Photo: Kay Röllig · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Foothills County are higher than in 98% of Canadian towns
Getting to work from Foothills County takes 32.2 minutes on average, an hour or more for 9.3%. On census day, 35% of workers here were at home, next to 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. At the 2021 census, 78% of Foothills County’s 15-to-64s were in work, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What stands out about work in Foothills County
Higher incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $132,600 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 32.2 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 9.3% take an hour or more. The trip to work ↓
Many work from home
35% of workers worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Getting to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Foothills County grades B+ for jobs and income
Better than 65% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #149 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.
The median household in Foothills County had $132,600 in 2020
That puts Foothills County 44% above the median of Alberta’s towns, $92,250. Of the 166 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 6, 20 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).
Commuting times in Foothills County
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 29.2 minutes. In the middle of Alberta’s towns, the average commute is 25.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 20%, fewer than the 39% in the middle of Alberta’s towns.
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.
4% of commuters from Foothills County go without a car
The car is the way to work for 93% of commuters. Transit takes 0.7% of commuters, 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).
Foothills County empties a little on a working day
18% 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.
82% of Foothills County’s residents in work leave it to work; Calgary takes the most
- Calgary2,670
- Okotoks680
- High River490
- Rocky View County170
- Black Diamond115
- Coaldale65
- Fort McMurray60
- Turner Valley50
- Longview45
- Nanton20
Inbound, the leader is Calgary (1,655).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How many in Foothills County were working in 2021
Of the 166 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 6, 154 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 66% in October 2026. 67% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 61%: many residents are past working age. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at home.
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.
In Census Division No. 6, 35% more people receive EI than in 2019
Behind EI beneficiaries sits data gathered across Census Division No. 6, with Foothills County one part of it.
January 2021 was the busiest month, with 97,600 people on EI, 3.2 times 2019’s average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4 receive EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 1%.
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).
How walkable Foothills County is: C
Better than 31% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #435 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Ranked on jobs and income, Foothills County is 82nd among 334 Canadian towns of 18,100 to 34,800
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Whitehorse Yukon | 34,129 | 82% | 5.6% | $112K | A+ |
| 3 | Arcola East Saskatchewan | 33,823 | 79% | 7.7% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | Lloydminster (Part) Alberta | 21,267 | 75% | 11% | $98K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 45 | Auburn Bay Alberta | 18,296 | 77% | 9% | $126K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 57 | Fort Saskatchewan Alberta | 30,575 | 74% | 11% | $113K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 80 | Conception Bay South Newfoundland and Labrador | 29,725 | 72% | 11% | $94K | B+ |
| 81 | Woodlawn Nova Scotia | 20,925 | 70% | 11% | $95K | B+ |
| 82 | Foothills County Alberta | 25,789 | 78% | 8.7% | $133K | B+ |
| 83 | Grimsby Ontario | 31,478 | 76% | 10% | $104K | B |
| 84 | Westmount Ontario | 19,591 | 71% | 13% | $91K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 334 | Parc-Extension Quebec | 29,066 | 61% | 16% | $48K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Foothills County, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Next to Foothills County: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foothills County | 78% | 8.7% | $133K | 32.2 min | B+ | C |
| Okotoks 5.4 km | 75% | 9.2% | $118K | 27.2 min | B+ | B+ |
| Legacy 10.1 km | 80% | 8.9% | $103K | 31.4 min | B+ | C+ |
| Walden 11.7 km | 75% | 11% | $113K | 28.6 min | B | A− |
| Cranston 12.8 km | 76% | 9.5% | $129K | 27.3 min | B+ | A− |
| Chaparral 12.9 km | 73% | 12% | $140K | 26.8 min | B | A− |
| Silverado 13.4 km | 74% | 12% | $126K | 31.5 min | B− | 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 Foothills County, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- 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. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- Where people commute. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about work in Foothills County
How many jobs are there in Foothills County?
The 2021 census counted about 4,030 people working in Foothills County: 0.7 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 1,139 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Foothills County?
The census put unemployment at 8.7% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Calgary economic region at 6.6%.
What is the average household income in Foothills County?
At $132,600 before tax in 2020, the median household in Foothills County compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Foothills County get to work?
By car: 93% of commuters, 0.7% take public transit and 3.3% walk; on census day 35% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Foothills County?
32.2 minutes is the average trip, with 20% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 9.3% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Foothills County work?
Only 18% work in Foothills County itself; the rest go first to Calgary (2,670) and Okotoks (680).
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).