to work?
97% of commuters go by car. On census day 35% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Cardston County?
On average 27 minutes; 37% take under 15 minutes and 9.9% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Cardston County work?
12% work in Cardston County itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Cardston (265), then Lethbridge (180).
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, tables 98-10-0458 and 98-10-0459 (commuting) · 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).