Photo: Qyd · CC BY-SA 3.0Brazeau County has 0.2 jobs for every resident in work, so most leave town for work
11% of the labour force in Brazeau County was out of work at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. In 2020, a household at the middle of Brazeau County had $93,500 before tax, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Brazeau County counted 74% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%.
The work figures that set Brazeau County apart
Work near the middle
The 2021 census found 74% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 60%. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
Census day in 2021 put 11% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 7.3% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs and income in Brazeau County earn B
Better than 59% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #209 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.
More of Brazeau County’s workers leave each day than arrive
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 13 to 1.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
90% of Brazeau County’s residents in work leave it to work; Drayton Valley takes the most
- Drayton Valley1,515
- Breton115
- Edmonton45
- Wetaskiwin County No. 1025
- Leduc20
- Parkland County20
- Leduc County15
- Warburg15
- Thorsby10
- Strathcona County10
Drayton Valley sends the largest group the other way, 50 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Who in Brazeau County has a job
Of the 211 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 11, 138 have 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. The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 67% of residents that age. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 60% were working. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at home.
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.
How Brazeau County’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 79% of Canadian towns.
The middle of Alberta’s towns is $92,250, and Brazeau County is 1% above it. Of the 211 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 11, 107 have a higher median. 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).
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 1.5% of Brazeau County’s commuters
Home was the workplace for 16%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 0.3% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 96% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
A commute like the middle of Canadian towns: 25.6 minutes from Brazeau County
Within a quarter-hour: 40% of commuters, much as in the middle of Alberta’s towns. 12% spend an hour or longer getting to work; the middle of Alberta’s towns has 7%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 24.4 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.
30% more people are on EI in Census Division No. 11 than in 2019
Behind EI beneficiaries sits data gathered across Census Division No. 11, with Brazeau County one part of it.
Roughly 4.2 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 5%. The highest month was January 2021: 97,990 people, 3.1 times the 2019 level.
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).
Brazeau County grades D for walkability
Better than 6% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #471 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Ranked on jobs and income, Brazeau County is 289th among 690 Canadian towns of 5,400 to 10,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Parkview Alberta | 5,729 | 80% | 9% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 22 | West Hillhurst Alberta | 10,319 | 78% | 9.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 287 | Saint-Félicien Quebec | 10,143 | 77% | 6.2% | $67K | B |
| 288 | Mission Alberta | 6,329 | 80% | 14% | $68K | B |
| 289 | Brazeau County Alberta | 7,685 | 74% | 11% | $94K | B |
| 290 | King Edward Manitoba | 7,190 | 75% | 8.3% | $77K | B |
| 291 | Silver Berry Alberta | 9,439 | 74% | 12% | $108K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 690 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Brazeau County, and others among Alberta’s towns.
The places around Brazeau County, side by side
Brazeau County has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 2–75 km out.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazeau County | 74% | 11% | $94K | 25.6 min | B | D |
| Drayton Valley 2 km | 73% | 11% | $87K | 18.4 min | A− | B+ |
| Wabamun 133A 48.5 km | 30% | 33% | $69K | 19.9 min | C− | — |
| Parkland County 66.9 km | 75% | 9.8% | $116K | 32.8 min | B− | C− |
| Stony Plain 72.6 km | 72% | 11% | $91K | 28.4 min | C+ | B+ |
| Lac Ste. Anne County 74.5 km | 74% | 10% | $87K | 38.8 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 Brazeau County, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- Trip times. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- 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.
- 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 Brazeau County
What is the average household income in Brazeau County?
The census puts Brazeau County at $93,500 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Brazeau County get to work?
Driving takes 96% of commuters to work, 0.3% take public transit and 1.2% walk, and on census day 16% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Brazeau County?
About 25.6 minutes on average, with 40% under a quarter-hour and 12% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Brazeau County work?
Only 9.9% work in Brazeau County itself; the rest go first to Drayton Valley (1,515) and Breton (115).
How many jobs are there in Brazeau County?
Statistics Canada counted 141 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Brazeau County?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Edmonton economic region at 7.3%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 11%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
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).