Photo: WabbitWanderer from London, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Souris ranks among the lowest-earning Canadian towns by household income
63% of people aged 15 to 64 in Souris had a job at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. An hour or more each way is the commute for 2.9% of workers in Souris; the average is 16.1 minutes. Census day 2021 found 14% of Souris’ labour force without a job, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
What the numbers say about work in Souris
Fewer people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 63% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 47% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
The census counted 14% unemployed in 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
At $47,100 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
A local job centre
720 people work in Souris and 240 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 16.1 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 2.9% 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.
Souris earns C− for jobs and income
Better than 19% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
In and out of work in Souris
A smaller share in work than in 90% of Canadian towns.
Counting those looking for work too, 54% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 47%. 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.
What households earned in Souris: $47,100 in 2020
Souris’ median is 43% below the middle of Prince Edward Island’s towns ($82,000). 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: lower than in almost any Canadian town.
On a working day, 750 people work in Souris, 2.8 times its working residents
Souris takes in some 10 workers for every resident it sends out. 77% 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.
Time on the road to work from Souris
A quarter-hour or less for 64% of commuters, against 40% in the middle of Prince Edward Island’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 12.5 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Prince Edward Island’s towns, the average commute is 23.3 minutes.
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.
536 people come into Souris to work, most from Souris (Prince Edward Island part) and Souris West
- Souris (Prince Edward Island part)260
- Souris West70
- Eastern Kings50
- St. Peters35
- Three Rivers30
- Morell25
- Central Kings15
- Annandale - Little Pond - Howe Bay15
- St. Peters Bay15
- Stratford10
- Three Rivers15
- Eastern Kings10
- Charlottetown10
- Fort McMurray10
Of everyone working in Souris, 74% come in from elsewhere; 260 make the 10 km trip from Souris (Prince Edward Island part). Of residents who leave for work, most head to Three Rivers (15).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Souris gets to work without a car for 17% of commuters
More people walk to work here than in the middle of Prince Edward Island’s towns: 15% against 1.9%. Fewer drive than in the middle of Prince Edward Island’s towns: 81% against 95%. Home was the workplace for 8%, under the 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).
EI claims in the Kings census division are back near their 2019 level
That is about 16.8 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 2%. In March 2021 it reached 3,930, the most in the series and 1.6 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of the Kings 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).
The walkability of Souris: A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
The places around Souris, side by side
The nearest places to Souris with figures are 10–44 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Souris | 63% | 14% | $47K | 16.1 min | C− | A+ |
| Souris 9.6 km | 90% | 7.5% | $81K | 23.5 min | A | D |
| Three Rivers 33.9 km | 68% | 12% | $64K | 24.9 min | D | C+ |
| Morell 38.7 km | 78% | 8% | $80K | 31.1 min | C+ | C− |
| Murray River, Part 1 43.5 km | 70% | 15% | $76K | 27.9 min | C− | D− |
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 Souris, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- 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. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- 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.
- 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 Souris
What is the average household income in Souris?
Before tax, half the households in Souris had more than $47,100 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Souris get to work?
81% of commuters drive, 2.9% take public transit and 15% walk; 8% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Souris?
The average commute is 16.1 minutes; 64% of trips take under 15 minutes and 2.9% an hour or more.
Where do people in Souris work?
77% work in Souris itself; of those who leave, the most go to Three Rivers (15), then Eastern Kings (10).
How many jobs are there in Souris?
The 2021 census found about 720 people with their usual workplace in Souris, or 3 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 94 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Souris?
About 14%, by the census of May 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
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).