Photo: Johntwrl · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Holyrood have higher incomes than those in 80% of Canadian towns
At 24.8 minutes on average, the trip to work from Holyrood compares with 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. Holyrood counted 72% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. When the 2021 census was taken, 14% of people in Holyrood who wanted a job had none, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Where Holyrood stands out on work
Work near the middle
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 72% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 57%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 7.1% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 14%, 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 and income in Holyrood earn B−
Better than 55% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #232 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.
In and out of work in Holyrood
Of the 211 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 11, 110 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 67% of residents that age. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 57% were working. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 64% of the wider area’s adults in work. 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.
Half the households in Holyrood had more than $94,600 in 2020
104 of the 211 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 11 have a higher median. Against the middle of Alberta’s towns ($92,250), Holyrood’s median is 3% above. 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).
Holyrood gets to work without a car for 8.3% of commuters
In the middle of Alberta’s towns hardly anyone cycles to work; here, 3.9% do. 85% drive to work, fewer than the 88% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. 28% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. By bus, train or subway: 4.4%, much as 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
Holyrood shares its EI beneficiaries numbers with the rest of Census Division No. 11.
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%. The count topped out in January 2021 at 97,990 people, 3.1 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.2 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Holyrood on foot: a A− grade
Better than 81% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #261 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
319th of 714: where Holyrood ranks among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,500
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Garrison Woods Alberta | 3,138 | 79% | 10% | $146K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Laurier Heights Alberta | 3,048 | 78% | 6.9% | $163K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 317 | Minnedosa Manitoba | 2,859 | 76% | 3.6% | $70K | B |
| 318 | Rivière-Beaudette Quebec | 2,806 | 80% | 4.1% | $88K | B |
| 319 | Holyrood Alberta | 3,305 | 72% | 14% | $95K | B− |
| 320 | Zone Aéroportuaire Quebec | 3,588 | 80% | 6.5% | $74K | B− |
| 321 | Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu Quebec | 2,984 | 85% | 5.2% | $84K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 714 | 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 Holyrood, and others among Alberta’s towns.
How Holyrood compares with the places nearby
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holyrood | 72% | 14% | $95K | 24.8 min | B− | A− |
| Ottewell 1.1 km | 74% | 11% | $92K | 24 min | B+ | A |
| Forest Heights 1.5 km | 74% | 14% | $89K | 23.8 min | B | A− |
| Bonnie Doon 1.6 km | 73% | 11% | $74K | 23.6 min | C+ | A+ |
| Riverdale 1.7 km | 80% | 9.2% | $83K | 23.5 min | A− | A |
| King Edward Park 2 km | 72% | 13% | $82K | 24.5 min | C+ | A |
| Capilano 2.6 km | 77% | 11% | $118K | 23.1 min | A | 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 Holyrood, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- 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. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- 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.
- 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.
- Neighbourhood figures. Holyrood’s 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 Holyrood
How many jobs are there in Holyrood?
Statistics Canada counts jobs for whole municipalities only; Edmonton has the total and the commuting flows.
What is the unemployment rate in Holyrood?
Two figures answer it: 14% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 7.1% for the Edmonton metro area in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Holyrood?
The median household in Holyrood had $94,600 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Holyrood get to work?
85% of commuters drive, 4.4% take public transit and 3.9% cycle; 28% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
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).