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Work & commute in Prince Albert · Census 2021, Statistics Canada

Working-age people in Prince Albert have jobs less often than in 87% of Canadian towns

Before tax, the typical household in Prince Albert brought in $74,400 in 2020, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. Workers in Prince Albert spend 15.6 minutes on the way to work on average, and 4.3% need an hour or more. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 12% of Prince Albert’s labour force; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.

#86of 104 in Saskatchewan 65%of 15-to-64s in work

In work, 15 to 64

65%

of residents aged 15 to 64

middle of Canadian towns: 73%

Unemployment rate

12%

of the labour force, 2021 census

middle of Canadian towns: 9.9%

Household income

$74K

median, before tax, 2020

middle of Canadian towns: $86K

Average trip

15.6 min

to work, one way

middle of Canadian towns: 26 min

Jobs per resident in work

1.2

jobs here per resident with a workplace

middle of Canadian towns: 0.8

What stands out · In brief

The work figures that set Prince Albert apart

65%of 15-to-64s in work 1.2jobs for every resident in work 15.6minutes, average commute

Fewer people in work than most towns

The 2021 census found 65% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 54%. In work ↓

A local job centre

13,655 people work in Prince Albert and 11,720 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 15.6 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 4.3% 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.

Jobs & income Grade

Jobs and income in Prince Albert earn B−

Better than 46% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #86 of 104 in Saskatchewan.

In work, 15 to 64 65% · Census 2021Better than 13% of Canadian towns

Median household income $74,400 · Census 2020Better than 44% of Canadian towns

Average commute 15.6 min · Census 2021Better than 92% of Canadian towns

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.

In work

In Prince Albert, 65% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job

Of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 15, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.

In work, 15 to 64: places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 15

Prince Albert 65%Middle of Canadian towns: 73%

60%65%70%75%80%85%90%

Unemployment rate

12%

of the labour force, 2021 census

middle of Canadian towns: 9.9%

In work, all ages

54%

of people aged 15 and over, retirees included

In work, 25 to 54

72%

Statistics Canada’s own rate

Unemployment now

6.5%

Labour Force Survey, October 2026 · a year earlier 4.9%

Area-wide: unemployment now, counted over the Prince Albert and Northern economic region

Businesses with employees

1,315

32.3 per 1,000 people · June 2026

For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 60% in work in October 2026. 62% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. 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.

The daily tide

Each working day, Prince Albert’s workforce swells by 15%

Live in Prince Albert12,847 in work

1,9699,7511,127

Work in Prince Albert14,782 people

3,9049,7511,127

Commute in · 3,904Commute out · 1,969Live and work here · 9,751Worked at home · 1,127

For every resident who leaves Prince Albert for work, about 2 people come in. 83% 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.

The trip to work

Commuting times in Prince Albert

How long the trip to work takes Prince Albert · Middle of Saskatchewan’s towns · Middle of Canadian towns

70%

Under 15 min

26%

15 to 59 min

4.3%

60 min or more

Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 15.5 minutes. In the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns, the average commute is 18.1 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 70% of commuters, against 67% in the middle of Saskatchewan’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.

Where people work

3,904 people come into Prince Albert to work, most from Buckland No. 491 and Prince Albert No. 461

Lines are thicker with more people; grey dots are places, sized by population.

Where people who work in Prince Albert live

Where residents work, outside Prince Albert

Of everyone working in Prince Albert, 29% come in from elsewhere; 830 make the 8 km trip from Buckland No. 491. The main destination the other way is Prince Albert No. 461, with 490.

Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.

Household income

Earnings at home in Prince Albert: households

Before tax, 2020: lower than in 56% of Canadian towns.

Prince Albert $74KMiddle of Canadian towns: $86K

$70K$80K$90K$100K$110K$120K

Province’s middleSaskatchewan$86,800

Middle of Canadian townsCanada$85,900

Highest in Census Division No. 15Buckland No. 491$110,500

Prince Albert’s median is 14% below the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns ($86,800). Every other place of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 15 has a higher median. 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).

Getting to work

Prince Albert gets to work without a car for 5.8% of commuters

Car, truck or van92%Saskatchewan 91% · Canadian towns 89%

Public transit1.7%Saskatchewan 1.7% · Canadian towns 3.5%

Walked3.7%Saskatchewan 2.9% · Canadian towns 3.4%

Bicycle0.4%Saskatchewan 0.4% · Canadian towns 0.3%

Prince AlbertMiddle of Saskatchewan’s townsMiddle of Canadian towns

Only 7.4% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 1.7% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 92% of commuters.

By car, on average

14.2 min

Statistics Canada’s timed average, 2021

By transit, on average

42.4 min

Statistics Canada’s timed average, 2021

On foot or by bike, on average

14.3 min

Statistics Canada’s timed average, 2021

Work from home

7.4%

of everyone in work, census day 2021

Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).

EI over time

In Census Division No. 15, 8% fewer people receive EI than in 2019

Division No. 15

The count topped out in February 2021 at 4,830 people, 1.9 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.4 are on EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 3%.

On EI

2,370

August 2026

In a year

−2.9%

change on the same month last year

Since 2019

−8%

against the 2019 average

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. 15. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.

People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).

On foot

How walkable Prince Albert is: B

Better than 64% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #65 of 104 in Saskatchewan.

Everyday places within walking distance 30%Better than 65% of Canadian towns

Walk, cycle or public transport to work 5.8% · Census 2021Better than 56% of Canadian towns

Towns its size

Among Canadian towns of 28,500 to 55,000, Prince Albert ranks 72nd of 148 for jobs and income

#	Place	People	In work, 15–64	Unemployment	Household income	Grade
1	Whitehorse Yukon	34,129	82%	5.6%	$112K	A⁺
2	Arcola East Saskatchewan	33,823	79%	7.7%	$123K	A⁺
3	Woolwich Ontario	31,382	82%	6.2%	$115K	A⁺
…
37	Moose Jaw Saskatchewan	36,337	73%	9.5%	$74K	B
…
70	Magog Quebec	30,764	78%	7.8%	$63K	B⁻
71	Sullivan British Columbia	42,135	75%	7.8%	$116K	B⁻
72	Prince Albert Saskatchewan	40,728	65%	12%	$74K	B⁻
73	Pierrefonds-Ouest Quebec	30,978	74%	9.5%	$96K	B⁻
74	Leamington Ontario	34,653	65%	10%	$79K	B⁻
…
148	Parc-Extension Quebec	29,066	61%	16%	$48K	D⁻

Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Prince Albert, and others among Saskatchewan’s towns.

Places nearby

Jobs and income in the places around Prince Albert

Place	In work, 15–64	Unemployment	Household income	Average trip	Jobs	Walk
Prince Albert	65%	12%	$74K	15.6 min	B⁻	B
Prince Albert No. 461 2.5 km	60%	6.8%	$94K	21.9 min	B⁻	D
Buckland No. 491 7.5 km	78%	6.3%	$111K	23.5 min	A	D

The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

What each figure measures for Prince Albert, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.

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. 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. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
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. 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.
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. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.

Questions about work in Prince Albert

How do people in Prince Albert get to work?

Driving takes 92% of commuters to work, 1.7% take public transit, 3.7% walk and 0.4% cycle, and on census day 7.4% of those in work were at home.

How long is the commute from Prince Albert?

About 15.6 minutes on average, with 70% under a quarter-hour and 4.3% at an hour or longer.

Where do people in Prince Albert work?

Most stay: 83% work in Prince Albert. The rest go first to Prince Albert No. 461 (490) and Buckland No. 491 (185).

How many jobs are there in Prince Albert?

Some 13,655 people worked in Prince Albert at the 2021 census: 1.2 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 1,315 businesses with employees in June 2026.

What is the unemployment rate in Prince Albert?

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 Prince Albert and Northern economic region at 6.5% in October 2026.

What is the average household income in Prince Albert?

The census puts Prince Albert at $74,400 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 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, 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).