Photo: TravelingOtter from Houston, Texas, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Yellowknife has some of the highest household incomes of any Canadian town
When the 2021 census was taken, 5.8% of people in Yellowknife who wanted a job had none, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Commutes from Yellowknife average 13.8 minutes, and 2.4% take an hour or more. The 2021 census found 80% of working-age people in Yellowknife employed, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Where Yellowknife stands out on work
More people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 80% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 74%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment, 5.8% at the 2021 census, compares with 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $148,200 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 13.8 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 2.4% 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.
Yellowknife grades A+ for jobs and income
Better than almost every Canadian town on three measures together, #1 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
Its strongest measure is household income; 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.
Work and the working-age population of Yellowknife
A larger share in work than in 77% of Canadian towns.
Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 79%. 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.
Median household income in Yellowknife: $148,200 in 2020
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).
Before tax, 2020: higher than in almost any Canadian town.
Commuting times in Yellowknife
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 12.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 72% of commuters, against 36% in the middle of Canadian 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.
Yellowknife keeps its workforce on a working day
94% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
6.1% of Yellowknife’s residents in work leave it to work; Region 6, Unorganized takes the most
- Region 6, Unorganized95
- Edmonton40
- Dettah25
- Winnipeg20
- St. John's15
- Halifax15
- Cape Breton15
- Calgary15
- Nanaimo15
- Portugal Cove-St. Philip's10
- Region 6, Unorganized215
- Prince George205
- Behchokò35
- Cambridge Bay15
- Electoral Area A, Fraser-Fort George10
- Hay River10
In the other direction the biggest source is Region 6, Unorganized, with 95.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 21% of Yellowknife’s commuters
Transit takes 1.3% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. More people walk to work here than in the middle of Canadian towns: 18% against 3.4%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Region 6 census division run 21% above their 2019 level
In December 2020 it reached 850, the most in the series and 2.2 times the 2019 average. That is about 3.1 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 7%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: the Region 6 census division. 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 Yellowknife earns A+
Better than 95% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #683 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Yellowknife is 1st of 379 Canadian towns of 16,000 to 30,900 people for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| 3 | Cap-Rouge Quebec | 17,139 | 81% | 4.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 379 | Parc-Extension Quebec | 29,066 | 61% | 16% | $48K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Yellowknife, and others among Northwest Territories’s towns.
How the places next to Yellowknife compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellowknife | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | 13.8 min | A+ | A+ |
| Behchokò 95.1 km | 46% | 21% | $115K | 17.9 min | B+ | A− |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come. The one place listed is 95 km from Yellowknife, the nearest with figures.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Yellowknife, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- 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. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- Trip times. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed average.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Yellowknife
Where do people in Yellowknife work?
94% work in Yellowknife itself; of those who leave, the most go to Region 6, Unorganized (215), then Prince George (205).
How many jobs are there in Yellowknife?
The 2021 census counted about 8,885 people working in Yellowknife: 1 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 905 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Yellowknife?
5.8% of the labour force was unemployed on census day in May 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Yellowknife?
Yellowknife’s middle household had $148,200 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Yellowknife get to work?
By car: 73% of commuters, 1.3% take public transit, 18% walk and 2% cycle; on census day 13% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Yellowknife?
13.8 minutes is the average trip, with 72% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 2.4% taking 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, 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).