Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domainStony Plain’s household incomes are higher than in 77% of Canadian towns
In Stony Plain, 72% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. For 7.4% of commuters in Stony Plain, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 28.4 minutes. Stony Plain had an unemployment rate of 11% at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
Stony Plain at work: what stands out
Work near the middle
With 72% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, it has 57% of all adults employed. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
11% 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 7.1% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Stony Plain earns C+ for jobs and income
Better than 41% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #323 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.
More go out than come in: the working day in Stony Plain
Of those who commute, 32% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
69% of Stony Plain’s residents in work leave it to work; Edmonton takes the most
- Spruce Grove970
- Parkland County890
- Edmonton630
- Lac Ste. Anne County155
- St. Albert60
- Sturgeon County40
- Spring Lake30
- Alberta Beach25
- Devon20
- Fort Saskatchewan15
Inbound, the leader is Spruce Grove (970).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
In and out of work in Stony Plain
Of the 211 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 11, 120 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting retirees, 57% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. In October 2026, 64% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 64%. May 2021, when the census was taken, was a pandemic spring; unemployment has come down since, as the Labour Force Survey records.
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.
The median household in Stony Plain had $91,400 in 2020
115 of the 211 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 11 have a higher median. That puts Stony Plain 1% below the median of Alberta’s towns, $92,250. 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).
Walking, cycling or transit: 4.5% of Stony Plain’s commuters
Home was the workplace for 15%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 1.3% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 93% of commuters go by car, truck or van.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
Commuting times in Stony Plain
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 26.7 minutes. The middle of Alberta’s towns averages 25.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 33%, fewer than the 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.
EI claims in Census Division No. 11 run 30% above their 2019 level
Figures for EI beneficiaries are published for Census Division No. 11 as a whole, not for Stony Plain alone.
Roughly 4.2 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%. The highest month was January 2021: 97,990 people, 3.1 times the 2019 level.
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).
Stony Plain earns B+ for walkability
Better than 68% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #341 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 13,800 to 26,500, Stony Plain ranks 234th of 463 for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Canmore Alberta | 17,341 | 79% | 9.7% | $107K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | Lloydminster (Part) Alberta | 21,267 | 75% | 11% | $98K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 36 | Cold Lake Alberta | 17,798 | 75% | 7.8% | $105K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 232 | South London Ontario | 14,684 | 73% | 13% | $68K | C+ |
| 233 | Islington Ontario | 23,659 | 72% | 13% | $106K | C+ |
| 234 | Stony Plain Alberta | 19,662 | 72% | 11% | $91K | C+ |
| 235 | Edmundston New Brunswick | 18,174 | 72% | 7.9% | $59K | C+ |
| 236 | Sainte-Sophie Quebec | 19,467 | 79% | 5.7% | $84K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 463 | Oakridge Ontario | 13,913 | 51% | 21% | $60K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Stony Plain, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Stony Plain
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stony Plain | 72% | 11% | $91K | 28.4 min | C+ | B+ |
| Parkland County 6.2 km | 75% | 9.8% | $116K | 32.8 min | B− | C− |
| Spruce Grove 6.7 km | 75% | 10% | $107K | 25.9 min | B+ | B+ |
| Enoch Cree Nation 18 km | 45% | 18% | $69K | 19 min | C− | C− |
| Rosenthal 19.1 km | 77% | 7.6% | $122K | 26.5 min | A− | C |
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 Stony Plain, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- Trip times. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- Where people commute. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- Employment Insurance. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- 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.
Questions about work in Stony Plain
Where do people in Stony Plain work?
Only 32% work in Stony Plain itself; the rest go first to Edmonton (1,460) and Spruce Grove (945).
How many jobs are there in Stony Plain?
The 2021 census counted about 4,620 people working in Stony Plain: 0.9 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 661 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Stony Plain?
At the 2021 census 11% 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 Stony Plain?
Before tax, half the households in Stony Plain had more than $91,400 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Stony Plain get to work?
By car: 93% of commuters, 1.3% take public transit, 2.9% walk and 0.3% cycle; on census day 15% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Stony Plain?
28.4 minutes is the average trip, with 33% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 7.4% taking 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) · 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).