Photo: Wilson Hui from Calgary, Canada · CC BY 2.0Westlock has 2.1 jobs for every resident in work
69% of people aged 15 to 64 in Westlock had a job at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Before tax, the typical household in Westlock brought in $63,100 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. For 7.4% of commuters in Westlock, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 19.2 minutes.
Jobs and income in Westlock: what the figures say
Lower incomes than most towns
At $63,100 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 19.2 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 7.4% 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.
Westlock grades C for jobs and income
Better than 28% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #378 of 474 in Alberta.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, household income.
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 Westlock’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 82% of Canadian towns.
Every other place of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 13 has a higher median. Westlock’s median is 32% below the middle 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).
On a working day, 3,104 people work in Westlock, 2 times its working residents
Westlock takes in some 7 workers for every resident it sends out. The job is inside the municipality for 80% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Commuting times in Westlock
Timed exactly, the average is 17.3 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Alberta’s towns, the average commute is 25.8 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 66% 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.
1,834 people come into Westlock to work, most from Westlock County and Edmonton
- Westlock County1,020
- Edmonton115
- Clyde115
- Barrhead County No. 11110
- Barrhead85
- Sturgeon County65
- St. Albert65
- Morinville60
- Thorhild County40
- Athabasca County35
Of everyone working in Westlock, 62% come in from elsewhere; 1,020 make the 10 km trip from Westlock County. The main destination the other way is Barrhead, with 80.
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 Westlock
None of the 9 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 13 has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 55%. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 49%: many residents are past working age. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 63% in October 2026. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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 13% of Westlock’s commuters
Few ride transit: 0.6%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. On foot: 10% of commuters, well above the 2.5% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. 86% drive to work, fewer than the 88% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. Only 8.8% worked at home on census day, against 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).
4% more people are on EI in Census Division No. 13 than in 2019
The highest month was January 2021: 3,910 people, 2.4 times the 2019 level. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4 are on EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: Census Division No. 13. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Walking in Westlock earns A
Better than 85% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #219 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Westlock ranks: 499th of 683 Canadian towns of 3,800 to 7,200
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 2 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | Neepawa Manitoba | 6,328 | 85% | 2.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Parkview Alberta | 5,729 | 80% | 9% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | Wainwright No. 61 Alberta | 4,576 | 84% | 5.5% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Richmond Alberta | 4,811 | 79% | 9.2% | $114K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 497 | Countryside Ontario | 5,595 | 67% | 13% | $118K | C |
| 498 | Sunalta Alberta | 4,151 | 76% | 14% | $68K | C |
| 499 | Westlock Alberta | 5,363 | 69% | 10% | $63K | C |
| 500 | Massey Place Saskatchewan | 6,561 | 66% | 11% | $68K | C |
| 501 | Lanoraie Quebec | 5,694 | 77% | 6.1% | $77K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 683 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Westlock, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Work next door to Westlock
Westlock has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 10–42 km out.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westlock | 69% | 10% | $63K | 19.2 min | C | A |
| Westlock County 9.5 km | 79% | 7.6% | $81K | 31.7 min | C+ | C− |
| Legal 28.4 km | 68% | 13% | $97K | 34.6 min | C− | B+ |
| Barrhead 36.7 km | 72% | 11% | $67K | 17.7 min | C+ | A |
| Alexander 134 37.3 km | 41% | 21% | $81K | 21.8 min | C | D− |
| Morinville 41.7 km | 75% | 10% | $109K | 29.4 min | B | 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 Westlock, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Only people with a usual place of work are in it: those who work from home or have no fixed site are not. Home and work are both counted by municipality.
- 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. 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. 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.
- 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 Westlock
How many jobs are there in Westlock?
The 2021 census found about 2,935 people with their usual workplace in Westlock, or 2.1 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 349 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Westlock?
The census put unemployment at 10% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River economic region at 5.6%.
What is the average household income in Westlock?
Westlock’s middle household had $63,100 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Westlock get to work?
86% of commuters drive, 0.6% take public transit, 10% walk and 1.7% cycle; 8.8% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Westlock?
The average commute is 19.2 minutes; 66% of trips take under 15 minutes and 7.4% an hour or more.
Where do people in Westlock work?
Most stay: 80% work in Westlock. The rest go first to Barrhead (80) and Westlock County (30).
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).