ClaresholmAlberta
It is a town of 4,242 residents in Alberta. It lies in Division No. 3.
Is Claresholm a good place to live?
Strong in places, weak in others. The weak point is safety (C). Claresholm’s overall C+ puts it #292 of 473 in Alberta. On that grade it does better than 43% of Canadian towns. Its schools fall short (C). Health is a strength (A+). Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A−). Owners valued their homes at a median $250,000 in 2021, which is 3.8 years of the typical household’s pay.
Figures: home values and income: Statistics Canada, Census 2021.
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Safety is the police detachment's figure, shared with the towns and countryside around it. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Claresholm grades
Each subject compares Claresholm with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Claresholm stand out
The 2 things Claresholm does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Claresholm.
Claresholm’s grade for health: an A+
Measured from where Claresholm’s residents live, the nearest hospital is 0.8 km away, under the typical 3.7 km. Adults who call their own health very good or excellent: 56%, higher than both Alberta’s towns (51%) and Canadian towns (52%). The region’s 2022/2024 life expectancy is 83.0, with women at 85.0 and men at 80.9. Smoking is rarer than in the province: 7.9% of adults, against 11% for Alberta.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Claresholm | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very good or excellent health | 56% | 51% | 52% |
| Smokers | 7.9% | 12% | 12% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 83.0 | 81.2 | 81.5 |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · Area behind the health survey and life expectancy figures: the Calgary Zone
Violent crime weighs less where Claresholm is policed than in Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: a violent severity index of 68
Across the area its police cover, the Crime Severity Index averaged 91 over 2023–25, lower than Alberta’s towns (110) yet higher than Canadian towns (67). Thefts, break-ins and damage add up to 48.2 per 1,000 residents a year where it is policed. Claresholm doesn’t get its own Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000 figures; the ones here come from the Claresholm detachment area.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Claresholm | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crime per 1,000 | 48.2 | 45 | 31.2 |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 68 | 109 | 86 |
| Crime Severity Index | 91 | 110 | 67 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Claresholm and its edges hold 2 schools: 1 elementary school and 1 secondary school
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Meadow Elementary School Fourth fifth in AlbertaLargest elementary schoolElementary · Grades K–6 | Elementary · Grades K–6 | 318 | English public |
| Willow Creek Composite High School Fourth fifth in AlbertaLargest secondary schoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | Secondary · Grades 7–12 | 360 | English public |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025/26
Claresholm’s grade for cost of living: a C
Shelter took 30% or more of income for 17% of households, about level with Canadian towns (18%) and below Alberta’s towns (21%). Home ownership covers 77% of households.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Claresholm | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value, 2021 | $250,000 | $400,000 | $406,000 |
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 17% | 21% | 18% |
| Rent as a share of income | 19% | 20% | 20% |
| Households owning their home | 77% | 74% | 74% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Home values are owners’ own estimates at the May 2021 census, and incomes are for 2020.
Fewer of Claresholm’s people belong to a visible minority than in Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: 5.8%
Immigrants make up one in ten residents, higher than both Alberta’s towns (8.9%) and Canadian towns (6.4%). First Nations, Métis and Inuit people make up 4.5% of residents, close to Alberta’s towns (4.6%) and above Canadian towns (2.8%).
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
Women make up 51.0% of Claresholm
1,940 women and 1,865 men at the 2021 census; across Canada, women are 50.9%.
| Claresholm | Alberta | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 51% | 67% | 64% |
| 65+ | 36% | 15% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 20% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 48% | 54% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Alberta and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
July afternoons in Claresholm reach 25.2°C (Alberta towns 23.5°C, Canadian towns 25.5°C)
March is the snowiest month, with 22 cm on average. The year’s precipitation totals 428 mm, near Alberta’s towns (431 mm) and lower than Canadian towns (883 mm). Gardeners get 110 frost-free days, from 25 May to 13 September. For the wettest month, look to June: 93 mm on average.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Claresholm | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precipitation a year | 428 mm | 431 mm | 883 mm |
| July afternoon high | 25.2°C | 23.5°C | 25.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 191 | 193 | 159 |
| Snowfall a year | 111 cm | 127 cm | 141 cm |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Claresholm)
In Claresholm, November normally means 5°C afternoons and −8°C nights
Expect around 16 cm of snow in November. Rain and snow over a typical November come to 18 mm. ECCC’s forecast for Willow Creek (Provincial Park) is on the Weather page, hour by hour.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 1°C | −13°C | 44 mm |
| Spring | 12°C | −2°C | 123 mm |
| Summer | 24°C | 8°C | 182 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | −2°C | 80 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Claresholm); the forecast is on the Weather page
At 6.3 visits per person served, Claresholm Public Library is busier than four in five Alberta’s town libraries
Claresholm Public Library has one location for the 3,780 people it serves.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
14 km from Claresholm to Willow Creek Provincial Park
91 km separate the town from Waterton Lakes National Park, its nearest national park.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Claresholm | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 0% | 0.4% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Claresholm’s hazards at a glance: a moderate wildfire record and 8.1% of area homes over the radon guideline
The burn rate around Claresholm is 0.13% a year (5.1% of the land within 25 km since 1986), a moderate band. Seismic risk in Claresholm sits near the middle: $0.046 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. No flood study for Claresholm is on the national inventory.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Claresholm | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.046 | $0.013 | $0.030 |
| Radon tests above the guideline | 8.1% | 7.5% | 6.6% |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory · Radon tests published for the Calgary Health Region, not by town
Trips to work from Claresholm are shorter than from Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: 16 min on average
The car took 87% of commuters, close to both Alberta’s towns (88%) and Canadian towns (89%).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Claresholm | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 16 min | 26 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 87% | 88% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so commuting and work figures carry the lockdowns’ mark.
Everything we know about Claresholm
Famous people from Claresholm
8 notable people were born in Claresholm.
About Claresholm
Town in Alberta
TownRatings follows Statistics Canada’s map: Claresholm is one municipality in Alberta, figures and all.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 4,242 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Alberta
- Census division
- Division No. 3
- Census subdivision
- 4803022
Claresholm’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claresholm | 4,242 | — | C+ | C | C | A+ |
| Willow Creek No. 26 | 6,225 | 10 | C− | C | C | C+ |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Claresholm
Is Claresholm a young town or an old one?
The median resident is 56.8 years old, against 45.2 for the median of Canadian towns. 13% are under 15 and 36% are 65 or over.
Who are the people of Claresholm?
At the 2021 census, 10% were immigrants and 6% belonged to a visible minority (Canadian towns’ median: 15%). 5% identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
What kind of homes are in Claresholm?
Single-detached houses make up 73% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 0% are in high-rise apartments. 37% of households are one person, and the average is 2.1.
Is Claresholm growing?
It added people: 3,790 in 2016, 3,804 in 2021, 0.4% more, where the middle of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. Statistics Canada’s 2025 estimate is 4,242.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by 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).