Crowsnest PassAlberta
6,011 residents make their home in this town in Alberta. Its census division is Division No. 15.
Is Crowsnest Pass a good place to live?
Police record more crime here than in most towns (C). Overall, Crowsnest Pass earns a C+, better than 43% of Canadian towns. In the ranking it comes #295 of 473 in Alberta. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A−). A median home here was worth $300,000 at the census, or 3.8 times what the middle household earns in a year. School results are strong (B+). Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for health and B− for hazard risk.
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 Crowsnest Pass grades
Each subject compares Crowsnest Pass 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 Crowsnest Pass stand out
The one thing Crowsnest Pass does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Crowsnest Pass.
For safety, Crowsnest Pass gets a C
Across the area its police cover, the Crime Severity Index averaged 80 over 2023–25, below Alberta’s towns (110) but above Canadian towns (67). Violent crime in the area its police cover: 22.8 per 1,000 people a year. Thefts, break-ins and damage add up to 36.5 per 1,000 residents a year where it is policed.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Crowsnest Pass | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 22.8 | 14.2 | 12 |
| Crime Severity Index | 80 | 110 | 67 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 36.5 | 45 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average · Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000: one figure for all of the Crowsnest Pass detachment area
One of the 4 schools around Crowsnest Pass teaches in French
Its elementary schools are small, 116 students on average, against 274 in Alberta. Boards running schools in the area: 2, below Alberta’s towns (3) and Canadian towns (3) alike. The 3 with results split, 1 in the upper two fifths in Alberta and 1 in the lower. Counting a 3 km margin, Crowsnest Pass has 3 elementary schools and 1 secondary school, for 687 students.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horace Allen SchoolLargest elementary schoolElementary · Grades K–3 | Elementary · Grades K–3 | 186 | English public |
| Crowsnest Consolidated High School Middle fifth in AlbertaLargest secondary schoolSecondary · Grades 7–12 | Secondary · Grades 7–12 | 340 | English public |
| École des Grands-Vents FrenchTeaches in FrenchElementary · Grades K–6 | Elementary · Grades K–6 | 28 | French public |
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| Schools within 3 km | Crowsnest Pass | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Nearest secondary school | 3.3 km | 0.7 km | 1.2 km |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025/26
More households own their home in Crowsnest Pass than in Alberta’s towns or across Canadian towns: 85%
Rent took 18% of household income, lower than both Alberta’s towns (20%) and Canadian towns (20%). Shelter took 30% or more of income for 15% of households, below Alberta’s towns (21%) and Canadian towns (18%) alike.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Crowsnest Pass | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 15% | 21% | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 85% | 74% | 74% |
| Rent as a share of income | 18% | 20% | 20% |
| Median home value, 2021 | $300,000 | $400,000 | $406,000 |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · These are 2021 census values, as owners judged them, set against household income in 2020.
The share of 15-to-64s with a job in Crowsnest Pass trails that of 67% of Canadian towns
86% of commuters took the car to work at the census. Commutes averaged 25 min, in line with Alberta’s towns (26 min) and Canadian towns (26 min).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Crowsnest Pass | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car or van | 86% | 88% | 89% |
| Average trip | 25 min | 26 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · These are May 2021 figures, gathered while COVID-19 kept many people home or out of work.
Crowsnest Pass has milder winters than Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: January lows of −10.4°C
Snow totals 280 cm over the year, above Alberta’s towns (127 cm) and Canadian towns (141 cm) alike. Frost usually lifts by 24 May and returns around 12 September: 110 days without it. The most precipitation falls in June: 116 mm in a normal year. A normal December brings 60 cm of snow, the most of any month.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Crowsnest Pass | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snowfall a year | 280 cm | 127 cm | 141 cm |
| January night low | −10.4°C | −14.7°C | −13.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 550 mm | 431 mm | 883 mm |
| July afternoon high | 24.2°C | 23.5°C | 25.5°C |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Pincher Creek)
Fewer of Crowsnest Pass’s people belong to a visible minority than in Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: 2.9%
First Nations, Métis and Inuit people make up 5.2% of residents, above Alberta’s towns (4.6%) and Canadian towns (2.8%) alike. Immigrants make up 9.1% of residents, near Alberta’s towns (8.9%) and higher than Canadian towns (6.4%).
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 48.8% of Crowsnest Pass
Of the 2021 count, 2,780 were women and 2,915 men (women across Canada: 50.9%).
| Crowsnest Pass | Alberta | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 60% | 67% | 64% |
| 65+ | 28% | 15% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 17% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 53% | 54% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Alberta and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Expect November days around 4°C in Crowsnest Pass, nights around −5°C
Hour-by-hour figures come from ECCC’s Crowsnest forecast, on the Weather page. Rain and snow over a typical November come to 25 mm. Looking ahead to December, expect highs near −1°C and lows near −10°C. About 47 cm of snow falls in a normal November.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 0°C | −10°C | 65 mm |
| Spring | 10°C | −2°C | 145 mm |
| Summer | 23°C | 8°C | 213 mm |
| Autumn | 11°C | 0°C | 128 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Pincher Creek); the forecast is on the Weather page
John Barlow took Foothills in 2021 by 37,339 votes, more than the margin in 98% of ridings
In the census’s list of municipalities, Crowsnest Pass is a specialized municipality.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
Crowsnest Pass Municipal Library is Crowsnest Pass’s public library
Crowsnest Pass Municipal Library serves 5,589 people from a single building.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Crowsnest Pass is on the GDT ewc
The protected share within 10 km is 25%, where a typical Canadian town has 2.3%. 41 km separate the town from Waterton Lakes National Park, its nearest national park. 20% of the town lies within a protected area.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Crowsnest Pass | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 25% | 0.4% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 6 | 2 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Flood mapping exists for Crowsnest Pass: 1 on record, latest by Government of Alberta
NRCan expects $0.034 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in Crowsnest Pass, near the typical $0.030. Radon around Crowsnest Pass is ordinary for Canada: nearly a tenth of tested homes over the guideline (6.6% typical). The burn rate around Crowsnest Pass is 0.20% a year (7.8% of the land within 25 km since 1986), a moderate band. Crowsnest Pass shares its radon tests numbers with the rest of the Chinook Regional Health Authority.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Crowsnest Pass | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 8.9% | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.034 | $0.013 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Crowsnest Pass’ region trails the typical Canadian town by 2.8 years: life expectancy 78.7
The survey finds 52% of adults in very good or excellent health, above Alberta’s towns (51%) and close to Canadian towns (52%). Closer to home, a hospital is 5.0 km from the average resident of Crowsnest Pass, further than the usual 3.7 km. A pharmacy is nearer: 3.0 km on average, with 0.6 within 3 km of the typical home. For health survey and life expectancy, the only official count covers all of the South Zone, Crowsnest Pass included.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Crowsnest Pass | 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
Before 1961: 42% of the homes in Crowsnest Pass
On the list: a provincial or municipal listing. The oldest dated place, Coleman, goes back to 1903. The registers put 2 historic places inside its boundary, one of them of the highest rank. A further one sits a short way past the edge of town.
Historic places by designation · inside the town
Among them
- Coleman 1903
- Frank Slide
| Heritage | Crowsnest Pass | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1961 | 42% | 4.5% | 18% |
Canadian Register of Historic Places, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel, Wikidata; Census 2021 homes by period
Everything we know about Crowsnest Pass
Crowsnest Museum and 3 more in and around Crowsnest Pass
A first look at Crowsnest Pass’s museums, historic sites and days out, and a few just outside town.
National historic siteFrank Slidein townMuseumMuseumFrank Slide Interpretive Centrein townMuseumMuseumCrow's Nest Museumin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (1)
- Frank Slide: Marek Ślusarczyk ( Tupungato ) Photo gallery, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
Famous people from Crowsnest Pass
13 notable people were born in Crowsnest Pass.
Photo credits
Rick Rypien: Resolute, CC BY 3.0 · Doug Houda: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0
About Crowsnest Pass
Town in Alberta
The boundary here is Statistics Canada’s: Crowsnest Pass is one census subdivision in Alberta, and TownRatings describes all of it.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 6,011 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Alberta
- Census division
- Division No. 15
- Census subdivision
- 4815007
Questions about Crowsnest Pass
Who are the people of Crowsnest Pass?
At the 2021 census, 9% were immigrants and 3% belonged to a visible minority (Canadian towns’ median: 15%). 5% identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
How old are the people of Crowsnest Pass?
52.8 is the median age, 45.2 the median among Canadian towns; 28% of residents are 65 or over and 13% under 15.
What kind of homes are in Crowsnest Pass?
84% 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 people; 34% are one person living alone.
Is Crowsnest Pass growing?
It added people: 5,589 in 2016, 5,695 in 2021, 1.9% more, where the middle of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. Statistics Canada’s 2025 estimate is 6,011.
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).