Photo: Garth Bishop · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Summerside are higher than in 98% of Canadian towns
Summerside counted 77% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Residents of Summerside take 28.2 minutes to reach work on average; the middle of Canadian towns is 26. When the 2021 census was taken, 9.8% of people in Summerside who wanted a job had none, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Work in Summerside: the figures worth knowing
Work near the middle
Counting everyone 15 and over, 70% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 77%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household had $127,800 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Summerside: B+
Better than 71% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #116 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.
Household income in Summerside: $127,800 at the median
Of the 211 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 11, 21 have a higher median. Set beside Alberta’s towns, where the median is $92,250, Summerside sits 39% 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).
Work and the working-age population of Summerside
Of the 211 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 11, 175 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 64% in October 2026. 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.
6.6% of commuters in Summerside walk, cycle or take transit
Nearly everyone drives: 91% of commuters go by car, truck or van. 24% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 5.2% of commuters, above the 3.5% in the middle of Canadian 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
Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 5%. At its peak, in January 2021, 97,990 people were on EI, 3.1 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.2 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Data for EI beneficiaries covers Census Division No. 11. 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 Summerside: A−
Better than 79% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #273 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 540 Canadian towns of 11,700 to 22,600, Summerside comes 122nd on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 27 | Lloydminster (Part) Alberta | 21,267 | 75% | 11% | $98K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 30 | Lakeview Alberta | 12,799 | 75% | 11% | $125K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 120 | Rosemère Quebec | 14,198 | 80% | 6.5% | $120K | B+ |
| 121 | Convent Glen - Orleans Woods Ontario | 14,118 | 74% | 11% | $110K | B+ |
| 122 | Summerside Alberta | 16,760 | 77% | 9.8% | $128K | B+ |
| 123 | Hammonds Plains Nova Scotia | 13,844 | 75% | 8.2% | $135K | B+ |
| 124 | Copperfield Alberta | 13,952 | 77% | 10% | $111K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 540 | Oakridge Ontario | 13,913 | 51% | 21% | $60K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Summerside, and others among Alberta’s towns.
How the places next to Summerside compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summerside | 77% | 9.8% | $128K | 28.2 min | B+ | A− |
| The Orchards At Ellerslie 1.1 km | 82% | 7.9% | $119K | 29.4 min | A− | B+ |
| Ellerslie 1.4 km | 70% | 11% | $103K | 26.8 min | B− | A |
| Walker 1.7 km | 74% | 11% | $111K | 29 min | B | A− |
| Charlesworth 2.5 km | 77% | 12% | $112K | 26.5 min | A− | B+ |
| Anthony Henday South East 3 km | 70% | 14% | $107K | 26.8 min | B− | B+ |
| Cavanagh 3.5 km | 72% | 12% | $118K | 27.4 min | B− | B |
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 Summerside, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
- Neighbourhood figures. We add up Summerside’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 Summerside
What is the unemployment rate in Summerside?
At the 2021 census 9.8% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Edmonton metro area, gives 7.1% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Summerside?
The census puts Summerside at $127,800 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Summerside get to work?
91% of commuters go by car, 5.2% take public transit, 1.3% walk and 0.1% cycle. On census day 24% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How many jobs are there in Summerside?
Jobs are counted by municipality, not neighbourhood: the page for Edmonton has the jobs based there and where its commuters go.
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).