Photo: R. Sieben · CC BY 3.0Wheatland County has higher household incomes than 85% of Canadian towns
Working at home: 34% of its workers, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%. For 11% of commuters in Wheatland County, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 31.6 minutes. At the 2021 census, 70% of Wheatland County’s 15-to-64s were in work; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%.
Wheatland County and work: the main findings
Less unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 8.8% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 6.6%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $98,900 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 31.6 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 11% take an hour or more. The trip to work ↓
Many work from home
On census day, 34% of those in work were working at home; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. Getting to work ↓
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 Wheatland County: graded C
Better than 31% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #370 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.
Work and the working-age population of Wheatland County
Of the 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 5, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 71%. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 57% in work in October 2026. 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.
Wheatland County households: $98,900 a year at the median
That puts Wheatland County 7% above the median of Alberta’s towns, $92,250. No other place of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 5 has a higher median. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Commuting times in Wheatland County
The middle of Alberta’s towns averages 25.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 25%, fewer than the 39% in the middle of Alberta’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 29.2 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.
3.6% of commuters from Wheatland County go without a car
Few ride transit: 0.4%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. Nearly everyone drives: 94% 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).
Wheatland County is quieter on a working day than at night
It sends out some 2 workers for every one it takes in. The job is inside the municipality for 19% of its commuters.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
81% of Wheatland County’s residents in work leave it to work; Calgary takes the most
- Strathmore350
- Calgary285
- Rocky View County55
- Okotoks25
- Vulcan County20
- Chestermere20
- Airdrie20
- Hussar15
- Lethbridge10
- Arrowwood10
- Calgary555
- Strathmore530
- Standard90
- Drumheller85
- Rocky View County70
- Hussar40
- Rockyford40
- Vulcan County30
- Airdrie25
- Lethbridge20
Coming the other way, Strathmore sends the most (350).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
23% more people are on EI in Census Division No. 5 than in 2019
Wheatland County shares its EI beneficiaries numbers with the rest of Census Division No. 5.
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.4 receive EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 5%. In February 2021 it reached 2,480, the most in the series and 2.7 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).
Wheatland County grades C for walkability
Better than 31% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #433 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
493rd of 658: where Wheatland County ranks among Canadian towns of 7,100 to 13,700
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Altadore Alberta | 7,675 | 80% | 8.1% | $155K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | West Hillhurst Alberta | 10,319 | 78% | 9.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 29 | Peace River Alberta | 7,220 | 76% | 7.9% | $99K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 491 | Corso Italia-Davenport Ontario | 13,215 | 73% | 12% | $99K | C |
| 492 | Woodbine Corridor Ontario | 12,283 | 71% | 11% | $98K | C |
| 493 | Wheatland County Alberta | 10,150 | 70% | 6.6% | $99K | C |
| 494 | Whitewater Region Ontario | 7,899 | 74% | 7.8% | $81K | C |
| 495 | Lambton Shores Ontario | 12,962 | 73% | 9.6% | $80K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 658 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Wheatland County, and others among Alberta’s towns.
Next to Wheatland County: how nearby places compare
Wheatland County has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 12–44 km out.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheatland County | 70% | 6.6% | $99K | 31.6 min | C | C |
| Strathmore 12.3 km | 74% | 9.8% | $91K | 27.4 min | B− | B |
| Siksika 146 19.5 km | 38% | 35% | $56K | 25 min | D− | D |
| Chestermere 41.4 km | 73% | 11% | $135K | 27.4 min | B | B− |
| Irricana 43.6 km | 70% | 16% | $94K | 38.7 min | C− | 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 Wheatland County, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment 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. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- 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. 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 Wheatland County
Where do people in Wheatland County work?
Only 19% work in Wheatland County itself; the rest go first to Calgary (555) and Strathmore (530).
How many jobs are there in Wheatland County?
The 2021 census found about 1,230 people with their usual workplace in Wheatland County, or 0.6 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 283 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Wheatland County?
At the 2021 census 6.6% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Camrose-Drumheller economic region, gives 8.8% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Wheatland County?
The median household in Wheatland County had $98,900 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Wheatland County get to work?
94% of commuters drive, 0.4% take public transit and 3.2% walk; 34% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Wheatland County?
The average commute is 31.6 minutes; 25% of trips take under 15 minutes and 11% 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).