Photo: Nuggets · CC BY 3.0Yellowhead County has 0.5 jobs for every resident in work, so most commute out
Workers in Yellowhead County spend 29 minutes on the way to work on average, and 12% need an hour or more. The median household in Yellowhead County had $90,200 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Jobs were held by 71% of people aged 15 to 64 in Yellowhead County in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What stands out about work in Yellowhead County
Work near the middle
The 2021 census found 71% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 55%. In work ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 29 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 12% last an hour or longer. 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.
Jobs and income in Yellowhead County earn C
Better than 35% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #350 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.
29 minutes from Yellowhead County to work, over the middle of Canadian towns
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 27.7 minutes. In the middle of Alberta’s towns, the average commute is 25.8 minutes. Only 30% 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
The daily tide in Yellowhead County runs outward
2,545 residents of Yellowhead County had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 1,155 people had theirs in Yellowhead County, wherever they lived.
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 4 to 1. Of those who commute, 27% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
73% of Yellowhead County’s residents in work leave it to work; Edson takes the most
- Edson180
- Parkland County60
- Edmonton55
- Hinton55
- Rocky Mountain House15
- Stony Plain15
- Lac Ste. Anne County15
- Didsbury10
- O'Chiese 20310
- Brazeau County10
In the other direction the biggest source is Edson, with 180.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Yellowhead County work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Who in Yellowhead County has a job
A smaller share in work than in 68% of Canadian towns.
Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 55%. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 63% in work in October 2026. The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 62% of residents that age. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at home.
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.
Household income in Yellowhead County
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 75% of Canadian towns.
The middle of Alberta’s towns is $92,250, and Yellowhead County is 2% below it. In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
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: 3.4% of Yellowhead County’s commuters
Transit takes 0.8% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 94% of commuters. Only 19% 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).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
In Census Division No. 14, 12% more people receive EI than in 2019
April 2021 was the busiest month, with 2,070 people on EI, 3.6 times 2019’s average. That is about 3.6 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 9%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Data for EI beneficiaries covers Census Division No. 14. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
On getting around on foot, Yellowhead County grades C
Better than 26% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #444 of 474 in Alberta.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Yellowhead County is 449th of 650 Canadian towns of 7,700 to 14,800
| # | 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 Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 18 | West Hillhurst Alberta | 10,319 | 78% | 9.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 37 | Lakeview Alberta | 12,799 | 75% | 11% | $125K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 45 | Lake Bonavista Alberta | 11,154 | 76% | 11% | $138K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 447 | Creditview Ontario | 10,972 | 69% | 14% | $106K | C+ |
| 448 | Centennial Scarborough Ontario | 13,453 | 71% | 12% | $140K | C |
| 449 | Yellowhead County Alberta | 10,966 | 71% | 12% | $90K | C |
| 450 | Somerset Alberta | 8,416 | 70% | 13% | $100K | C |
| 451 | Wetaskiwin Alberta | 13,703 | 68% | 12% | $70K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 650 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Yellowhead County, and others among Alberta’s towns.
How the places next to Yellowhead County compare on work
The nearest places to Yellowhead County with figures are 28–69 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellowhead County | 71% | 12% | $90K | 29 min | C | C |
| Edson 27.5 km | 72% | 11% | $98K | 17.1 min | A | A− |
| Whitecourt 62.4 km | 71% | 14% | $100K | 20.2 min | A− | B+ |
| Woodlands County 63.5 km | 77% | 12% | $104K | 25.5 min | A− | C− |
| Mayerthorpe 69.2 km | 75% | 12% | $64K | 21 min | C+ | 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 Yellowhead County, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- 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. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- 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. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not 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. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Yellowhead County
What is the unemployment rate in Yellowhead County?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 12% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River economic region at 5.6% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Yellowhead County?
The census puts Yellowhead County at $90,200 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Yellowhead County get to work?
Driving takes 94% of commuters to work, 0.8% take public transit and 2.6% walk, and on census day 19% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Yellowhead County?
About 29 minutes on average, with 30% under a quarter-hour and 12% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Yellowhead County work?
27% work in Yellowhead County itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Edson (1,125), then Hinton (325).
How many jobs are there in Yellowhead County?
In June 2026, 488 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).