Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domainHouseholds in Strathcona County have higher incomes than those in 97% of Canadian towns
Getting to work from Strathcona County takes 25.3 minutes on average, an hour or more for 3.2%. At the 2021 census, 77% of Strathcona County’s 15-to-64s were in work; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Unemployment in Strathcona County stood at 9.1% on census day 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
What stands out about work in Strathcona County
Work near the middle
At the 2021 census 77% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 62%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $124,000 before tax in 2020, where 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.
Strathcona County earns A− for jobs and income
Better than 85% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #50 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 Strathcona County had $124,000 in 2020
27 of the 211 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 11 have a higher median. The middle of Alberta’s towns is $92,250, and Strathcona County is 34% above it. 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).
As many come into Strathcona County to work as leave
The job is inside the municipality for 42% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
58% of Strathcona County’s residents in work leave it to work; Edmonton takes the most
- Edmonton11,785
- Fort Saskatchewan1,260
- St. Albert500
- Beaumont325
- Leduc300
- Sturgeon County225
- Leduc County185
- Beaver County155
- Parkland County155
- Spruce Grove125
- Edmonton14,020
- Fort Saskatchewan1,325
- Leduc County530
- Leduc390
- Fort McMurray295
- St. Albert260
- Sturgeon County210
- Parkland County155
- Redwater155
- Spruce Grove85
Of those coming in, Edmonton supplies the most: 11,785.
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 Strathcona County
Of the 211 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 11, 180 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 62%: many residents are past working age. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 64% in October 2026. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 68% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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 4.6% of Strathcona County’s commuters
Home was the workplace for 22%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%. Transit takes 2% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 93% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How long the commute from Strathcona County takes
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 23 minutes. Only 28% get to work within a quarter-hour, 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.
30% more people are on EI in Census Division No. 11 than in 2019
For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of Census Division No. 11, Strathcona County included.
That works out to around 4.2 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%. The count topped out in January 2021 at 97,990 people, 3.1 times the 2019 average.
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).
Strathcona County grades B for walkability
Better than 59% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #383 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 75,100 to 144,900, Strathcona County ranks 3rd of 41 for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saanich British Columbia | 126,011 | 77% | 6.8% | $93K | A |
| 2 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 97,845 | 79% | 7.3% | $123K | A |
| 3 | Strathcona County Alberta | 107,345 | 77% | 9.1% | $124K | A− |
| 4 | Kamloops British Columbia | 108,793 | 75% | 7.4% | $88K | A− |
| 5 | Prince George British Columbia | 85,944 | 73% | 9.4% | $88K | A− |
| 6 | Lethbridge Alberta | 113,671 | 74% | 9.4% | $82K | A− |
| 7 | Airdrie Alberta | 92,544 | 75% | 11% | $110K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Red Deer Alberta | 115,409 | 70% | 12% | $85K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 41 | Chomedey Quebec | 81,813 | 69% | 12% | $66K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Strathcona County, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Work in and around Strathcona County
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strathcona County | 77% | 9.1% | $124K | 25.3 min | A− | B |
| Maple 8.4 km | 76% | 12% | $114K | 27.1 min | B+ | B+ |
| Tamarack 9.6 km | 75% | 9.7% | $113K | 26.7 min | B+ | A |
| Rundle Heights 10 km | 55% | 18% | $64K | 29.1 min | D− | A+ |
| Larkspur 10.1 km | 76% | 12% | $110K | 25.7 min | A− | A |
| Wild Rose 10.2 km | 68% | 13% | $120K | 27.1 min | B− | A |
| Gold Bar 10.7 km | 73% | 12% | $104K | 22.3 min | A− | 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 Strathcona County, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- 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.
- Where people commute. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- 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. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Strathcona County
How many jobs are there in Strathcona County?
The 2021 census counted about 29,465 people working in Strathcona County: 0.9 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 4,010 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Strathcona County?
The census put unemployment at 9.1% 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 Strathcona County?
The census puts Strathcona County at $124,000 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Strathcona County get to work?
By car: 93% of commuters, 2% take public transit, 2.2% walk and 0.4% cycle; on census day 22% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Strathcona County?
25.3 minutes is the average trip, with 28% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 3.2% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Strathcona County work?
Only 42% work in Strathcona County itself; the rest go first to Edmonton (14,020) and Fort Saskatchewan (1,325).
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).