GrimshawAlberta
2,799 people live in this town in Alberta. It is part of Division No. 19, a census division.
Is Grimshaw a good place to live?
A tough set of grades. Schools lag (D−). Health is a weak point (C−). Getting around on foot or by bus is easy (A−). The overall grade comes out at C−, better than 16% of Canadian towns. Its place in the ranking is #421 of 473 in Alberta. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for cost of living and B for jobs & income.
This town's rent is the 2021 census rent scaled to 2025 by its province's ratio of surveyed to census rents: no rental survey covers it, so its Cost Grade is less sure. Safety less sure: no police service names this town, so its crime figure is the nearest police detachment's, shared with a wider area. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread.
How Grimshaw grades
Each subject compares Grimshaw with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes Grimshaw stand out
The 3 things Grimshaw does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Grimshaw.
3 schools serve Grimshaw, 3 schools for every grade
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grimshaw Public School Bottom fifth in AlbertaLargest secondary schoolAll grades · Grades K–12 | All grades · Grades K–12 | 519 | English public |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025/26
Grimshaw’s region trails the typical Canadian town by 3.2 years: life expectancy 78.3
In the health survey, 48% of adults in the region rated their health very good or excellent, below Alberta’s towns (51%) and Canadian towns (52%) alike. At 17%, the share of adults who smoke tops the 11% for Alberta. Measured from where Grimshaw’s residents live, the nearest hospital is 1.3 km away, under the typical 3.7 km.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Grimshaw | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| Smokers | 17% | 12% | 12% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 78.3 | 81.2 | 81.5 |
| Very good or excellent health | 48% | 51% | 52% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · Area behind the health survey and life expectancy figures: the North Zone
The force covering Grimshaw records less serious violence than Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns, at 62
A best guess: the nearest detachment’s figures, since none is filed under Grimshaw · Measured across the Fairview detachment area: Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000
Across the area its police cover, the Crime Severity Index averaged 96 over 2023–25, lower than Alberta’s towns (110) yet higher than Canadian towns (67). Property crime in the area its police cover: 44.3 per 1,000 people a year.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Grimshaw | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 62 | 109 | 86 |
| Crime Severity Index | 96 | 110 | 67 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 44.3 | 45 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
Hazards in Grimshaw: wildfire low, radon over the guideline in 8.9% of tested homes
Shared with the rest of the Peace Country Health: radon tests
Little of the land around Grimshaw has burned: 0.5% within 25 km since 1986, or 0.01% a year. The national flood inventory has no study of the town.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Grimshaw | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radon tests above the guideline | 8.9% | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.013 | $0.013 | $0.030 |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
Grimshaw has colder winters than Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: January lows of −20.1°C
A normal January brings 25 cm of snow, the most of any month. Frost comes on 206 days a year, above Alberta’s towns (193) and Canadian towns (159) alike. Between the last spring frost, 21 May, and the first in autumn, 13 September, lie 114 days. Midsummer afternoons in Grimshaw peak at about 22.7°C.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Grimshaw | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| January night low | −20.1°C | −14.7°C | −13.5°C |
| July afternoon high | 22.7°C | 23.5°C | 25.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 384 mm | 431 mm | 883 mm |
| Days with frost a year | 206 | 193 | 159 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Peace River)
Commuters in Grimshaw have a short way to work, 22 min on average, less than in Alberta’s towns and across Canadian towns
92% of commuters took the car to work at the census.
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Grimshaw | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 22 min | 26 min | 26 min |
| Car or van | 92% | 88% | 89% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · Counted in May 2021, under pandemic rules: fewer commutes and more people between jobs than in a normal year.
More of Grimshaw’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns: 14%
Children under 15 make up 20%, above Alberta’s towns (18%) and Canadian towns (16%) alike. 17% of residents are 65 or over.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
Women make up 50.0% of Grimshaw
1,300 women and 1,300 men at the 2021 census; across Canada, women are 50.9%.
| Grimshaw | Alberta | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 63% | 67% | 64% |
| 65+ | 17% | 15% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 28% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 41% | 54% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Alberta and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Grimshaw in November: highs near −3°C, lows near −12°C
By December, a normal day reaches −8°C and a night falls to −18°C. For today and the week ahead, the Weather page carries ECCC’s Peace River forecast.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −8°C | −18°C | 56 mm |
| Spring | 9°C | −4°C | 74 mm |
| Summer | 22°C | 9°C | 173 mm |
| Autumn | 7°C | −4°C | 81 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Peace River); the forecast is on the Weather page
In 2021, Arnold Viersen carried Peace River—Westlock by 23,467 votes, a margin wider than 95% of Canada’s ridings
Grimshaw’s riding for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta can’t be shown, because the province’s boundary file is licensed for non-commercial use only.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
More visits per person served than 89% of Alberta’s town libraries: Grimshaw Library counts 8.1
Grimshaw Library has one location for the 2,718 people it serves.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Grimshaw is graded a B− for cost of living
Shelter took 30% or more of income for 15% of households, lower than both Alberta’s towns (21%) and Canadian towns (18%). 70% of households are owner-occupiers.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Grimshaw | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 15% | 21% | 18% |
| Households owning their home | 70% | 74% | 74% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · Values come from owners at the 2021 census and incomes from 2020, so they predate the later rise in rates.
Protected land is scarce around Grimshaw: 0.5% within 10 km
For a provincial park, Peace River Wildland Provincial Park lies 9.1 km off. The nearest national park is more than 100 km away.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Grimshaw | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 0.5% | 0.4% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Everything we know about Grimshaw
About Grimshaw
Town in Alberta
TownRatings counts Grimshaw as Statistics Canada does, as one municipality in Alberta; the census, crime and housing figures all follow that boundary.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 2,799 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Alberta
- Census division
- Division No. 19
- Census subdivision
- 4819074
Grimshaw’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grimshaw | 2,799 | — | C− | B− | C− | C− |
| Peace No. 135 | 1,581 | 9.5 | — | C | C− | D |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Grimshaw
Who are the people of Grimshaw?
3% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% for the median of Canadian towns; 14% have an Indigenous identity and 7% are immigrants.
What kind of homes are in Grimshaw?
Single-detached houses make up 74% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 1% are in high-rise apartments. 30% of households are one person, and the average is 2.3.
Is Grimshaw growing?
It lost people: 2,718 in 2016, 2,601 in 2021, 4.3% fewer, while the middle of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. Statistics Canada’s 2025 estimate is 2,799.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2023–25 (35-10-0026, 35-10-0183 to 35-10-0190) · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by 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).