Photo: Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand · CC0Vulcan County has 0.3 jobs for every resident in work, so most commute out
Joblessness at the 2021 census: 4.6% of Vulcan County’s labour force, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Home was the workplace for 41% of its workers in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. The median household in Vulcan County had $87,100 before tax in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900.
The work numbers behind Vulcan County
Fewer people in work than most towns
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 64% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 67%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 4.6% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 8.8%. Unemployment ↓
Many work from home
On census day, 41% of those in work were working at home; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. 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.
Vulcan County grades C for jobs and income
Better than 27% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #381 of 474 in Alberta.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
How many in Vulcan County have a job: 64% of 15-to-64s
None of the 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 5 has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
70% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 57% in work in October 2026. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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 7.6% of Vulcan County’s commuters
Few ride transit: 1%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The middle of Alberta’s towns has 2.5% walking; here, 6.6% do. Nearly everyone drives: 92% of commuters go by car, truck or van.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
The daily tide in Vulcan County runs outward
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 5 to 1. The job is inside the municipality for 19% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
81% of Vulcan County’s residents in work leave it to work; Vulcan takes the most
- Wheatland County30
- High River20
- Arrowwood15
- Okotoks15
- Lethbridge10
- Willow Creek No. 2610
- Champion10
- Vulcan245
- High River65
- Calgary45
- Milo40
- Lomond25
- Champion20
- Wheatland County20
- Strathmore20
- Lethbridge County15
- Claresholm15
Coming the other way, Wheatland County sends the most (30).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How Vulcan County’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 70% of Canadian towns.
Of the 5 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 5, 3 have a higher median. The middle of Alberta’s towns is $92,250, and Vulcan County is 6% below it. 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).
26.7 minutes from Vulcan County to work, about the middle of Canadian towns
Long trips, an hour or more, are about as common as in the middle of Alberta’s towns: 6.6%. Timed exactly, the average is 23.5 minutes (Statistics Canada). Trips under 15 minutes: 36%, 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.
In Census Division No. 5, 23% more people receive EI than in 2019
Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for Vulcan County alone, so this card uses the figure for Census Division No. 5.
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.4 receive EI. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 5%. The count topped out in February 2021 at 2,480 people, 2.7 times the 2019 average.
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).
Walking in Vulcan County earns C+
Better than 42% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #409 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 736 Canadian towns of 3,100 to 6,000, Vulcan County comes 531st on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 2 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | Hay River Northwest Territories | 3,317 | 78% | 6.5% | $129K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Garrison Woods Alberta | 3,138 | 79% | 10% | $146K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 15 | Parkview Alberta | 5,729 | 80% | 9% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | Wainwright No. 61 Alberta | 4,576 | 84% | 5.5% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 529 | Lanoraie Quebec | 5,694 | 77% | 6.1% | $77K | C |
| 530 | Centremount Ontario | 4,053 | 71% | 13% | $83K | C |
| 531 | Vulcan County Alberta | 4,465 | 64% | 4.6% | $87K | C |
| 532 | Annapolis County, Subdivision C Nova Scotia | 5,694 | 70% | 9.3% | $65K | C |
| 533 | Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Quebec | 3,328 | 74% | 9.8% | $71K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 736 | Saint-Alexis-des-Monts Quebec | 3,190 | 61% | 11% | $50K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Vulcan County, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Work next door to Vulcan County
Distances here run 6–53 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Vulcan County.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vulcan County | 64% | 4.6% | $87K | 26.7 min | C | C+ |
| Vulcan 6.2 km | 69% | 11% | $68K | 18.6 min | C+ | A+ |
| Nanton 42.9 km | 87% | 9.1% | $77K | 26.9 min | B+ | A |
| Claresholm 50.9 km | 73% | 10% | $66K | 15.9 min | B− | A− |
| Siksika 146 51.1 km | 38% | 35% | $56K | 25 min | D− | D |
| High River 52.8 km | 76% | 9.9% | $82K | 23.3 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 Vulcan County, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- In work. People in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64 (2021 Census). The census doesn’t cross work with age below the municipality, so this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood has; retirees don’t weigh on it.
- Unemployment. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Trip times. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- Where people commute. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- 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 Vulcan County
How many jobs are there in Vulcan County?
The 2021 census found about 260 people with their usual workplace in Vulcan County, or 0.3 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 86 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Vulcan County?
At the 2021 census 4.6% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Camrose-Drumheller economic region, gives 8.8% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Vulcan County?
Vulcan County’s middle household had $87,100 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Vulcan County get to work?
92% of commuters drive, 1% take public transit and 6.6% walk; 41% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Vulcan County?
The average commute is 26.7 minutes; 36% of trips take under 15 minutes and 6.6% an hour or more.
Where do people in Vulcan County work?
Only 19% work in Vulcan County itself; the rest go first to Vulcan (245) and High River (65).
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).