A larger share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Shellbrook than in 91% of Canadian towns
In 2020, a household at the middle of Shellbrook had $76,900 before tax, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. Commutes from Shellbrook average 19 minutes, and 5.5% take an hour or more. Of everyone in Shellbrook working or looking for work in May 2021, 6% were unemployed; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
The work figures that set Shellbrook apart
More people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 84% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 57%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 6% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 6.5% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
A local job centre
With 685 jobs based in Shellbrook and 490 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 19 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 5.5% 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.
On jobs and income, Shellbrook grades A
Better than 93% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; its weakest, household income.
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 Shellbrook, 84% of the working-age population has a job
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 57% were working. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 60% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Counting those looking for work too, 61% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. May 2021, when the census was taken, was a pandemic spring; unemployment has come down since, as the Labour Force Survey records.
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 35% to the people at work in Shellbrook
490 residents of Shellbrook had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 685 people had theirs in Shellbrook, wherever they lived.
For every resident who leaves Shellbrook for work, about 2 people come in. Of those who commute, 64% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Shorter than the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Shellbrook average 19 minutes
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 17 minutes. Only 64% get to work within a quarter-hour, 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
370 people come into Shellbrook to work, most from Shellbrook No. 493 and Canwood No. 494
- Shellbrook No. 493165
- Canwood No. 49465
- Prince Albert35
- Buckland No. 49120
- Parkside20
- Leask No. 46415
- Saskatoon10
- Big River No. 55510
- Prince Albert85
- Canwood15
- Debden15
- Saskatoon10
- Prince Albert No. 46110
- Shellbrook No. 49310
54% of the people who work in Shellbrook live outside it, 165 of them in Shellbrook No. 493, 17 km away. Outbound, Prince Albert takes the most: 85 people.
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 Shellbrook work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
What households in Shellbrook earn
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 50% of Canadian towns.
That puts Shellbrook 11% below the median of Saskatchewan’s towns, $86,800. The year is 2020: emergency benefits like CERB count in these incomes, and they raised the bottom of the range.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Shellbrook gets to work without a car for 11% of commuters
Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian 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.
EI claims in Census Division No. 16 run 11% below their 2019 level
For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of Census Division No. 16, Shellbrook included.
Compared with a year earlier, 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. Roughly 4.8 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI.
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).
On getting around on foot, Shellbrook grades A−
Better than 76% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Jobs near Shellbrook: the places around it
No closer places have figures: these lie 17–41 km from Shellbrook.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shellbrook | 84% | 6% | $77K | 19 min | A | A− |
| Shellbrook No. 493 17.4 km | 85% | 4.2% | $89K | 26.3 min | A | D |
| Duck Lake No. 463 24.1 km | 85% | 4.6% | $86K | 30 min | B+ | D |
| Sturgeon Lake 101 30.1 km | 24% | 16% | $64K | 23.1 min | D | — |
| Canwood No. 494 34.6 km | 90% | 6.1% | $68K | 28.1 min | B− | D− |
| Ahtahkakoop 104 40.7 km | 28% | 29% | $47K | 18.6 min | D | D− |
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 Shellbrook, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s average.
- Where people commute. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- 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
How many jobs are there in Shellbrook?
The 2021 census counted about 685 people working in Shellbrook: 1.4 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 87 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Shellbrook?
Two figures answer it: 6% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6.5% for the Prince Albert and Northern economic region in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Shellbrook?
Shellbrook’s middle household had $76,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Shellbrook get to work?
By car: 83% of commuters, 11% walk; on census day 9.9% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Shellbrook?
19 minutes is the average trip, with 64% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 5.5% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Shellbrook work?
Most stay: 64% work in Shellbrook. The rest go first to Prince Albert (85) and Canwood (15).
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).