Photo: Louis White · CC BY-SA 2.0Earning a living in Saskatoon
For 2.7% of commuters in Saskatoon, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 19.7 minutes. Out of work in May 2021: 8.7% of Saskatoon’s labour force, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. Median household income in Saskatoon was $85,000 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Saskatoon: what the figures say
More jobs than the typical town
98,505 people work in Saskatoon and 91,590 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 19.7 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 2.7% 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.
How Saskatoon will be graded on jobs and income
The letter will come from setting four census figures beside Canadian towns of 2,500 or more: employment at 15 to 64, the median household’s income, unemployment and the usual commute.
A working day adds 6% to the people at work in Saskatoon
91,590 residents of Saskatoon had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 98,505 people had theirs in Saskatoon, wherever they lived.
Each resident commuting out of Saskatoon is matched by about 2 coming in. The job is inside the municipality for 91% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Time on the road to work from Saskatoon
The middle of Saskatchewan’s towns averages 18.1 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 39%, fewer than the 67% in the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 17.5 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
14,975 people come into Saskatoon to work, most from Martensville and Warman
- Martensville2,695
- Warman2,495
- Corman Park No. 3441,910
- Vanscoy No. 345655
- Blucher No. 343495
- Dundurn No. 314440
- Dalmeny405
- Aberdeen No. 373360
- Langham320
- Osler265
- Corman Park No. 3442,645
- Warman520
- Blucher No. 343505
- Martensville505
- Vanscoy No. 345270
- Prince Albert175
- Regina145
- Fort McMurray135
- North Battleford120
- Whitecap115
Of everyone working in Saskatoon, 15% come in from elsewhere; 2,695 make the 18 km trip from Martensville. Going the other way, Corman Park No. 344 is the biggest single destination (2,645).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Saskatoon work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
In Saskatoon, 74% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 47 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 11, 20 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 65% in work in October 2026. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 68% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 62% of residents 15 and over were in work. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
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 in Saskatoon earn
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 52% of Canadian towns.
24 of the 47 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 11 have a higher median. Set beside Saskatchewan’s towns, where the median is $86,800, Saskatoon sits 2% below. Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Household incomes across Saskatoon: $50K to $148K
Median household income in each of Saskatoon’s 43 neighbourhoods: the highest is 2.9 times the lowest. The share of 15-to-64s in work runs from 51% in Pleasant Hill to 83% in Adelaide/Churchill.
| Neighbourhood | People | Household income | In work, 15–64 | Average trip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evergreen | 16,088 | $114,100 | 78% | 20.8 min |
| Stonebridge | 15,230 | $100,500 | 80% | 19.3 min |
| Lakewood | 14,880 | $78,500 | 75% | 19.8 min |
| Willowgrove | 9,787 | $128,400 | 77% | 21.7 min |
| Avalon | 9,488 | $86,900 | 78% | 17.8 min |
| University Heights Urban Centre | 9,247 | $84,500 | 74% | 20.1 min |
| Hampton Village | 9,119 | $113,200 | 78% | 20.4 min |
| Rosewood | 8,427 | $101,200 | 78% | 22.2 min |
| Lawson Heights | 8,158 | $93,200 | 82% | 17.5 min |
| Silverwood Heights | 8,153 | $117,800 | 81% | 17.1 min |
| Eastview | 7,536 | $78,700 | 76% | 18.9 min |
| Blairmore Suburban Centre | 7,411 | $90,600 | 76% | 21.8 min |
| Brighton | 7,238 | $134,800 | 80% | 20.2 min |
| Massey Place | 6,561 | $67,900 | 66% | 20.1 min |
| Fairhaven | 6,536 | $74,500 | 75% | 19.1 min |
| Greystone Heights | 6,402 | $90,300 | 77% | 18.5 min |
| Grosvenor Park | 6,240 | $61,700 | 61% | 18.1 min |
| Haultain | 6,126 | $77,800 | 77% | 16.9 min |
| Pleasant Hill | 6,088 | $50,200 | 51% | 18.6 min |
| Nutana Urban Centre | 5,926 | $54,200 | 72% | 19.4 min |
| University | 5,888 | $70,600 | 73% | 18.8 min |
| Buena Vista | 5,777 | $82,900 | 82% | 17.5 min |
| Confederation Park | 5,771 | $93,900 | 77% | 20.4 min |
| South West Industrial | 5,297 | $83,100 | 69% | 19.5 min |
| Mount Royal | 5,292 | $65,800 | 67% | 17.8 min |
| North Park | 5,000 | $79,500 | 60% | 17.6 min |
| Central Business District | 4,987 | $54,300 | 73% | 16.8 min |
| Lakewood Urban Centre | 4,923 | $122,100 | 72% | 17.9 min |
| Parkridge | 4,518 | $97,000 | 68% | 20.7 min |
| City Park | 3,827 | $59,400 | 81% | 18 min |
| Meadowgreen | 3,782 | $64,200 | 64% | 19.1 min |
| Pacific Heights | 3,770 | $92,500 | 70% | 21 min |
| Lawson Heights Urban Centre | 3,622 | $71,100 | 76% | 19.6 min |
| Brevoort Park | 3,485 | $82,600 | 75% | 19.5 min |
| Nutana Park | 3,045 | $106,600 | 71% | 18.2 min |
| Hillcrest Management Area | 3,004 | $147,900 | 74% | 18.6 min |
| Holliston | 2,963 | $99,600 | 75% | 18.6 min |
| Mayfair | 2,927 | $70,900 | 70% | 17.3 min |
| Westmount | 2,872 | $63,300 | 64% | 16.2 min |
| Dundonald | 2,855 | $114,700 | 79% | 18.5 min |
| Westview | 2,670 | $90,000 | 74% | 17.7 min |
| Adelaide/Churchill | 2,652 | $106,600 | 83% | 17.5 min |
| Caswell Hill | 2,573 | $75,000 | 67% | 15.9 min |
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: each neighbourhood summed from its dissemination areas; incomes are 2020’s.
Saskatoon gets to work without a car for 8.8% of commuters
Only 17% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. By bus, train or subway: 3.4%, much as in the middle of Canadian towns. 89% drive to work, fewer than the 91% in the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
In Census Division No. 11, 19% more people receive EI than in 2019
Saskatoon doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from Census Division No. 11.
February 2021 was the busiest month, with 16,430 people on EI, 2.5 times 2019’s average. Roughly 3.8 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 2%.
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).
Next to Saskatoon: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saskatoon | 74% | 8.7% | $85K | 19.7 min | — | — |
| Grosvenor Park 0.4 km | 61% | 12% | $62K | 18.1 min | C− | A+ |
| Central Business District 1.1 km | 73% | 12% | $54K | 16.8 min | C+ | A+ |
| City Park 1.4 km | 81% | 9.3% | $59K | 18 min | B | A+ |
| Haultain 1.5 km | 77% | 9.4% | $78K | 16.9 min | A− | A+ |
| Buena Vista 2.2 km | 82% | 8.4% | $83K | 17.5 min | A+ | A+ |
| Holliston 2.6 km | 75% | 10% | $100K | 18.6 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 Saskatoon, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- Household income. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- 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. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- 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 Saskatoon
What is the average household income in Saskatoon?
The census puts Saskatoon at $85,000 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Saskatoon get to work?
89% of commuters go by car, 3.4% take public transit, 4% walk and 1.4% cycle. On census day 17% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Saskatoon?
On average 19.7 minutes; 39% take under 15 minutes and 2.7% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Saskatoon work?
Most stay: 91% work in Saskatoon. The rest go first to Corman Park No. 344 (2,645) and Warman (520).
How many jobs are there in Saskatoon?
About 98,505 people had their usual place of work in Saskatoon at the 2021 census, 1.1 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 10,238 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Saskatoon?
At the 2021 census 8.7% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Saskatoon metro area, gives 5.9% in October 2026.
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). 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).