Photo: dave_7 from Lethbridge, Canada · CC BY 2.0Coalhurst has fewer jobs than residents in work: 0.6 for each
Half the households in Coalhurst had more than $92,100 in 2020, before tax; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. With 73% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, Coalhurst matches the middle of Canadian towns. The 2021 census put unemployment in Coalhurst at 10%, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
Work in Coalhurst: the figures worth knowing
Work near the middle
In work at the 2021 census: 73% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 63% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 5.2% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 10%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs & income in Coalhurst: graded B
Better than 60% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #200 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.
Each working day, more people leave Coalhurst for work than come in
It sends out some 2 workers for every one it takes in. Of those who commute, 11% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
89% of Coalhurst’s residents in work leave it to work; Lethbridge takes the most
In the other direction the biggest source is Lethbridge, with 215.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Work and the working-age population of Coalhurst
Of the 9 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 2, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 70%. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 60% of the wider area’s adults in work. 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 Coalhurst earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 78% of Canadian towns.
One of the 9 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 2 has a higher median. Pandemic support paid in 2020, CERB first among it, is part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
1.2% of commuters in Coalhurst walk, cycle or take transit
Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 9% against 21%. 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).
A commute like the middle of Canadian towns: 24.2 minutes from Coalhurst
An hour or more: 6.6% of commuters, close to the middle of Alberta’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 21.8 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Alberta’s towns, the average commute is 25.8 minutes. Only 28% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 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.
27% more people are on EI in Census Division No. 2 than in 2019
The highest month was January 2021: 8,020 people, 2.7 times the 2019 level. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 3.3 are on EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 1%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: Census Division No. 2. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Coalhurst on foot: a C+ grade
Better than 39% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #416 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Ranked on jobs and income, Coalhurst is 277th among 694 Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,400
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 15 | Garrison Woods Alberta | 3,138 | 79% | 10% | $146K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 23 | Laurier Heights Alberta | 3,048 | 78% | 6.9% | $163K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 275 | North St. Boniface Manitoba | 3,358 | 74% | 8.1% | $76K | B |
| 276 | Hazeldean Alberta | 3,247 | 72% | 14% | $90K | B |
| 277 | Coalhurst Alberta | 3,244 | 73% | 10% | $92K | B |
| 278 | Napierville Quebec | 4,187 | 80% | 5.2% | $80K | B |
| 279 | East Lawrencetown Nova Scotia | 4,020 | 79% | 8.3% | $108K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 694 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Coalhurst, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Jobs near Coalhurst: the places around it
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coalhurst | 73% | 10% | $92K | 24.2 min | B | C+ |
| Lethbridge 8.5 km | 74% | 9.4% | $82K | 18 min | A− | B+ |
| Lethbridge County 14.7 km | 73% | 4.6% | $100K | 22.3 min | A− | C |
| Nobleford 17.7 km | 70% | 4% | $89K | 24.7 min | B− | C+ |
| Picture Butte 18.2 km | 76% | 3.5% | $81K | 18.2 min | A− | 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 Coalhurst, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- Trip times. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- 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. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- 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. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in Coalhurst
How many jobs are there in Coalhurst?
The 2021 census found about 500 people with their usual workplace in Coalhurst, or 0.6 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 76 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Coalhurst?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 10% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Lethbridge metro area at 5.2% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Coalhurst?
The census puts Coalhurst at $92,100 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Coalhurst get to work?
97% of commuters drive, 1.2% walk; 9% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Coalhurst?
The average commute is 24.2 minutes; 28% of trips take under 15 minutes and 6.6% an hour or more.
Where do people in Coalhurst work?
Only 11% work in Coalhurst itself; the rest go first to Lethbridge (585) and Lethbridge County (100).
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).