Photo: Carsell: Photographer · Public domainWainwright has higher household incomes than 66% of Canadian towns
77% of people aged 15 to 64 in Wainwright had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Commutes from Wainwright average 14.4 minutes, and 4% take an hour or more. The census counted 3,065 people working in Wainwright and 2,365 residents commuting to a fixed workplace.
Work in Wainwright: the figures worth knowing
A local job centre
3,065 people work in Wainwright and 2,365 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 14.4 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 4% take an hour or more. 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.
Wainwright earns A for jobs and income
Better than 93% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #23 of 474 in Alberta.
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.
Each working day, Wainwright’s workforce swells by 26%
For every resident who leaves Wainwright for work, about 2 people come in.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Time on the road to work from Wainwright
In the middle of Alberta’s towns, the average commute is 25.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 78%, more than the 39% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 12.8 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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.
1,244 people come into Wainwright to work, most from Wainwright No. 61 and Edmonton
- Wainwright No. 61720
- Edmonton75
- Edgerton60
- Irma50
- Vermilion40
- Vermilion River County35
- Provost No. 5230
- Hughenden25
- Amisk20
- Provost15
- Wainwright No. 61330
- Hardisty50
- Vermilion25
- Irma20
- Macklin15
- Chauvin15
- Edmonton15
- Provost10
- Mannville10
Of everyone working in Wainwright, 41% come in from elsewhere; 720 make the 4 km trip from Wainwright No. 61. Outbound, Wainwright No. 61 takes the most: 330 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Who in Wainwright has a job
Of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 7, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
A more recent figure, for the wider area: 57% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 71% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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.
Wainwright households: $84,900 a year at the median
2 of the 4 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 7 have a higher median. The middle of Alberta’s towns is $92,250, and Wainwright is 8% below it. 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).
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 8.2% of Wainwright’s commuters
Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 9.4% against 21%. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. On foot: 6.9% of commuters, well above the 2.5% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters.
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. 7 are back near their 2019 level
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 6%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 2,060 people on EI, 2.9 times 2019’s average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 2.7 are on EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of Census Division No. 7. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
The Walkability grade for Wainwright: A−
Better than 78% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #282 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 4,900 to 9,400, Wainwright ranks 45th of 703 for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 10 | Altadore Alberta | 7,675 | 80% | 8.1% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Parkview Alberta | 5,729 | 80% | 9% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 27 | Glenora Alberta | 6,197 | 78% | 9.1% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 43 | Playfair Park - Guildwood Estates Ontario | 6,186 | 78% | 8% | $112K | A |
| 44 | Happy Valley-Goose Bay Newfoundland and Labrador | 8,197 | 72% | 9.7% | $108K | A |
| 45 | Wainwright Alberta | 6,996 | 77% | 8.2% | $85K | A |
| 46 | Old Ottawa South Ontario | 6,704 | 76% | 9.9% | $159K | A |
| 47 | Chelsea Quebec | 8,998 | 80% | 6.1% | $146K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 703 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Wainwright, and others among Alberta’s towns.
How Wainwright compares with the places nearby
The nearest places to Wainwright with figures are 4–67 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wainwright | 77% | 8.2% | $85K | 14.4 min | A | A− |
| Wainwright No. 61 4.2 km | 84% | 5.5% | $108K | 22.5 min | A+ | D |
| Vermilion 57.4 km | 79% | 9.8% | $79K | 16.2 min | A | A |
| Provost No. 52 59.6 km | 88% | 4.9% | $88K | 25.9 min | A | C− |
| Vermilion River County 66.1 km | 86% | 5.8% | $103K | 27.2 min | A | C− |
| Provost 67.3 km | 79% | 7.7% | $84K | 15 min | A+ | 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 Wainwright, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Where people commute. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- 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. People in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64 (2021 Census). The census doesn’t cross work with age below the municipality, so this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood has; retirees don’t weigh on it.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Household income. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- 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.
- 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 Wainwright
What is the unemployment rate in Wainwright?
The census put unemployment at 8.2% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Camrose-Drumheller economic region at 8.8%.
What is the average household income in Wainwright?
Wainwright’s middle household had $84,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Wainwright get to work?
91% of commuters go by car, 6.9% walk and 1.3% cycle. On census day 9.4% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Wainwright?
On average 14.4 minutes; 78% take under 15 minutes and 4% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Wainwright work?
Most stay: 77% work in Wainwright. The rest go first to Wainwright No. 61 (330) and Hardisty (50).
How many jobs are there in Wainwright?
About 3,065 people had their usual place of work in Wainwright at the 2021 census, 1.3 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 400 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
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).