Household incomes in Rutherford top those of 86% of Canadian towns
Commutes from Rutherford average 28.1 minutes, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. In Rutherford, 74% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 11% of Rutherford’s labour force, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
What sets Rutherford apart on jobs and income
Work near the middle
At the 2021 census 74% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 67%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $100,900 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 Rutherford: B−
Better than 54% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #237 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.
Rutherford households: $100,900 a year at the median
That puts Rutherford 9% above the median of Alberta’s towns, $92,250. Of the 211 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 11, 86 have a higher median. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes 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).
Work and the working-age population of Rutherford
Of the 211 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 11, 142 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
75% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 64% in October 2026. 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.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 7.9% of Rutherford’s commuters
24% 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. 89% drive to work, about the same as in the middle of Alberta’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In Census Division No. 11, 30% more people receive EI than in 2019
For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.2 are on EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%. In January 2021 it reached 97,990, the most in the series and 3.1 times the 2019 average.
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. 11. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Rutherford on foot: a A− grade
Better than 81% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #254 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
263rd of 606: where Rutherford ranks among Canadian towns of 9,000 to 17,300
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Walsh Acres/Lakeridge/Garden Ridge Saskatchewan | 9,325 | 80% | 6.7% | $127K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | West Hillhurst Alberta | 10,319 | 78% | 9.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 34 | Lakeview Alberta | 12,799 | 75% | 11% | $125K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 39 | Lake Bonavista Alberta | 11,154 | 76% | 11% | $138K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 261 | West Springs Alberta | 11,632 | 71% | 12% | $168K | B− |
| 262 | Doon South Ontario | 15,044 | 72% | 9.4% | $136K | B− |
| 263 | Rutherford Alberta | 12,808 | 74% | 11% | $101K | B− |
| 264 | Saint-Raymond Quebec | 11,951 | 82% | 5.8% | $71K | B− |
| 265 | South Cameron Ontario | 11,804 | 53% | 18% | $93K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 606 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Rutherford, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Work next door to Rutherford
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutherford | 74% | 11% | $101K | 28.1 min | B− | A− |
| Callaghan 1 km | 67% | 14% | $100K | 29.4 min | C | A− |
| Cavanagh 1.3 km | 72% | 12% | $118K | 27.4 min | B− | B |
| Allard 1.7 km | 77% | 9.6% | $105K | 29.5 min | B | A− |
| Paisley 1.7 km | 80% | 8.1% | $120K | 28.5 min | A− | C |
| MacEwan 1.8 km | 75% | 10% | $94K | 28.4 min | B− | B+ |
| Twin Brooks 2.6 km | 73% | 11% | $137K | 26.1 min | B+ | 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 Rutherford, 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. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- 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. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless 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.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
- Neighbourhood figures. We add up Rutherford’s dissemination areas for its census figures. Flows between places and timed averages exist only for the whole municipality: see Edmonton’s page.
Questions about work in Rutherford
How do people in Rutherford get to work?
By car: 89% of commuters, 5.9% take public transit, 1.8% walk and 0.2% cycle; on census day 24% of those in work worked from home.
How many jobs are there in Rutherford?
Jobs are counted by municipality, not neighbourhood: the page for Edmonton has the jobs based there and where its commuters go.
What is the unemployment rate in Rutherford?
The 2021 census found 11% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Edmonton metro area, is 7.1% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Rutherford?
The census puts Rutherford at $100,900 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).