Photo: WinterE229 WinterforceMedia · CC0Household incomes in St. Albert top those of 96% of Canadian towns
77% of people aged 15 to 64 in St. Albert had a job at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. St. Albert is the usual workplace of 16,625 people, and 20,440 of its own residents commute to a job. Census day 2021 found 9.1% of St. Albert’s labour force without a job, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
Work in St. Albert: the figures worth knowing
Work near the middle
Counting everyone 15 and over, 60% 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 $117,800 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.
Jobs & income in St. Albert: graded A
Better than 88% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #40 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.
The median household in St. Albert had $117,800 in 2020
Set beside Alberta’s towns, where the median is $92,250, St. Albert sits 28% above. Of the 211 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 11, 47 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).
More go out than come in: the working day in St. Albert
Of those who commute, 40% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
60% of St. Albert’s residents in work leave it to work; Edmonton takes the most
- Edmonton9,365
- Sturgeon County615
- Strathcona County500
- Parkland County280
- Morinville260
- Spruce Grove245
- Fort Saskatchewan165
- Fort McMurray140
- Leduc County130
- Leduc95
Coming the other way, Edmonton sends the most (5,980).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Work and the working-age population of St. Albert
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.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 60% were working. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 64% in October 2026. Working or looking, 66% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
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.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 5.9% of St. Albert’s commuters
Nearly everyone drives: 92% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Home was the workplace for 24%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%. Few ride transit: 2%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
A shorter commute than the middle of Canadian towns: 23.9 minutes from St. Albert
Timed exactly, the average is 21.7 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Alberta’s towns averages 25.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 31%, fewer than the 39% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. An hour or more: 2.7% of commuters, under the 7% 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.
30% more people are on EI in Census Division No. 11 than in 2019
St. Albert shares its EI beneficiaries numbers with the rest of Census Division No. 11.
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 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. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
St. Albert grades B+ for walkability
Better than 69% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #339 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
St. Albert is 2nd of 45 Canadian towns of 52,200 to 100,700 people for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Langford British Columbia | 59,664 | 81% | 6.2% | $93K | A |
| 2 | St. Albert Alberta | 74,621 | 77% | 9.1% | $118K | A |
| 3 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 97,845 | 79% | 7.3% | $123K | A |
| 4 | Grande Prairie Alberta | 71,160 | 73% | 12% | $103K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Airdrie Alberta | 92,544 | 75% | 11% | $110K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | Medicine Hat Alberta | 68,714 | 71% | 12% | $78K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 22 | Wood Buffalo Alberta | 81,611 | 74% | 8.7% | $183K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 45 | Chomedey Quebec | 81,813 | 69% | 12% | $66K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of St. Albert, and others among Alberta’s towns.
How the places next to St. Albert compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Albert | 77% | 9.1% | $118K | 23.9 min | A | B+ |
| Albany 4.7 km | 36% | 10% | $91K | 24.1 min | C | B |
| Carlton 4.9 km | 73% | 9.7% | $120K | 25.2 min | B+ | B |
| Oxford 5.6 km | 71% | 12% | $113K | 24.7 min | B | A− |
| Cumberland 5.8 km | 71% | 11% | $118K | 26.3 min | B | B |
| Rapperswill 6.1 km | 74% | 11% | $131K | 27.3 min | B+ | B |
| Hudson 6.4 km | 72% | 11% | $96K | 23.8 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 St. Albert, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- 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. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed average.
- Where people commute. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in St. Albert
Where do people in St. Albert work?
Only 40% work in St. Albert itself; the rest go first to Edmonton (9,365) and Sturgeon County (615).
How many jobs are there in St. Albert?
About 16,625 people had their usual place of work in St. Albert at the 2021 census, 0.8 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 2,367 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in St. Albert?
At the 2021 census 9.1% 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 St. Albert?
St. Albert’s middle household had $117,800 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in St. Albert get to work?
92% of commuters go by car, 2% take public transit, 3.4% walk and 0.5% cycle. On census day 24% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from St. Albert?
On average 23.9 minutes; 31% take under 15 minutes and 2.7% take an hour or longer.
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).