AB Municipal Fiscal Balance Rankings

Operating surplus per person measures how much revenue a municipality generates beyond its operating expenses.

314 municipalities ranked Higher is better

Highest — Best Performing

1. Ma-Me-O Beach (Under 1,500) $30,359 2. Castle Island (Under 1,500) $15,580 3. Ranchland No. 66, M.d. of (Under 1,500) $10,105 4. Saddle Hills County (1,500-5,000) $9,691 5. Elnora (Under 1,500) $6,524

Lowest — Needs Attention

310. Halkirk (Under 1,500) -$1,345 311. Crystal Springs (Under 1,500) -$1,902 312. Rainbow Lake (Under 1,500) -$2,227 313. Smoky River No. 130, M.d. of (1,500-5,000) -$2,577 314. Northern Sunrise County (1,500-5,000) -$5,690

Distribution

110

Top of Band

Mid-Band

110

Bottom of Band

About this Metric

High value means

Revenue comfortably covers operating costs — the surplus can fund reserves, reduce future borrowing, or smooth out service disruptions.

Low value means

Operating expenses are eating into or exceeding revenue, signalling potential cuts to services, deferred maintenance, or future tax increases.

For Councillors

A consistent operating surplus gives council the flexibility to build reserves for capital projects, respond to emergencies without borrowing, and avoid structural deficits. Persistent shortfalls force difficult trade-offs: raise taxes, cut services, or draw down reserves — all politically costly moves.

For Residents

When your municipality runs surpluses, that money can be reinvested in community amenities or held as a rainy-day fund. Chronic deficits are a warning sign: taxes will likely rise or service quality will fall as the gap has to close eventually.

Full Rankings

Click column headers to sort. Filter by population band.

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Prov. # ▲	Municipality	Type	Population	Value	Band Rank	vs Band Avg
1	Ma-Me-O Beach	V	125	$30,359	1 of 193	+2457%
2	Castle Island	V	17	$15,580	2 of 193	+1212%
3	Ranchland No. 66, M.d. of	D	110	$10,105	4 of 193	+751%
4	Saddle Hills County	D	2,449	$9,691	1 of 106	+972%
5	Elnora	D	307	$6,524	5 of 193	+450%
6	Legal	T	1,253	$5,287	7 of 193	+345%
7	Greenview No. 16, M.d. of	D	8,584	$4,520	1 of 91	+570%
8	Wainwright No. 61, M.d. of	D	4,446	$4,379	3 of 106	+384%
9	Fox Creek	T	2,013	$4,067	4 of 106	+350%
10	Holden	D	381	$3,801	11 of 193	+220%
11	Provost No. 52, M.d. of	D	2,071	$3,736	5 of 106	+313%
12	Nampa	D	430	$3,639	12 of 193	+207%
13	Birchcliff	V	301	$3,553	13 of 193	+199%
14	Island Lake South	V	83	$3,456	14 of 193	+191%
15	Barons	D	334	$3,343	16 of 193	+182%
16	Larkspur	V	53	$3,336	17 of 193	+181%
17	Half Moon Bay	V	68	$2,740	21 of 193	+131%
18	Val Quentin	V	169	$2,697	23 of 193	+127%
19	Acme	D	651	$2,680	24 of 193	+126%
20	Paintearth No. 18, County of	D	1,990	$2,648	8 of 106	+193%
21	Newell County	D	7,846	$2,597	3 of 91	+285%
22	Smoky Lake	T	1,159	$2,527	25 of 193	+113%
23	Edberg	D	123	$2,514	26 of 193	+112%
24	Minburn County No. 27	D	3,142	$2,426	11 of 106	+168%
25	Betula Beach	V	25	$2,417	27 of 193	+104%
26	Hanna	T	2,665	$2,368	13 of 106	+162%
27	Lac la Biche County	D	8,580	$2,357	4 of 91	+249%
28	Itaska Beach	V	29	$2,327	28 of 193	+96%
29	Whispering Hills	V	136	$2,308	29 of 193	+94%
30	Bruderheim	T	1,439	$2,276	31 of 193	+92%
31	Silver Beach	V	54	$2,260	32 of 193	+90%
32	Flagstaff County	D	3,729	$2,217	14 of 106	+145%
33	Drumheller	T	8,439	$2,141	5 of 91	+217%
34	Innisfree	D	205	$2,139	33 of 193	+80%
35	Thorhild County	D	3,147	$2,124	16 of 106	+135%
36	Medicine Hat	D	68,714	$2,115	1 of 22	+274%
37	Empress	D	179	$2,077	34 of 193	+75%
38	Cypress County	D	7,855	$1,999	6 of 91	+196%
39	Ryley	D	486	$1,940	35 of 193	+63%
40	Point Alison	V	19	$1,932	36 of 193	+63%
41	Rocky Mountain House	T	8,144	$1,917	8 of 91	+184%
42	Leduc	D	39,966	$1,915	2 of 48	+207%
43	Argentia Beach	V	36	$1,852	38 of 193	+56%
44	Youngstown	D	179	$1,830	39 of 193	+54%
45	Burnstick Lake	V	29	$1,815	40 of 193	+53%
46	Canmore	T	17,341	$1,764	3 of 48	+183%
47	Starland County	D	1,820	$1,756	17 of 106	+94%
48	Birch Hills County	D	1,522	$1,728	18 of 106	+91%
49	Chauvin	D	284	$1,720	41 of 193	+45%
50	Vermilion River County	D	8,215	$1,701	10 of 91	+152%
51	Irma	D	482	$1,638	42 of 193	+38%
52	Forestburg	D	833	$1,631	43 of 193	+37%
53	South View	V	74	$1,628	44 of 193	+37%
54	Lloydminster	D	21,295	$1,607	4 of 48	+157%
55	Milo	D	131	$1,583	45 of 193	+33%
56	Carmangay	D	297	$1,551	47 of 193	+31%
57	Stirling	D	1,350	$1,547	48 of 193	+30%
58	Jasper	D	4,627	$1,534	20 of 106	+70%
59	Boyle	D	859	$1,531	49 of 193	+29%
60	White Sands	V	183	$1,525	50 of 193	+28%
61	Heisler	D	129	$1,516	51 of 193	+28%
62	Glendon	D	532	$1,509	52 of 193	+27%
63	Sturgeon County	D	21,035	$1,477	5 of 48	+137%
64	Jarvis Bay	V	224	$1,470	55 of 193	+24%
65	Coaldale	T	9,644	$1,458	12 of 91	+116%
66	Clear Hills County	D	3,006	$1,434	23 of 106	+59%
67	Sunbreaker Cove	V	137	$1,416	56 of 193	+19%
68	Ghost Lake	V	75	$1,415	57 of 193	+19%
69	Rosalind	D	192	$1,357	58 of 193	+14%
70	Vauxhall	T	1,451	$1,354	59 of 193	+14%
71	Sunset Point	V	270	$1,335	61 of 193	+12%
72	Millet	T	1,967	$1,282	28 of 106	+42%
73	Rocky View County	D	50,260	$1,250	2 of 22	+121%
74	Bassano	T	1,381	$1,237	65 of 193	+4%
75	Castor	T	876	$1,236	66 of 193	+4%
76	Athabasca County	D	7,280	$1,226	15 of 91	+82%
77	Linden	D	911	$1,211	67 of 193	+2%
78	Sundre	T	2,683	$1,191	31 of 106	+32%
79	Whitecourt	T	10,711	$1,181	16 of 91	+75%
80	I.d. No. 09 (Banff)	D	1,004	$1,133	69 of 193	-5%
81	Forty Mile County No. 8	D	4,073	$1,131	34 of 106	+25%
82	Hardisty	T	628	$1,116	70 of 193	-6%
83	Airdrie	D	92,544	$1,113	3 of 22	+97%
84	Myrnam	D	246	$1,094	71 of 193	-8%
85	Lethbridge County	D	10,988	$1,082	18 of 91	+60%
86	Bow Island	T	2,310	$1,072	35 of 106	+19%
87	Beaver County	D	6,245	$1,028	19 of 91	+52%
88	Lac Ste. Anne County	D	12,639	$1,006	20 of 91	+49%
89	Grandview	V	181	$1,001	73 of 193	-16%
90	Rycroft	D	629	$1,000	74 of 193	-16%
91	Yellowhead County	D	10,966	$999	21 of 91	+48%
92	Pelican Narrows	V	162	$947	75 of 193	-20%
93	Kneehill County	D	5,037	$916	22 of 91	+36%
94	Fort Saskatchewan	D	30,575	$898	8 of 48	+44%
95	Alix	D	877	$897	77 of 193	-24%
96	Banff	T	11,402	$888	25 of 91	+32%
97	Edson	T	8,692	$887	27 of 91	+31%
98	Waskatenau	D	324	$876	78 of 193	-26%
99	South Baptiste	V	85	$863	79 of 193	-27%
100	Falher	T	1,084	$851	80 of 193	-28%
101	Vulcan County	D	4,491	$850	43 of 106	-6%
102	Camrose	D	20,801	$834	9 of 48	+34%
103	Strathcona County	D	107,345	$821	4 of 22	+45%
104	Peace River	T	7,220	$812	30 of 91	+20%
105	Woodlands County	D	4,778	$808	44 of 106	-11%
106	Chestermere	D	31,671	$798	10 of 48	+28%
107	Edmonton	D	1,238,295	$793	7 of 10	-4%
108	Raymond	T	4,600	$792	45 of 106	-12%
109	Warburg	D	684	$781	81 of 193	-34%
110	Sylvan Lake	T	17,897	$776	12 of 48	+24%
111	Longview	D	304	$749	83 of 193	-37%
112	Spruce Grove	D	44,575	$728	13 of 48	+17%
113	Bondiss	V	126	$707	84 of 193	-40%
114	Wainwright	T	6,997	$706	33 of 91	+5%
115	Vilna	D	269	$695	85 of 193	-41%
116	High Prairie	T	2,607	$694	47 of 106	-23%
117	Northern Lights County	D	4,115	$692	48 of 106	-23%
118	I.d. No. 04 (Waterton)	D	550	$690	86 of 193	-42%
119	Calgary	D	1,612,834	$685	8 of 10	-17%
120	Okotoks	T	33,482	$671	16 of 48	+8%
121	Veteran	D	230	$661	87 of 193	-44%
122	St. Albert	D	74,730	$660	6 of 22	+17%
123	Spirit River	T	927	$651	88 of 193	-45%
124	Calmar	T	2,345	$641	50 of 106	-29%
125	Big Lakes County	D	5,106	$638	34 of 91	-5%
126	Hill Spring	D	183	$625	89 of 193	-47%
127	Kapasiwin	V	34	$624	90 of 193	-47%
128	Leduc County	D	16,400	$616	21 of 48	-1%
129	Taber, M.d. of	D	7,447	$609	37 of 91	-10%
130	High River	T	15,518	$595	22 of 48	-5%
131	Stony Plain	T	19,662	$586	23 of 48	-6%
132	Bonnyville No. 87, M.d. of	D	11,864	$581	39 of 91	-14%
133	St. Paul County No. 19	D	6,462	$577	40 of 91	-15%
134	Foremost	D	413	$571	92 of 193	-52%
135	Nakamun Park	V	80	$564	93 of 193	-53%
136	Lethbridge	D	113,671	$562	8 of 22	-1%
137	Nanton	T	2,522	$561	51 of 106	-38%
138	Parkland County	D	34,286	$561	24 of 48	-10%
139	Tofield	T	2,122	$561	52 of 106	-38%
140	Viking	T	964	$556	94 of 193	-53%
141	Bon Accord	T	1,457	$545	95 of 193	-54%
142	Warner	D	400	$521	96 of 193	-56%
143	Cardston	T	3,853	$521	54 of 106	-42%
144	Devon	T	6,965	$511	43 of 91	-24%
145	Oyen	T	961	$510	97 of 193	-57%
146	Fairview No. 136, M.d. of	D	1,580	$495	56 of 106	-45%
147	Provost	T	1,875	$488	58 of 106	-46%
148	Beaverlodge	T	2,454	$478	59 of 106	-47%
149	Fort Macleod	T	3,945	$477	60 of 106	-47%
150	Paradise Valley	D	205	$464	99 of 193	-61%
151	Wood Buffalo	D	81,577	$459	12 of 22	-19%
152	Thorsby	T	928	$449	100 of 193	-62%
153	Slave Lake	T	7,334	$438	46 of 91	-35%
154	Crowsnest Pass	D	6,011	$435	47 of 91	-35%
155	Smoky Lake County	D	4,043	$431	62 of 106	-52%
156	Spring Lake	D	772	$427	101 of 193	-64%
157	Norris Beach	V	71	$412	103 of 193	-65%
158	Carstairs	T	5,248	$407	48 of 91	-40%
159	Vulcan	T	1,922	$404	63 of 106	-55%
160	Crossfield	T	4,075	$396	65 of 106	-56%
161	Sedgewick	T	793	$395	105 of 193	-67%
162	Coronation	T	885	$392	106 of 193	-67%
163	Swan Hills	T	1,430	$391	107 of 193	-67%
164	Blackfalds	T	12,258	$391	49 of 91	-42%
165	Cochrane	T	39,397	$390	33 of 48	-37%
166	Wetaskiwin No. 10, County of	D	11,217	$387	51 of 91	-43%
167	Redcliff	T	5,916	$378	52 of 91	-44%
168	Hughenden	D	203	$375	108 of 193	-68%
169	Kitscoty	D	964	$373	109 of 193	-69%
170	Camrose County	D	8,951	$371	54 of 91	-45%
171	Magrath	T	2,566	$369	66 of 106	-59%
172	Picture Butte	T	2,380	$364	67 of 106	-60%
173	Barrhead	T	4,768	$359	68 of 106	-60%
174	Clearwater County	D	12,326	$359	56 of 91	-47%
175	Mannville	D	829	$354	110 of 193	-70%
176	Morrin	D	231	$344	111 of 193	-71%
177	Westlock County	D	7,556	$337	59 of 91	-50%
178	Rosemary	D	374	$325	113 of 193	-73%
179	Claresholm	T	4,248	$319	71 of 106	-65%
180	Bentley	T	1,153	$316	114 of 193	-73%
181	Cremona	D	486	$308	115 of 193	-74%
182	Duchess	D	1,045	$296	116 of 193	-75%
183	Manning	T	1,153	$294	117 of 193	-75%
184	Foothills County	D	25,779	$294	37 of 48	-53%
185	Bowden	T	1,315	$288	118 of 193	-76%
186	Lamont	T	1,856	$282	74 of 106	-69%
187	Brazeau County	D	7,685	$280	61 of 91	-58%
188	Bonnyville	T	7,366	$277	62 of 91	-59%
189	Ponoka County	D	10,670	$275	63 of 91	-59%
190	Didsbury	T	5,185	$274	64 of 91	-59%
191	Clyde	D	419	$273	119 of 193	-77%
192	Lesser Slave River No. 124, M.d. of	D	2,809	$267	75 of 106	-70%
193	Hussar	D	192	$260	120 of 193	-78%
194	Amisk	D	210	$241	121 of 193	-80%
195	Pincher Creek No. 9, M.d. of	D	3,240	$239	77 of 106	-74%
196	Grimshaw	T	2,799	$221	79 of 106	-76%
197	Strathmore	T	16,416	$213	42 of 48	-66%
198	Stavely	T	577	$210	122 of 193	-82%
199	Yellowstone	V	117	$203	123 of 193	-83%
200	Vermilion	T	4,192	$197	80 of 106	-78%
201	Marwayne	D	547	$196	124 of 193	-84%
202	Mackenzie County	D	14,488	$191	69 of 91	-72%
203	Grande Prairie No. 1, County of	D	26,701	$188	43 of 48	-70%
204	Red Deer County	D	22,076	$188	44 of 48	-70%
205	Lacombe	D	14,733	$184	70 of 91	-73%
206	Mountain View County	D	14,776	$174	71 of 91	-74%
207	Penhold	T	3,812	$164	81 of 106	-82%
208	Barnwell	D	1,073	$160	126 of 193	-86%
209	Coalhurst	T	3,244	$158	82 of 106	-82%
210	Glenwood	D	294	$158	127 of 193	-87%
211	Warner No. 5, County of	D	4,290	$146	83 of 106	-84%
212	Berwyn	D	599	$143	128 of 193	-88%
213	Wetaskiwin	D	13,703	$142	72 of 91	-79%
214	West Cove	V	307	$139	129 of 193	-88%
215	Grande Prairie	D	71,160	$134	21 of 22	-76%
216	Diamond Valley	T	5,694	$127	73 of 91	-81%
217	Opportunity No. 17, M.d. of	D	3,382	$126	85 of 106	-86%
218	Redwater	T	2,301	$120	86 of 106	-87%
219	Two Hills	T	1,698	$115	87 of 106	-87%
220	Sunrise Beach	V	166	$99	130 of 193	-92%
221	Morinville	T	10,763	$93	74 of 91	-86%
222	Chipman	D	286	$93	131 of 193	-92%
223	Consort	D	707	$91	132 of 193	-92%
224	Nobleford	T	1,694	$89	89 of 106	-90%
225	Barrhead County No. 11	D	6,186	$89	75 of 91	-87%
226	Westlock	T	5,363	$85	76 of 91	-87%
227	St. Paul	T	6,218	$74	77 of 91	-89%
228	Elk Point	T	1,481	$72	133 of 193	-94%
229	Norglenwold	V	339	$70	134 of 193	-94%
230	Killam	T	887	$69	135 of 193	-94%
231	Bighorn No. 8, M.d. of	D	1,598	$65	91 of 106	-93%
232	Cold Lake	D	17,815	$60	45 of 48	-90%
233	Pincher Creek	T	3,890	$55	92 of 106	-94%
234	Lacombe County	D	11,072	$46	79 of 91	-93%
235	Daysland	T	902	$43	137 of 193	-96%
236	I.d. No. 24 (Wood Buffalo)	D	706	$42	138 of 193	-96%
237	Hinton	T	10,124	$40	80 of 91	-94%
238	Lamont County	D	3,918	$34	94 of 106	-96%
239	Bonnyville Beach	V	70	$20	139 of 193	-98%
240	McLennan	T	729	$7	141 of 193	-99%
241	Vegreville	T	6,153	$6	81 of 91	-99%
242	Birch Cove	V	68	$5	142 of 193	-100%
243	Brooks	D	17,537	$2	47 of 48	-100%
244	Onoway	T	957	$1	143 of 193	-100%
245	Stettler	T	6,035	-$0	82 of 91	-100%
246	Alberta Beach	D	815	-$4	144 of 193	-100%
247	Cowley	D	209	-$18	145 of 193	-101%
248	Red Deer	D	115,409	-$35	22 of 22	-106%
249	Beiseker	D	787	-$40	146 of 193	-103%
250	Gull Lake	V	274	-$40	147 of 193	-103%
251	Spirit River No. 133, M.d. of	D	649	-$46	148 of 193	-104%
252	Parkland Beach	V	175	-$57	149 of 193	-105%
253	Stettler No. 6, County of	D	5,666	-$57	83 of 91	-108%
254	Innisfail	T	8,736	-$58	84 of 91	-109%
255	Rimbey	T	2,502	-$67	95 of 106	-107%
256	Beaumont	D	26,305	-$67	48 of 48	-111%
257	Seba Beach	V	244	-$70	150 of 193	-106%
258	Mundare	T	875	-$83	151 of 193	-107%
259	Ross Haven	V	120	-$87	152 of 193	-107%
260	Sexsmith	T	2,561	-$90	96 of 106	-110%
261	Cardston County	D	4,948	-$90	97 of 106	-110%
262	Silver Sands	V	244	-$95	153 of 193	-108%
263	Golden Days	V	257	-$118	154 of 193	-110%
264	Clive	D	907	-$142	155 of 193	-112%
265	Coutts	D	260	-$146	157 of 193	-112%
266	Sandy Beach	V	291	-$146	158 of 193	-112%
267	Lougheed	D	224	-$157	159 of 193	-113%
268	Fairview	T	2,918	-$176	98 of 106	-119%
269	Willow Creek No. 26, M.d. of	D	6,081	-$201	86 of 91	-130%
270	Sunset Beach	V	64	-$216	160 of 193	-118%
271	Lakeview	V	26	-$223	161 of 193	-119%
272	Bawlf	D	390	-$225	162 of 193	-119%
273	Athabasca	T	2,887	-$231	99 of 106	-126%
274	Peace No. 135, M.d. of	D	1,581	-$242	100 of 106	-127%
275	Poplar Bay	V	96	-$259	163 of 193	-122%
276	Delburne	D	949	-$287	164 of 193	-124%
277	Mayerthorpe	T	1,413	-$293	165 of 193	-125%
278	Drayton Valley	T	8,047	-$314	87 of 91	-147%
279	Taber	T	10,175	-$316	88 of 91	-147%
280	Hines Creek	D	355	-$322	166 of 193	-127%
281	Eckville	T	1,088	-$326	167 of 193	-127%
282	Alliance	D	158	-$329	168 of 193	-128%
283	Caroline	D	513	-$337	169 of 193	-128%
284	Rochon Sands	V	115	-$339	170 of 193	-129%
285	Ponoka	T	8,212	-$382	89 of 91	-157%
286	Hay Lakes	D	430	-$389	171 of 193	-133%
287	Waiparous	V	65	-$415	172 of 193	-135%
288	Girouxville	D	311	-$415	173 of 193	-135%
289	Two Hills No. 21, County of	D	3,412	-$441	101 of 106	-149%
290	Milk River	T	826	-$478	175 of 193	-140%
291	Czar	D	281	-$479	176 of 193	-140%
292	Valleyview	T	1,807	-$485	102 of 106	-154%
293	Standard	D	384	-$498	177 of 193	-142%
294	Acadia No. 34, M.d. of	D	494	-$505	178 of 193	-143%
295	Mewatha Beach	V	96	-$509	179 of 193	-143%
296	Bashaw	T	905	-$536	180 of 193	-145%
297	Edgerton	D	383	-$583	181 of 193	-149%
298	Wembley	T	1,516	-$611	103 of 106	-168%
299	Horseshoe Bay	V	82	-$639	182 of 193	-154%
300	Olds	T	9,679	-$686	90 of 91	-202%
301	Delia	D	145	-$686	183 of 193	-158%
302	Island Lake	V	164	-$712	184 of 193	-160%
303	Bittern Lake	D	224	-$793	185 of 193	-167%
304	Andrew	D	414	-$896	186 of 193	-175%
305	Wheatland County	D	10,150	-$909	91 of 91	-235%
306	Gibbons	T	3,352	-$1,192	104 of 106	-232%
307	Sundance Beach	V	44	-$1,197	187 of 193	-201%
308	Rockyford	D	421	-$1,252	188 of 193	-205%
309	West Baptiste	V	48	-$1,284	189 of 193	-208%
310	Halkirk	D	95	-$1,345	191 of 193	-213%
311	Crystal Springs	V	82	-$1,902	192 of 193	-260%
312	Rainbow Lake	T	421	-$2,227	193 of 193	-288%
313	Smoky River No. 130, M.d. of	D	1,895	-$2,577	105 of 106	-385%
314	Northern Sunrise County	D	1,848	-$5,690	106 of 106	-730%