There are 1.8 jobs in Duchess for every resident in work
At the 2021 census, 68% of Duchess’ 15-to-64s were in work, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Half the households in Duchess had more than $95,000 in 2020, before tax; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Commutes from Duchess average 28.1 minutes, and 11% take an hour or more.
The short version on work in Duchess
Fewer people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 68% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 58%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 13% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 6.3% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
A local job centre
480 people work in Duchess and 270 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
The Jobs & income grade for Duchess: C
Better than 34% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
How many in Duchess were working in 2021
Of the 10 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 2, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 67%. In October 2026, 59% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. May 2021, when the census was taken, was a pandemic spring; unemployment has come down since, as the Labour Force Survey records.
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.
A working day adds 64% to the people at work in Duchess
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 2 to 1 in Duchess. 19% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
428 people come into Duchess to work, most from Brooks and Newell County
- Brooks335
- Newell County60
- Medicine Hat10
- Rosemary10
- Kneehill County10
- Brooks145
- Newell County45
- Coaldale15
- Bassano10
Of everyone working in Duchess, 89% come in from elsewhere; 335 make the 18 km trip from Brooks. Going the other way, Brooks is the biggest single destination (145).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
What households in Duchess earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 81% of Canadian towns.
One of the 10 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 2 has a higher median. That puts Duchess 3% above the median of Alberta’s towns, $92,250. 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).
Without a car, 2.5% of Duchess’ commuters get to work
Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 96% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 12% against 21%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How long the commute from Duchess takes
Only 24% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 39% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 26.8 minutes. The middle of Alberta’s towns averages 25.8 minutes.
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.
EI claims in Census Division No. 2 run 27% above their 2019 level
That is about 3.3 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 1%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 8,020 people on EI, 2.7 times 2019’s average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for Census Division No. 2, 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 Duchess is: B−
Better than 52% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Work next door to Duchess
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duchess | 68% | 13% | $95K | 28.1 min | C | B− |
| Newell County 17.4 km | 73% | 7% | $92K | 20.4 min | A− | C+ |
| Brooks 18 km | 72% | 8.8% | $91K | 15.1 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 Duchess, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Where people commute. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
Questions about work in Duchess
How many jobs are there in Duchess?
Some 480 people worked in Duchess at the 2021 census: 1.8 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 63 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Duchess?
The 2021 census found 13% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat economic region, is 6.3% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Duchess?
The median household in Duchess had $95,000 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Duchess get to work?
Driving takes 96% of commuters to work, 2.5% walk, and on census day 12% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Duchess?
About 28.1 minutes on average, with 24% under a quarter-hour and 11% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Duchess work?
Only 19% work in Duchess itself; the rest go first to Brooks (145) and Newell County (45).
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).