Fewer of Balwin’s 15-to-64s are in work than in 92% of Canadian towns
Unemployment in Balwin stood at 17% on census day 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. In 2020, a household at the middle of Balwin had $69,600 before tax, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. Residents of Balwin take 24.3 minutes to reach work on average; the middle of Canadian towns is 26.
Work in Balwin: the figures worth knowing
Fewer people in work than most towns
61% 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 49%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 7.1% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 17%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $69,600 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Balwin grades C− for jobs and income
Better than 15% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #442 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.
In Balwin, 61% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 211 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 11, 26 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 59%. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 49%. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 64% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. 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.
Household income in Balwin
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 67% of Canadian towns.
The middle of Alberta’s towns is $92,250, and Balwin is 25% below it. 186 of the 211 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 11 have a higher median. Pandemic support paid in 2020, CERB first among it, is 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).
Balwin gets to work without a car for 12% of commuters
By transit: 10% of commuters, well above the 5.7% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. Fewer drive than in the middle of Alberta’s towns: 85% against 88%. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 15% 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.
EI claims in Census Division No. 11 run 30% above their 2019 level
Balwin doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from Census Division No. 11.
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.2 receive EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 5%. The count topped out in January 2021 at 97,990 people, 3.1 times the 2019 average.
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).
Everyday places on foot in Balwin: A
Better than 90% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #176 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Balwin next to Canadian towns of 2,900 to 5,500: 623rd of 734 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| 2 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 3 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Garrison Woods Alberta | 3,138 | 79% | 10% | $146K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Wainwright No. 61 Alberta | 4,576 | 84% | 5.5% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 18 | Laurier Heights Alberta | 3,048 | 78% | 6.9% | $163K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 621 | Red Hill Ontario | 4,540 | 65% | 13% | $77K | C− |
| 622 | Port Credit NHD (West) Ontario | 2,902 | 70% | 15% | $77K | C− |
| 623 | Balwin Alberta | 4,092 | 61% | 17% | $70K | C− |
| 624 | Rosscarrock Alberta | 3,862 | 72% | 14% | $69K | C− |
| 625 | Cumberland County, Subdivision D Nova Scotia | 4,692 | 68% | 14% | $64K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 734 | Division No. 1, Subdivision E Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,978 | 57% | 22% | $60K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Balwin, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Work next door to Balwin
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balwin | 61% | 17% | $70K | 24.3 min | C− | A |
| Delwood 0.8 km | 67% | 15% | $86K | 25.9 min | C | A |
| Killarney 1.4 km | 56% | 20% | $70K | 26 min | D | A+ |
| Eastwood 1.5 km | 53% | 21% | $57K | 26.6 min | D− | A+ |
| Belvedere 1.6 km | 55% | 19% | $62K | 26.1 min | D | A |
| Montrose 1.6 km | 60% | 17% | $73K | 27.4 min | D | A |
| Glengarry 1.9 km | 61% | 16% | $76K | 23.2 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 Balwin, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. The share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- Household income. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- 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.
- Employment Insurance. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
- Neighbourhood figures. We add up Balwin’s dissemination areas for its census figures. Flows between places and timed averages exist only for the whole municipality: see Edmonton’s page.
Questions about work in Balwin
What is the unemployment rate in Balwin?
The census put unemployment at 17% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Edmonton metro area at 7.1%.
What is the average household income in Balwin?
The census puts Balwin at $69,600 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Balwin get to work?
85% of commuters go by car, 10% take public transit and 1.4% walk. On census day 15% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How many jobs are there in Balwin?
Jobs and commuting flows exist only for Edmonton as a whole, and its page carries them.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · 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).