Photo: Umbra Lab, Inc. · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Lacombe County top those of 73% of Canadian towns
34% of its workers worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. From Lacombe County, the drive or ride to work averages 27.9 minutes, with 7.3% going an hour or longer. Lacombe County counted 78% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%.
Lacombe County at work: what stands out
Work near the middle
At the 2021 census 78% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 62%. In work ↓
Many work from home
34% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Lacombe County: B
Better than 61% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #187 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.
Lacombe County gets to work without a car for 6.7% of commuters
Transit takes 0.9% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. On foot: 5.8% of commuters, well above the 2.5% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In and out of Lacombe County: the working day evens out
17% 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.
83% of Lacombe County’s residents in work leave it to work; Red Deer takes the most
- Red Deer750
- Lacombe315
- Red Deer County150
- Blackfalds145
- Sylvan Lake100
- Ponoka County85
- Clive55
- Ponoka45
- Alix25
- Stettler20
- Red Deer515
- Lacombe400
- Ponoka165
- Blackfalds125
- Red Deer County95
- Eckville85
- Alix85
- Clive75
- Rimbey75
- Bentley70
In the other direction the biggest source is Red Deer, with 750.
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 Lacombe County were working in 2021
Of the 10 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 8, 9 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
In October 2026, 66% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. 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 62% were working. 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.
Household income in Lacombe County: $89,000 at the median
5 of the 10 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 8 have a higher median. Lacombe County’s median is 4% below the middle of Alberta’s towns ($92,250). In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
How long the commute from Lacombe County takes
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 25.6 minutes. In the middle of Alberta’s towns, the average commute is 25.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 28%, 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.
EI claims in Census Division No. 8 run 5% above their 2019 level
The highest month was February 2021: 13,700 people, 3.1 times the 2019 level. That works out to around 3.4 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 6%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: Census Division No. 8. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Everyday places on foot in Lacombe County: C+
Better than 38% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #419 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Lacombe County is 255th of 647 Canadian towns of 7,800 to 14,900
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | West Hillhurst Alberta | 10,319 | 78% | 9.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 37 | Lakeview Alberta | 12,799 | 75% | 11% | $125K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 45 | Lake Bonavista Alberta | 11,154 | 76% | 11% | $138K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 253 | Kimberley British Columbia | 9,037 | 77% | 7.7% | $81K | B |
| 254 | Windsor Park Alberta | 7,863 | 74% | 12% | $82K | B |
| 255 | Lacombe County Alberta | 11,072 | 78% | 8.8% | $89K | B |
| 256 | Lawrence Park North Ontario | 14,735 | 74% | 11% | $180K | B |
| 257 | Ponoka County Alberta | 10,670 | 79% | 8.5% | $92K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 647 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Lacombe County, and others among Alberta’s towns.
The places around Lacombe County, side by side
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lacombe County | 78% | 8.8% | $89K | 27.9 min | B | C+ |
| Lacombe 4.2 km | 72% | 12% | $89K | 21.7 min | B | B+ |
| Blackfalds 7.3 km | 72% | 13% | $104K | 25.5 min | B | C |
| Bentley 17.8 km | 69% | 17% | $78K | 26.2 min | C− | 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 Lacombe County, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s average.
- Where people commute. Only people with a usual place of work are in it: those who work from home or have no fixed site are not. Home and work are both counted by municipality.
- 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. 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.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Lacombe County
How many jobs are there in Lacombe County?
The 2021 census counted about 2,240 people working in Lacombe County: 0.9 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 230 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Lacombe County?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 8.8% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Red Deer economic region at 5.3% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Lacombe County?
The median household in Lacombe County had $89,000 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Lacombe County get to work?
By car: 91% of commuters, 0.9% take public transit and 5.8% walk; on census day 34% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Lacombe County?
27.9 minutes is the average trip, with 28% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 7.3% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Lacombe County work?
17% work in Lacombe County itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Red Deer (515), then Lacombe (400).
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).