Laurel’s household incomes are higher than in 93% of Canadian towns
11% of the labour force in Laurel was out of work at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. Workers in Laurel spend 28.5 minutes on the way to work on average (26 in the middle of Canadian towns). In Laurel, 72% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%.
The work figures that set Laurel apart
Work near the middle
72% 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 68%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household had $110,500 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs & income in Laurel: graded B−
Better than 50% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #271 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.
$110,500 a year: the median household in Laurel
67 of the 211 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 11 have a higher median. Set beside Alberta’s towns, where the median is $92,250, Laurel sits 20% above. CERB and the other emergency payments of 2020 are counted in these incomes, which lifted the lower ones 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).
How many in Laurel were working in 2021
Of the 211 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 11, 117 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 76%. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 64% in October 2026. 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.
Leaving the car at home: 8.8% of commuters in Laurel
Only 10% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 7.8% of commuters, above the 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. By car, truck or van: 90% of commuters, against 88% in the middle of Alberta’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in Census Division No. 11 run 30% above their 2019 level
Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for Laurel alone, so this card uses the figure for Census Division No. 11.
The count topped out in January 2021 at 97,990 people, 3.1 times the 2019 average. 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%.
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).
On getting around on foot, Laurel grades B+
Better than 74% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #314 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Ranked on jobs and income, Laurel is 243rd among 553 Canadian towns of 10,700 to 20,600
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Canmore Alberta | 17,341 | 79% | 9.7% | $107K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 31 | Lakeview Alberta | 12,799 | 75% | 11% | $125K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 35 | Lake Bonavista Alberta | 11,154 | 76% | 11% | $138K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 241 | West Point Grey British Columbia | 13,429 | 69% | 9% | $104K | B− |
| 242 | Chapman Mills Ontario | 12,075 | 72% | 11% | $121K | B− |
| 243 | Laurel Alberta | 15,263 | 72% | 11% | $111K | B− |
| 244 | Contrecoeur Quebec | 10,708 | 81% | 5.9% | $82K | B− |
| 245 | Bonnyville No. 87 Alberta | 13,265 | 72% | 10% | $113K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 553 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Laurel, and others among Alberta’s towns.
How the places next to Laurel compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel | 72% | 11% | $111K | 28.5 min | B− | B+ |
| Daly Grove 1 km | 64% | 13% | $95K | 27.6 min | C | B+ |
| Crawford Plains 1.4 km | 76% | 13% | $101K | 27 min | B | B− |
| Bisset 1.6 km | 77% | 10% | $92K | 27.9 min | B | A+ |
| Silver Berry 1.7 km | 74% | 12% | $108K | 27.8 min | B | A |
| Pollard Meadows 1.9 km | 63% | 14% | $80K | 28.1 min | C− | A+ |
| Weinlos 2.5 km | 63% | 16% | $89K | 26.1 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 Laurel, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. 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. 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. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
- Neighbourhood figures. The census reaches a neighbourhood only through its dissemination areas, and Laurel’s figures add those up. Edmonton’s page has the commuting flows, which exist only for the whole municipality.
Questions about work in Laurel
What is the unemployment rate in Laurel?
The census put unemployment at 11% 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 Laurel?
The median household in Laurel had $110,500 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Laurel get to work?
90% of commuters go by car, 7.8% take public transit and 1% walk. On census day 10% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How many jobs are there in Laurel?
The census places jobs by municipality, so the answer is in Edmonton’s figures, with the flows of its commuters.
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).