Special Area No. 2Alberta
With 1,837 residents, it is a town in Alberta. Its census division is Division No. 4.
Is Special Area No. 2 a good place to live?
Special Area No. 2’s best grade is for cost of living (A). Work and incomes are strong (A−). Most journeys need a car (D). Residents’ health trails most towns (C−).
With fewer than 2,500 residents, Special Area No. 2 gets subject grades but no overall one among Canadian towns.
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.
What makes Special Area No. 2 stand out
The 3 things Special Area No. 2 does most differently from other towns.
How Special Area No. 2 grades
Each subject compares Special Area No. 2 with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
With fewer than 2,500 residents, Special Area No. 2 gets subject grades but no overall one among Canadian towns.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
Hanna Pioneer Village & Museum and 12 more in and around Special Area No. 2
Sights in Special Area No. 2 and close by, ordered by how widely each is known.
Theme parkThe Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site2.2 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumD.B. Hanna Roundhouse500 m outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumEast Coulee School Museum2.4 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumArt & Safety First Exhibits1.9 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumBadlands Good People Exhibit1.9 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (1)
- The Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site: Mascdman, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Special Area No. 2.
Renting in Special Area No. 2 costs 9% of household income, less than in Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns
Owners make up 84% of households.
What homes were worth · The median owner’s estimate at the 2021 census
| Census 2021 | Special Area No. 2 | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households spending 30%+ on shelter | 0% | 21% | 18% |
| Rent as a share of income | 9% | 20% | 20% |
| Households owning their home | 84% | 74% | 74% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada · The 2021 census asked owners what their home was worth; those values, and 2020 incomes, are what this compares.
Hazard risk in Special Area No. 2 is lower than in 86% of Canadian towns
About as many homes carry radon around Special Area No. 2 as elsewhere, 7.5% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. One flood study covers the town, by Government of Alberta. Shaking is less of a worry than in most places, at $0.009 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). Figures for radon tests are published for the David Thompson Regional Health Authority as a whole, not for Special Area No. 2 alone.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | Special Area No. 2 | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $0.009 | $0.013 | $0.030 |
| Radon tests above the guideline | 7.5% | 7.5% | 6.6% |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
A hospital trip from Special Area No. 2 means 35 km on average, in a straight line
Expected years of life at birth: 79.1, below both Alberta’s towns (81.2) and Canadian towns (81.5). Across the region, 52% of adults say their health is very good or excellent, much as in Alberta (53%). Smoking is commoner than in the province: 15% of adults, against 11% for Alberta.
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | Special Area No. 2 | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy at birth | 79.1 | 81.2 | 81.5 |
| Smokers | 15% | 12% | 12% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
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 Central Zone
Special Area No. 2 has 0.4 jobs for every resident in work, so most commute out
The average trip to work took 24 min, lower than both Alberta’s towns (26 min) and Canadian towns (26 min).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | Special Area No. 2 | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 24 min | 26 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · The 2021 census was taken in May 2021, during COVID-19 restrictions: more people than usual worked from home or were off work.
Winter nights bite in Special Area No. 2: January lows of −18.8°C, colder than Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns
Frosty days number 216 in a normal year, above both Alberta’s towns (193) and Canadian towns (159). Summer highs in Special Area No. 2 reach 23.8°C in July. Also worth knowing: the normals come from Coronation, 56 km away.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | Special Area No. 2 | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precipitation a year | 339 mm | 431 mm | 883 mm |
| Days with frost a year | 216 | 193 | 159 |
| January night low | −18.8°C | −14.7°C | −13.5°C |
| July afternoon high | 23.8°C | 23.5°C | 25.5°C |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Coronation)
The force covering Special Area No. 2 records less serious violence than Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns, at 66
No police detachment reports under Special Area No. 2’s name, so these are the nearest detachment’s figures, not the town’s own
The index for the force that serves it came to 77, lower than Alberta’s towns (110) yet higher than Canadian towns (67). Its police area records 32.3 property incidents per 1,000 residents a year. Nobody publishes Crime Severity Index, Violent Crime Severity Index, violent crime and property crime per 1,000 for Special Area No. 2 alone, so this card uses the figure for the Hanna detachment area.
Year by year · Crime Severity Index for each year
| 2023–2025 | Special Area No. 2 | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 66 | 109 | 86 |
| Crime Severity Index | 77 | 110 | 67 |
| Property crime per 1,000 | 32.3 | 45 | 31.2 |
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2023–2025 average
A town of families: 21% of people in Special Area No. 2 are under 15, more than in Alberta’s towns or Canadian towns
Immigrants make up 3.8% of residents, below both Alberta’s towns (8.9%) and Canadian towns (6.4%). People 65 and over make up 19% of the town.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
48.7% of Special Area No. 2’s residents are women
The 2021 census counted 905 women and 955 men here, where women make up 50.9% of Canada.
| Special Area No. 2 | Alberta | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 18% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 61% | 67% | 64% |
| 65+ | 19% | 15% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 19% | 15% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 49% | 54% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; Alberta and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
Special Area No. 2 in November: highs near freezing, lows near −11°C
Hour-by-hour figures come from ECCC’s Coronation forecast, on the Weather page. Into December, the normals move to −7°C and −17°C. Expect about 15 mm of rain and snow over November. Normal highs peak at 24°C in July; nights bottom out at −19°C in January.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | −7°C | −18°C | 30 mm |
| Spring | 9°C | −4°C | 77 mm |
| Summer | 23°C | 8°C | 172 mm |
| Autumn | 9°C | −4°C | 60 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Coronation); the forecast is on the Weather page
Pierre Poilievre (Conservative Party of Canada) represents Special Area No. 2 in Ottawa as MP for Battle River—Crowfoot
In the census’s list of municipalities, Special Area No.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
No public library stands in Special Area No. 2: the closest, Youngstown Public Library, is 28 km away
The next is Veteran Municipal Library (Special Area No.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
A provincial park at Special Area No. 2’s edge: Dinosaur Provincial Park
There is no national park within 100 km of the town. 17 beaches are mapped within 5 km, the nearest Prairie Oasis Campground. The tally of protected areas open to the public within 10 km is 7, higher than both Alberta’s towns (2) and Canadian towns (4).
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | Special Area No. 2 | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Protected land within 10 km | 2% | 0.4% | 2.3% |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
Special Area No. 2 has 1 historic place on the registers
Older housing, built before 1961, accounts for 23% of homes, higher than both Alberta’s towns (4.5%) and Canadian towns (18%).
Historic places by designation · inside the town
Among them
| Heritage | Special Area No. 2 | Alberta | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1961 | 23% | 4.5% | 18% |
Canadian Register of Historic Places, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel, Wikidata; Census 2021 homes by period
Everything we know about Special Area No. 2
Questions about Special Area No. 2
Who are the people of Special Area No. 2?
Visible minorities are 0% of the population, where the middle of Canadian towns is 15%. Immigrants make up 4%, and Indigenous people 4%.
What kind of homes are in Special Area No. 2?
Single-detached houses make up 96% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 0% are in high-rise apartments.
Has Special Area No. 2 grown?
It went from 1,905 people in 2016 to 1,860 in 2021, down 2.4%, while the median of Canadian towns grew 4.1%. StatCan’s 2025 estimate is 1,837.
How old are the people of Special Area No. 2?
Half its people are older than 40.8 (the middle of Canadian towns: 45.2); children under 15 make up 21%, people 65 and over 19%.
About Special Area No. 2
Town in Alberta
TownRatings counts Special Area No. 2 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
- 1,837 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- Alberta
- Census division
- Division No. 4
- Census subdivision
- 4804004
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).