CoaldaleAlberta
This town in Alberta has a population of 9,644. Statistics Canada counts it in the Lethbridge metro area.
Is Coaldale a good place to live?
Mostly strong, with a single weak spot. Its strongest is jobs & income (A−). At B+ overall, Coaldale ranks #145 of 473 in Alberta. Nationally, it does better than 71% of Canadian towns. Schools are a strength too (A−). The trade-off is cost of living (C). Its other grades sit near the middle: B for safety, B− for health, B− for walkability and B− for hazard risk.
Rents here are the metro area's average, shared by every town and neighbourhood in 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 Coaldale grades
Each subject compares Coaldale 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 Coaldale stand out
The one thing Coaldale does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Coaldale.
Trips to work from Coaldale are shorter than from Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: 22 min on average
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Coaldale | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 22 min | 26 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Counted in May 2021, under pandemic rules: fewer commutes and more people between jobs than in a normal year.
Coaldale’s schools mostly beat the middle in Alberta, 3 of the 5 with results
The schools around it answer to 2 boards, below Alberta’s towns (3) and Canadian towns (3) alike.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jennie Emery Elementary SchoolLargest elementary schoolElementary · Grades K–3 | Elementary · Grades K–3 | 304 | English public |
| Coaldale Prairie Winds Secondary Middle fifth in AlbertaLargest secondary schoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | Secondary · Grades 7–12 | 637 | English public |
| Coaldale Christian School IndependentResults in the top fifth in AlbertaAll grades · Grades K–12 | All grades · Grades K–12 | 241 | Independent |
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| Schools within 3 km | Coaldale | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025/26
Summer runs warm in Coaldale: July highs of 26.3°C, above Alberta’s towns and Canadian towns
Rain and melted snow add up to 373 mm a year, below Alberta’s towns (431 mm) and Canadian towns (883 mm) alike. Expect January lows of around −12.1°C in Coaldale. The frost-free season runs from 21 May to 17 September, 118 days. June is the wettest month, with 93 mm of rain and snow on average.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Coaldale | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| July afternoon high | 26.3°C | 23.5°C | 25.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 373 mm | 431 mm | 883 mm |
| Snowfall a year | 108 cm | 127 cm | 141 cm |
| January night low | −12.1°C | −14.7°C | −13.5°C |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Lethbridge)
More households own their home in Coaldale than in Alberta’s towns or across Canadian towns: 83%
Measured across the Lethbridge metro area: rent as a share of income and monthly rent for a two-bedroom
Shelter took 30% or more of income for 14% of households, below Alberta’s towns (21%) and Canadian towns (18%) alike. Owners put the median home at $300,000, below Alberta’s towns ($400,000) and Canadian towns ($406,000) alike.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Coaldale | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 14% | 21% | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 83% | 74% | 74% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $300,000 | $400,000 | $406,000 |
| Rent as a share of income | 21% | 20% | 20% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Values come from owners at the 2021 census and incomes from 2020, so they predate the later rise in rates.
Children make up 22% of Coaldale, above Alberta’s towns and Canadian towns
Immigrants make up 11% of residents, above both Alberta’s towns (8.9%) and Canadian towns (6.4%). People 65 and over make up 18% of the town.
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 49.7% of Coaldale
Here the census found 4,415 men and 4,355 women; the figure for women across Canada is 50.9%.
| Coaldale | Alberta | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 60% | 67% | 64% |
| 65+ | 18% | 15% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 22% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 49% | 54% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Alberta and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Coaldale’s Violent Crime Severity Index, 45, runs below Alberta’s towns and Canadian towns
Violence reaches 8.8 per 1,000 residents a year. Thefts, break-ins and damage came to 30.3 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than Alberta’s towns (45) and near Canadian towns (31.2).
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Coaldale | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 45 | 109 | 86 |
| Violent crime | 8.8 | 14.2 | 12 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 30.3 | 45 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Expect November days around 6°C in Coaldale, nights around −7°C
In November, the normal is 16 mm of rain and snow. Next comes December, with normal highs of 1°C and lows of −11°C. The year peaks in July (26°C) and bottoms out in January (−12°C). The forecast on the Weather page is ECCC’s for Lethbridge.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 1°C | −11°C | 33 mm |
| Spring | 12°C | −1°C | 102 mm |
| Summer | 25°C | 9°C | 165 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | −1°C | 73 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Lethbridge); the forecast is on the Weather page
Rachael Thomas (Conservative Party of Canada) holds Lethbridge, the riding that includes Coaldale
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta’s riding map carries non-commercial terms, so Coaldale isn’t placed in a riding here.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
More loans per person served than 90% of Alberta’s town libraries: Coaldale Public Library lends 14.1
A single building, Coaldale Public Library, serves 8,691 people.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Life expectancy around Coaldale is 78.7 years, 2.8 less than for the typical Canadian town
The town’s own part is the trip to care, and Coaldale is well placed: 1.2 km to a hospital on average, against 3.7 km typical. The three chronic conditions the survey tracks average nearly a fifth of adults, higher than both Alberta’s towns (18%) and Canadian towns (17%). The survey puts the region’s share in very good or excellent health at 52%; Alberta as a whole is at 53%. For health survey and life expectancy, the only official count covers all of the South Zone, Coaldale included.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Coaldale | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 78.7 | 81.2 | 81.5 |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Very good or excellent health | 52% | 51% | 52% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities
Coaldale’s hazards at a glance: a low wildfire record and 8.9% of area homes over the radon guideline
Burn scars are few around Coaldale, with 0.7% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.02% a year). The national flood inventory has no study of the town.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Coaldale | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 8.9% | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.027 | $0.013 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory · Area behind the radon tests figures: the Chinook Regional Health Authority
None of the land within 10 km of Coaldale is protected
The nearest provincial park, Woolford Provincial Park, is 70 km away. National parks are all over 100 km off.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Coaldale | 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
Everything we know about Coaldale
Gem of the West Museum and 2 more in and around Coaldale
From museums to parks and historic sites: Coaldale’s places to visit and those just beyond its edge, most famous first.
Famous people from Coaldale
4 notable people were born in Coaldale.
Photo credits
Ben Thomson: Oliver Rothenhäusler (redro.de) ( Redro at de.wikipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0
About Coaldale
Town in Alberta
Coaldale is a municipality in Alberta, read by TownRatings as Statistics Canada draws it: one census subdivision, so its figures cover the whole municipality.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 9,644 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Alberta
- Census division
- Division No. 2
- Metro area
- Lethbridge
- Census subdivision
- 4802019
Coaldale’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coaldale | 9,644 | — | B+ | C | B | B− |
| Lethbridge | 113,671 | 16 | C+ | C− | D | B− |
| Lethbridge County | 10,988 | 18 | C− | C− | C− | C+ |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Coaldale
Who are the people of Coaldale?
5% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% for the median of Canadian towns; 3% have an Indigenous identity and 11% are immigrants.
What kind of homes are in Coaldale?
78% of homes are single-detached houses, against 64% for the median of Canadian towns, and 0% are in apartment buildings of five storeys or more. A household averages 2.7 people; 20% are one person living alone.
Has Coaldale grown?
Yes: the census counted 8,331 in 2016 and 8,771 in 2021, a rise of 5.3%, against 4.1% for the median of Canadian towns. The 2025 estimate is 9,644.
Is Coaldale a young town or an old one?
Its median age is 37.2, where Canadian towns sit at 45.2.
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).