Photo: Joli Rumi · CC BY-SA 4.0Athabasca County has 0.2 jobs for every resident in work, so most leave town for work
Median household income in Athabasca County was $89,000 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. For 13% of commuters in Athabasca County, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 29.2 minutes. Athabasca County counted 77% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns.
The work figures that set Athabasca County apart
Work near the middle
77% of people aged 15 to 64 had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; counting everyone 15 and over, retirees included, it was 59%. In work ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 29.2 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 13% take an hour or more. The trip to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
On jobs and income, Athabasca County grades B−
Better than 53% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #250 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.
The length of the trip to work in Athabasca County
In the middle of Alberta’s towns, the average commute is 25.8 minutes. Only 28% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 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.
On a working day, Athabasca County loses more workers than it gains
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 9 to 1.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
87% of Athabasca County’s residents in work leave it to work; Athabasca takes the most
Coming the other way, Lac la Biche County sends the most (40).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
In and out of work in Athabasca County
Of the 9 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 13, 5 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 59%. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 63% of the wider area’s adults in work. 64% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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 Athabasca County
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 73% of Canadian towns.
2 of the 9 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 13 have a higher median. That puts Athabasca County 4% below the median of Alberta’s towns, $92,250. Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
5.2% of commuters from Athabasca County go without a car
28% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 3.1% of commuters, close to the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 93% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In Census Division No. 13, 4% more people receive EI than in 2019
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4 receive EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%. The highest month was January 2021: 3,910 people, 2.4 times the 2019 level.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for Census Division No. 13, not by town. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Athabasca County on foot: a C grade
Better than 29% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #439 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Ranked on jobs and income, Athabasca County is 330th among 694 Canadian towns of 5,100 to 9,800
| # | 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 River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 10 | Altadore Alberta | 7,675 | 80% | 8.1% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Parkview Alberta | 5,729 | 80% | 9% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 27 | Glenora Alberta | 6,197 | 78% | 9.1% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 328 | Coral Springs Alberta | 5,542 | 69% | 14% | $124K | B− |
| 329 | Notre-Dame-des-Prairies Quebec | 9,622 | 77% | 6.4% | $71K | B− |
| 330 | Athabasca County Alberta | 7,280 | 77% | 8% | $89K | B− |
| 331 | Silver Heights Manitoba | 7,883 | 75% | 9.4% | $75K | B− |
| 332 | Braeside Alberta | 5,706 | 75% | 12% | $92K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 694 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Athabasca County, and others among Alberta’s towns.
How Athabasca County compares with the places nearby
Athabasca County has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 14–73 km out.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athabasca County | 77% | 8% | $89K | 29.2 min | B− | C |
| Athabasca 14.3 km | 71% | 8.2% | $81K | 18.3 min | B | B+ |
| Thorhild County 54.4 km | 83% | 8% | $74K | 34.2 min | C+ | C− |
| Smoky Lake 71.4 km | 63% | 8.5% | $63K | 18.1 min | C− | A+ |
| Lac la Biche County 72.4 km | 73% | 11% | $95K | 22.9 min | B+ | C+ |
| Westlock County 73.1 km | 79% | 7.6% | $81K | 31.7 min | C+ | C− |
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 Athabasca County, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- Household income. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- 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. 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. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in Athabasca County
Where do people in Athabasca County work?
Only 13% work in Athabasca County itself; the rest go first to Athabasca (930) and Boyle (340).
How many jobs are there in Athabasca County?
About 430 people had their usual place of work in Athabasca County at the 2021 census, 0.2 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 131 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Athabasca County?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 8% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River economic region at 5.6% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Athabasca County?
At $89,000 before tax in 2020, the median household in Athabasca County compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Athabasca County get to work?
93% of commuters go by car, 3.1% take public transit and 2.1% walk. On census day 28% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Athabasca County?
On average 29.2 minutes; 28% take under 15 minutes and 13% take an hour or longer.
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).