Photo: Adam sk · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Oxbow earn more than those in 81% of Canadian towns
When the 2021 census was taken, 6.8% of people in Oxbow who wanted a job had none, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Oxbow is the usual workplace of 495 people, and 395 of its own residents commute to a job. Jobs were held by 76% of people aged 15 to 64 in Oxbow in 2021, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
What Oxbow’s work numbers say
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 6.8% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 5% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
A local job centre
With 495 jobs based in Oxbow and 395 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
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 Oxbow: graded B+
Better than 74% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
How many in Oxbow were working in 2021
A larger share in work than in 55% of Canadian towns.
In October 2026, 65% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 68% of residents that age. Counting retirees, 63% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from 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.
On a working day Oxbow gains 22% in workers
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 2 to 1 in Oxbow. Of those who commute, 72% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
211 people come into Oxbow to work, most from Enniskillen No. 3 and Carnduff
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
$95,000 a year: the median household in Oxbow
The middle of Saskatchewan’s towns is $86,800, and Oxbow is 9% above it. CERB and the other emergency payments of 2020 are counted in these incomes, which lifted the lower ones 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).
3.5% of commuters in Oxbow walk, cycle or take transit
Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 8.1% against 21%. 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).
The trip to work from Oxbow runs about as long as the middle of Canadian towns: 24.2 minutes
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 23.5 minutes. The middle of Saskatchewan’s towns averages 18.1 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 59%, fewer than the 67% in the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns. 11% spend an hour or longer getting to work; the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns has 4.1%.
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.
In Census Division No. 1, the count on EI is close to where it was in 2019
For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of Census Division No. 1, Oxbow included.
In March 2021 it reached 1,490, the most in the series and 2.5 times the 2019 average. That is about 3.3 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 3%.
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).
How walkable Oxbow is: B
Better than 59% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Neighbouring places to Oxbow, compared
Distances here run 28–60 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Oxbow.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxbow | 76% | 6.8% | $95K | 24.2 min | B+ | B |
| Carnduff 28.1 km | 78% | 6.5% | $87K | 19.1 min | A | A+ |
| Carlyle 44.7 km | 85% | 3.7% | $91K | 16.5 min | A+ | A |
| Redvers 50.8 km | 75% | 4.5% | $74K | 22 min | B− | A |
| Estevan No. 5 56.2 km | 77% | 6.7% | $126K | 18.7 min | A+ | C |
| Estevan 60 km | 78% | 7.4% | $94K | 14.9 min | A+ | 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 Oxbow, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment 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. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- 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. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
Questions about work in Oxbow
How long is the commute from Oxbow?
24.2 minutes is the average trip, with 59% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 11% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Oxbow work?
72% work in Oxbow itself; of those who leave, the most go to Estevan (50), then Carnduff (10).
How many jobs are there in Oxbow?
The 2021 census counted about 495 people working in Oxbow: 1.3 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 89 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Oxbow?
At the 2021 census 6.8% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Regina-Moose Mountain economic region, gives 5% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Oxbow?
Oxbow’s middle household had $95,000 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Oxbow get to work?
By car: 94% of commuters, 3.5% walk; on census day 8.1% of those in work worked from home.
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).