Work & commute in Shellbrook No. 493 · Census 2021, Statistics Canada

Working-age people in Shellbrook No. 493 are more likely to have a job than in 93% of Canadian towns

Jobs located in Shellbrook No. 493: 90, for 440 residents with a usual workplace. Median household income in Shellbrook No. 493 was $88,800 in 2020, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. When the 2021 census was taken, 4.2% of people in Shellbrook No. 493 who wanted a job had none; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.

85%of 15-to-64s in work

In work, 15 to 64

85%

of residents aged 15 to 64

middle of Canadian towns: 73%

Unemployment rate

4.2%

of the labour force, 2021 census

middle of Canadian towns: 9.9%

Household income

$89K

median, before tax, 2020

middle of Canadian towns: $86K

Average trip

26.3 min

to work, one way

middle of Canadian towns: 26 min

Jobs per resident in work

0.2

jobs here per resident with a workplace

middle of Canadian towns: 0.8

What stands out · In brief

Shellbrook No. 493 and work: the main findings

85%of 15-to-64s in work 4.2%unemployment rate

More people in work than most towns

At the 2021 census 85% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 65%. In work ↓

Less unemployment than most towns

Census day in 2021 put 4.2% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 6.5% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓

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 & income in Shellbrook No. 493: graded A

Better than 85% of Canadian towns on three measures together.

In work, 15 to 64 85% · Census 2021Better than 93% of Canadian towns

Median household income $88,800 · Census 2020Better than 73% of Canadian towns

Average commute 26.3 min · Census 2021Better than 38% of Canadian towns

Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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.

In work

In Shellbrook No. 493, 85% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job

Unemployment rate

4.2%

of the labour force, 2021 census

middle of Canadian towns: 9.9%

In work, all ages

65%

of people aged 15 and over, retirees included

In work, 25 to 54

79%

Statistics Canada’s own rate

Unemployment now

6.5%

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

Measured across the Prince Albert and Northern economic region: unemployment now

Businesses with employees

8.4 per 1,000 people · June 2026

Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 65% were working. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 60% in October 2026. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 67%. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.

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

Shellbrook No. 493 is quieter on a working day than at night

Live in Shellbrook No. 493665 in work

38555225

Work in Shellbrook No. 493315 people

3555225

Commute in · 35Commute out · 385Live and work here · 55Worked at home · 225

It sends out some 11 workers for every one it takes in. The job is inside the municipality for 12% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).

People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.

Where people work

88% of Shellbrook No. 493’s residents in work leave it to work; Shellbrook takes the most

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

Where people who work in Shellbrook No. 493 live

Canwood15
Shellbrook10

Where residents work, outside Shellbrook No. 493

Inbound, the leader is Canwood (15).

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

Household income

How Shellbrook No. 493’s household incomes compare

Before tax, 2020: higher than in 73% of Canadian towns.

Province’s middleSaskatchewan$86,800

Middle of Canadian townsCanada$85,900

Shellbrook No. 493’s median is 2% above the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns ($86,800). In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.

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

2.6% of commuters from Shellbrook No. 493 go without a car

Car, truck or van95%Saskatchewan 91% · Canadian towns 89%

Public transit0%Saskatchewan 1.7% · Canadian towns 3.5%

Walked2.6%Saskatchewan 2.9% · Canadian towns 3.4%

Bicycle0%Saskatchewan 0.4% · Canadian towns 0.3%

Shellbrook No. 493Middle of Saskatchewan’s townsMiddle of Canadian towns

Home was the workplace for 28%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters.

By car, on average

26.3 min

Statistics Canada’s timed average, 2021

On foot or by bike, on average

0 min

Statistics Canada’s timed average, 2021

Work from home

28%

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).

The trip to work

A commute like the middle of Canadian towns: 26.3 minutes from Shellbrook No. 493

How long the trip to work takes Shellbrook No. 493 · Middle of Saskatchewan’s towns · Middle of Canadian towns

33%

Under 15 min

61%

15 to 59 min

60 min or more

6% spend an hour or longer getting to work; the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns has 4.1%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 26.6 minutes. In the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns, the average commute is 18.1 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 33%, fewer than the 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.

EI over time

11% fewer people are on EI in Census Division No. 16 than in 2019

Division No. 16

Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.8 receive EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 6%. The count topped out in February 2021 at 2,210 people, 1.8 times the 2019 average.

On EI

1,080

August 2026

In a year

−6.1%

change on the same month last year

Since 2019

−11%

against the 2019 average

Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: Census Division No. 16. 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

On getting around on foot, Shellbrook No. 493 grades D

Better than 11% of Canadian towns on two measures together.

Everyday places within walking distance 0%Better than 16% of Canadian towns

Walk, cycle or public transport to work 2.6% · Census 2021Better than 19% of Canadian towns

Places nearby

The work picture around Shellbrook No. 493

Place	In work, 15–64	Unemployment	Household income	Average trip	Jobs	Walk
Shellbrook No. 493	85%	4.2%	$89K	26.3 min	A	D
Sturgeon Lake 101 15.6 km	24%	16%	$64K	23.1 min	D	—
Shellbrook 17.4 km	84%	6%	$77K	19 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.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

What each figure measures for Shellbrook No. 493, 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. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
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. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
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. 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.
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.
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 Shellbrook No. 493

What is the average household income in Shellbrook No. 493?

Shellbrook No. 493’s middle household had $88,800 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.

How do people in Shellbrook No. 493 get to work?

By car: 95% of commuters, 2.6% walk; on census day 28% of those in work worked from home.

How long is the commute from Shellbrook No. 493?

26.3 minutes is the average trip, with 33% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 6% taking an hour or more.

Where do people in Shellbrook No. 493 work?

12% work in Shellbrook No. 493 itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Shellbrook (165), then Prince Albert (135).

How many jobs are there in Shellbrook No. 493?

The 2021 census counted about 90 people working in Shellbrook No. 493: 0.2 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 14 businesses with employees in June 2026.

What is the unemployment rate in Shellbrook No. 493?

On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 4.2% 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.

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).