Few Canadian towns have as few of their 15-to-64s in work as Samson 137
Samson 137 is the usual workplace of 710 people, and 410 of its own residents commute to a job. Half the households in Samson 137 had more than $68,000 in 2020, before tax, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 34% of Samson 137’s labour force; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
What Samson 137’s work numbers say
Fewer people in work than most towns
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 28% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 26%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
34% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 5.3% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $68,000 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
A local job centre
With 710 jobs based in Samson 137 and 410 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 17.5 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 1.9% 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 & income in Samson 137: graded C−
Better than 25% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
How many in Samson 137 have a job: 28% of 15-to-64s
None of the 11 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 8 has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Working or looking, 40% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 66% in October 2026. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from 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.
Earnings at home in Samson 137: households
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 71% of Canadian towns.
Of the 11 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 8, 10 have a higher median. That puts Samson 137 26% below the median of Alberta’s towns, $92,250. Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Samson 137 fills up on a working day: 68% more workers
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 4 to 1 in Samson 137. 79% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
At 17.5 minutes, commutes from Samson 137 are shorter than in the middle of Canadian towns
An hour or more: 1.9% of commuters, under the 7% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 15.7 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Alberta’s towns averages 25.8 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 58% of commuters, 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.
388 people come into Samson 137 to work, most from Wetaskiwin and Ermineskin 138
- Wetaskiwin175
- Ermineskin 13855
- Ponoka35
- Edmonton25
- Leduc20
- Louis Bull 138B20
- Montana 13915
- Wetaskiwin County No. 1015
- Camrose County10
- Pigeon Lake 138A10
- Ermineskin 13830
- Ponoka20
- Red Deer10
- Montana 13910
- Wetaskiwin10
55% of the people who work in Samson 137 live outside it, 175 of them in Wetaskiwin, 20 km away. Outbound, Ermineskin 138 takes the most: 30 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Leaving the car at home: 1.9% of commuters in Samson 137
Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 98% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Home was the workplace for 5.4%, under the 21% 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).
5% more people are on EI in Census Division No. 8 than in 2019
Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 6%. February 2021 was the busiest month, with 13,700 people on EI, 3.1 times 2019’s average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 3.4 are on 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. 8. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Samson 137 on foot: a D grade
Better than 8% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Next to Samson 137: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samson 137 | 28% | 34% | $68K | 17.5 min | C− | D |
| Ermineskin 138 8.2 km | 33% | 27% | $77K | 15.5 min | C+ | C− |
| Louis Bull 138B 15 km | 31% | 28% | $80K | 18.4 min | C+ | D− |
| Ponoka 16.9 km | 75% | 9.5% | $77K | 20 min | B | 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 Samson 137, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Where people commute. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- Employment Insurance. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so it isn’t an unemployment 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. 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.
- 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. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Trip times. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed average.
- 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.
- A First Nations reserve. Samson 137’s figures are its own, though Statistics Canada rounds or suppresses some for small communities. A reserve has no overall grade and sits in no ranked list.
Questions about work in Samson 137
Where do people in Samson 137 work?
Most stay: 79% work in Samson 137. The rest go first to Ermineskin 138 (30) and Ponoka (20).
How many jobs are there in Samson 137?
The 2021 census found about 710 people with their usual workplace in Samson 137, or 1.7 for each resident who travels to a fixed job.
What is the unemployment rate in Samson 137?
The 2021 census found 34% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Red Deer economic region, is 5.3% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Samson 137?
The census puts Samson 137 at $68,000 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Samson 137 get to work?
98% of commuters drive, 1.9% walk; 5.4% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Samson 137?
The average commute is 17.5 minutes; 58% of trips take under 15 minutes and 1.9% an hour or more.
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) · 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).