Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Households in Estevan have higher incomes than those in 80% of Canadian towns
Of everyone in Estevan working or looking for work in May 2021, 7.4% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. For 3.3% of commuters in Estevan, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 14.9 minutes. Estevan counted 78% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
What stands out about work in Estevan
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 7.4% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 5%. Unemployment ↓
More jobs than the typical town
With 4,610 jobs based in Estevan and 4,060 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 14.9 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 3.3% 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.
Estevan earns A+ for jobs and income
Better than 98% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #18 of 104 in Saskatchewan.
Its strongest measure is trip times; 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.
Who in Estevan has a job
A larger share in work than in 66% of Canadian towns.
In October 2026, 65% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 70%. Counting retirees, 65% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. 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.
A working day adds 12% to the people at work in Estevan
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 2 to 1 in Estevan. Of those who commute, 82% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Commuting times in Estevan
Timed exactly, the average is 13 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns, the average commute is 18.1 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.
1,269 people come into Estevan to work, most from Estevan No. 5 and Bienfait
- Estevan No. 5320
- Bienfait160
- Benson No. 3590
- Lampman65
- Weyburn55
- Oxbow50
- Midale50
- Macoun45
- Coalfields No. 440
- Regina40
28% of the people who work in Estevan live outside it, 320 of them in Estevan No. 5, 5 km away. The main destination the other way is Estevan No. 5, with 310.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
What households earned in Estevan: $93,900 in 2020
Set beside Saskatchewan’s towns, where the median is $86,800, Estevan sits 8% above. Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for that year.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 4.3% of Estevan’s commuters
Only 7.5% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 0.6%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in Census Division No. 1 are back near their 2019 level
The count topped out in March 2021 at 1,490 people, 2.5 times the 2019 average. Roughly 3.3 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 3%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: Census Division No. 1. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Estevan earns B for walkability
Better than 63% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #67 of 104 in Saskatchewan.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
14th of 650: where Estevan ranks among Canadian towns of 8,000 to 15,400
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 2 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 3 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 4 | Walsh Acres/Lakeridge/Garden Ridge Saskatchewan | 9,325 | 80% | 6.7% | $127K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | Prairie View Saskatchewan | 8,517 | 79% | 7.4% | $128K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | L'Aéroport Quebec | 13,630 | 84% | 5.2% | $90K | A+ |
| 13 | Stonebridge Saskatchewan | 15,230 | 80% | 7% | $101K | A+ |
| 14 | Estevan Saskatchewan | 11,391 | 78% | 7.4% | $94K | A+ |
| 15 | Alta Vista Ontario | 8,387 | 78% | 8.3% | $138K | A+ |
| 16 | Revelstoke British Columbia | 9,464 | 77% | 10% | $97K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 650 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Estevan, and others among Saskatchewan’s towns.
Next to Estevan: how nearby places compare
No closer places have figures: these lie 5–75 km from Estevan.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estevan | 78% | 7.4% | $94K | 14.9 min | A+ | B |
| Estevan No. 5 4.5 km | 77% | 6.7% | $126K | 18.7 min | A+ | C |
| Oxbow 60 km | 76% | 6.8% | $95K | 24.2 min | B+ | B |
| Carlyle 74.9 km | 85% | 3.7% | $91K | 16.5 min | A+ | 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 Estevan, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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.
- 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. 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. 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.
- 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 Estevan
Where do people in Estevan work?
82% work in Estevan itself; of those who leave, the most go to Estevan No. 5 (310), then Pense No. 160 (50).
How many jobs are there in Estevan?
About 4,610 people had their usual place of work in Estevan at the 2021 census, 1.1 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 645 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Estevan?
The census put unemployment at 7.4% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Regina-Moose Mountain economic region at 5%.
What is the average household income in Estevan?
Estevan’s middle household had $93,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Estevan get to work?
95% of commuters go by car, 0.6% take public transit, 3.1% walk and 0.6% cycle. On census day 7.5% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Estevan?
On average 14.9 minutes; 73% take under 15 minutes and 3.3% take an hour or longer.
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).