Photo: Erik Lizee · Public domainClearwater County has 0.1 jobs for every resident in work, so most leave town for work
The median household in Clearwater County had $83,300 before tax in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. Of everyone in Clearwater County working or looking for work in May 2021, 13% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Most commutes from Clearwater County take well under an hour: the average is 30.3 minutes, and 13% take 60 minutes or longer.
The work numbers behind Clearwater County
Work near the middle
In work at the 2021 census: 76% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 59% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 30.3 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 13% last an hour or longer. The trip to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Clearwater County grades C+ for jobs and income
Better than 39% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #333 of 474 in Alberta.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, trip times.
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.
Commuting times in Clearwater County
Timed exactly, the average is 29.7 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Alberta’s towns, the average commute is 25.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 26%, fewer than the 39% 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.
A commuter town: Clearwater County sends out more workers than it takes in
2,965 residents of Clearwater County had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 390 people had theirs in Clearwater County, wherever they lived.
It sends out some 22 workers for every one it takes in. Of those who commute, 9% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
91% of Clearwater County’s residents in work leave it to work; Rocky Mountain House takes the most
- Rocky Mountain House1,855
- Caroline185
- Red Deer140
- Eckville115
- Red Deer County90
- Sundre85
- Calgary40
- Fort McMurray30
- Sylvan Lake25
- Rimbey25
Sylvan Lake sends the largest group the other way, 30 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 Clearwater County work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
The share of 15-to-64s in work in Clearwater County: 76%
A larger share in work than in 57% of Canadian towns.
Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 59%: many residents are past working age. In October 2026, 63% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. Working or looking, 67% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. 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.
What households in Clearwater County earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 63% of Canadian towns.
The middle of Alberta’s towns is $92,250, and Clearwater County is 10% below it. Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for 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).
Leaving the car at home: 2.9% of commuters in Clearwater County
Few ride transit: 0.7%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 96% of commuters. Working at home: 26% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns.
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.
In Census Division No. 9, 7% fewer people receive EI than in 2019
May 2021 was the busiest month, with 1,120 people on EI, 2.7 times 2019’s average. Roughly 3 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 7%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for Census Division No. 9, not by town. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
How walkable Clearwater County is: D
Better than 12% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #463 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Clearwater County is 394th of 640 Canadian towns of 8,300 to 16,000
| # | 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 | Walsh Acres/Lakeridge/Garden Ridge Saskatchewan | 9,325 | 80% | 6.7% | $127K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 15 | West Hillhurst Alberta | 10,319 | 78% | 9.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 35 | Lakeview Alberta | 12,799 | 75% | 11% | $125K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 41 | Lake Bonavista Alberta | 11,154 | 76% | 11% | $138K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 392 | Dalhousie Alberta | 8,617 | 65% | 13% | $89K | C+ |
| 393 | Ingersoll Ontario | 14,911 | 69% | 14% | $88K | C+ |
| 394 | Clearwater County Alberta | 11,856 | 76% | 13% | $83K | C+ |
| 395 | Buttonville Ontario | 15,001 | 67% | 11% | $134K | C+ |
| 396 | South Slope British Columbia | 8,989 | 70% | 9.4% | $104K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 640 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Clearwater County, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Work in the places around Clearwater County
The nearest places to Clearwater County with figures are 14–46 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater County | 76% | 13% | $83K | 30.3 min | C+ | D |
| Rocky Mountain House 14.1 km | 68% | 15% | $82K | 17.9 min | B | B |
| Eckville 28.2 km | 65% | 18% | $75K | 31.2 min | D | A |
| Sylvan Lake 46.3 km | 70% | 15% | $92K | 27.2 min | C+ | B |
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 Clearwater County, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- 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. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- Where people commute. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- 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. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- 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 Clearwater County
How long is the commute from Clearwater County?
The average commute is 30.3 minutes; 26% of trips take under 15 minutes and 13% an hour or more.
Where do people in Clearwater County work?
9% work in Clearwater County itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Rocky Mountain House (1,855), then Caroline (185).
How many jobs are there in Clearwater County?
The 2021 census found about 390 people with their usual workplace in Clearwater County, or 0.1 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 176 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Clearwater County?
The census put unemployment at 13% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River economic region at 5.6%.
What is the average household income in Clearwater County?
Before tax, half the households in Clearwater County had more than $83,300 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Clearwater County get to work?
96% of commuters drive, 0.7% take public transit and 2.2% walk; 26% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
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).