Photo: Mack Male from Edmonton, AB, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Household incomes in Highlands top those of 90% of Canadian towns
Of everyone in Highlands working or looking for work in May 2021, 9.5% were unemployed, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns. The 2021 census found 83% of working-age people in Highlands employed, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Commutes from Highlands average 24.9 minutes, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns.
Highlands at work: what stands out
More people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 83% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 62%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $105,400 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
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 Highlands: A
Better than 94% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #19 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.
Work and the working-age population of Highlands
Of the 211 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 11, 210 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 64% of the wider area’s adults in work. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 68%. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 62% of residents 15 and over were in work. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
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.
Half the households in Highlands had more than $105,400 in 2020
Highlands’ median is 14% above the middle of Alberta’s towns ($92,250). Of the 211 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 11, 79 have a higher median. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
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: 12% of commuters in Highlands
The middle of Alberta’s towns has 2.5% walking; here, 4.5% do. The car takes 86% of commuters here, under the 88% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. 29% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. By bus, train or subway: 5.9%, against 3.5% 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).
EI claims in Census Division No. 11 run 30% above their 2019 level
In January 2021 it reached 97,990, the most in the series and 3.1 times the 2019 average. That works out to around 4.2 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: Census Division No. 11. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Walking in Highlands earns A
Better than 95% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #117 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Highlands places 42nd of 458 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 3,600
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Garrison Woods Alberta | 3,138 | 79% | 10% | $146K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Laurier Heights Alberta | 3,048 | 78% | 6.9% | $163K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 40 | Saint-Alphonse-de-Granby Quebec | 3,545 | 84% | 2.6% | $95K | A |
| 41 | Hillcrest Management Area Saskatchewan | 3,004 | 74% | 8.3% | $148K | A |
| 42 | Highlands Alberta | 2,677 | 83% | 9.5% | $105K | A |
| 43 | High Prairie Alberta | 2,607 | 76% | 12% | $88K | A |
| 44 | Queensway Terrace North Ontario | 3,160 | 78% | 6.9% | $107K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 458 | 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 Highlands, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Highlands and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands | 83% | 9.5% | $105K | 24.9 min | A | A |
| Montrose 0.8 km | 60% | 17% | $73K | 27.4 min | D | A |
| Newton 1.3 km | 63% | 15% | $84K | 24 min | C | A− |
| Virginia Park 1.8 km | 64% | 16% | $63K | 25 min | D | A+ |
| Capilano 1.9 km | 77% | 11% | $118K | 23.1 min | A | A− |
| Beacon Heights 2 km | 65% | 17% | $86K | 26.8 min | C | A− |
| Beverly Heights 2 km | 63% | 14% | $76K | 24.4 min | C− | A− |
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 Highlands, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed average.
- Employment Insurance. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- The Labour Force Survey. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
- Neighbourhood figures. Highlands’ census figures are summed from its dissemination areas. Commuting flows and Statistics Canada’s timed averages are published only for the whole municipality, so they are on Edmonton’s page.
Questions about work in Highlands
How do people in Highlands get to work?
Driving takes 86% of commuters to work, 5.9% take public transit, 4.5% walk and 1.5% cycle, and on census day 29% of those in work were at home.
How many jobs are there in Highlands?
Jobs and commuting flows exist only for Edmonton as a whole, and its page carries them.
What is the unemployment rate in Highlands?
At the 2021 census 9.5% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Edmonton metro area, gives 7.1% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Highlands?
The census puts Highlands at $105,400 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · 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).