Photo: Bulliver · CC BY-SA 3.0Athabasca has 2.5 jobs for every resident in work
Of everyone in Athabasca working or looking for work in May 2021, 8.2% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Most commutes from Athabasca take well under an hour: the average is 18.3 minutes, and 5.3% take 60 minutes or longer. Before tax, the typical household in Athabasca brought in $80,800 in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900.
Work in Athabasca, in a few figures
Work near the middle
71% 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 58%. In work ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 18.3 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 5.3% last an hour or longer. 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Athabasca: B
Better than 63% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #170 of 474 in Alberta.
Its strongest measure is trip times; 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.
On a working day, 2,225 people work in Athabasca, 2.2 times its working residents
790 residents of Athabasca had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 1,995 people had theirs in Athabasca, wherever they lived.
About 8 people arrive to work in Athabasca for each resident who goes out. Of those who commute, 80% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
The length of the trip to work in Athabasca
A quarter-hour or less for 67% of commuters, against 39% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 15.2 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Alberta’s towns averages 25.8 minutes.
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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
1,366 people come into Athabasca to work, most from Athabasca County and Island Lake South
- Athabasca County930
- Island Lake South45
- Edmonton35
- Thorhild County35
- Boyle35
- Woodlands County30
- Sturgeon County25
- Island Lake25
- Whispering Hills25
- Airdrie20
- Boyle90
- Edmonton20
- Lac la Biche County10
- Fort McMurray10
68% of the people who work in Athabasca live outside it, 930 of them in Athabasca County, 14 km away. Going the other way, Boyle is the biggest single destination (90).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Athabasca work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Work for 71% of 15-to-64s in Athabasca
Of the 9 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 13, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 63% in October 2026. 63% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 58%. 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.
What households in Athabasca earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 58% of Canadian towns.
Set beside Alberta’s towns, where the median is $92,250, Athabasca sits 12% below. 6 of the 9 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 13 have a higher median. The year is 2020: emergency benefits like CERB count in these incomes, and they raised the bottom of the range.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 7.4% of Athabasca’s commuters
The middle of Alberta’s towns has 2.5% walking; here, 6.3% do. Nearly everyone drives: 91% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Home was the workplace for 20%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 1.1%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
EI claims in Census Division No. 13 run 4% above their 2019 level
Behind EI beneficiaries sits data gathered across Census Division No. 13, with Athabasca one part of it.
The count topped out in January 2021 at 3,910 people, 2.4 times the 2019 average. Roughly 4 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 5%.
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).
Getting around Athabasca on foot earns B+
Better than 72% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #330 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 553 Canadian towns of 2,500 to 3,900, Athabasca comes 212th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Garrison Woods Alberta | 3,138 | 79% | 10% | $146K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | Laurier Heights Alberta | 3,048 | 78% | 6.9% | $163K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 210 | Marritt Ontario | 2,759 | 74% | 8.9% | $136K | B |
| 211 | Eastman Quebec | 2,706 | 82% | 4% | $87K | B |
| 212 | Athabasca Alberta | 2,887 | 71% | 8.2% | $81K | B |
| 213 | City Park Saskatchewan | 3,827 | 81% | 9.3% | $59K | B |
| 214 | Sainte-Croix Quebec | 2,612 | 86% | 5.4% | $63K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 553 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Athabasca, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Work in the places around Athabasca
Distances here run 14–72 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Athabasca.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athabasca | 71% | 8.2% | $81K | 18.3 min | B | B+ |
| Athabasca County 14.3 km | 77% | 8% | $89K | 29.2 min | B− | C |
| Thorhild County 62.5 km | 83% | 8% | $74K | 34.2 min | C+ | C− |
| Westlock County 69.9 km | 79% | 7.6% | $81K | 31.7 min | C+ | C− |
| Westlock 71.8 km | 69% | 10% | $63K | 19.2 min | C | A |
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, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Where people commute. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- Employment Insurance. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so it isn’t 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.
- In work. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- 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. 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.
- 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 Athabasca
How long is the commute from Athabasca?
On average 18.3 minutes; 67% take under 15 minutes and 5.3% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Athabasca work?
Most stay: 80% work in Athabasca. The rest go first to Boyle (90) and Edmonton (20).
How many jobs are there in Athabasca?
About 1,995 people had their usual place of work in Athabasca at the 2021 census, 2.5 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 298 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Athabasca?
At the 2021 census 8.2% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River economic region, gives 5.6% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Athabasca?
The median household in Athabasca had $80,800 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Athabasca get to work?
91% of commuters go by car, 1.1% take public transit and 6.3% walk. On census day 20% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
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).