The share of 15-to-64s with a job in Eckville trails that of 86% of Canadian towns
Of everyone in Eckville working or looking for work in May 2021, 18% were unemployed, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. From Eckville, the drive or ride to work averages 31.2 minutes, with 7.9% going an hour or longer. The median household in Eckville had $75,000 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
The work numbers behind Eckville
Fewer people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 65% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 50%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 5.3% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 18%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 31.2 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 7.9% 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.
Jobs and income in Eckville earn D
Better than 9% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
In Eckville, 65% of the working-age population has a job
Of the 11 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 8, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting those looking for work too, 61% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 50%. In October 2026, 66% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. 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 long the commute from Eckville takes
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 27.8 minutes. In the middle of Alberta’s towns, the average commute is 25.8 minutes. Only 32% 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
What households in Eckville earn
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 55% of Canadian towns.
Of the 11 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 8, 10 have a higher median. Eckville’s median is 19% below the middle of Alberta’s towns ($92,250). That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 9.5% of Eckville’s commuters
Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. By car, truck or van: 89% of commuters, much as in the middle of Alberta’s towns. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 20% against 21%.
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.
In Census Division No. 8, 5% more people receive EI than in 2019
Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for Eckville alone, so this card uses the figure for Census Division No. 8.
At its peak, in February 2021, 13,700 people were on EI, 3.1 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.4 receive EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 6%.
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).
How walkable Eckville is: A
Better than 92% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Work in the places around Eckville
No closer places have figures: these lie 20–28 km from Eckville.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eckville | 65% | 18% | $75K | 31.2 min | D | A |
| Sylvan Lake 20.2 km | 70% | 15% | $92K | 27.2 min | C+ | B |
| Bentley 25.4 km | 69% | 17% | $78K | 26.2 min | C− | B |
| Clearwater County 28.2 km | 76% | 13% | $83K | 30.3 min | C+ | D |
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 Eckville, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- 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.
- 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. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Eckville
What is the average household income in Eckville?
Eckville’s middle household had $75,000 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Eckville get to work?
By car: 89% of commuters, 9.5% walk; on census day 20% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Eckville?
31.2 minutes is the average trip, with 32% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 7.9% taking an hour or more.
What is the unemployment rate in Eckville?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 18% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Red Deer economic region at 5.3% in October 2026.
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).