Household incomes in Wadena trail those of 92% of Canadian towns
Wadena is the usual workplace of 590 people, and 365 of its own residents commute to a job. Commutes from Wadena average 14.8 minutes, and 5.9% take an hour or more. 84% of people aged 15 to 64 in Wadena had a job at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%.
The work numbers behind Wadena
More people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 84% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 54% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 3.4% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 4.9% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
At $57,700 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
A local job centre
With 590 jobs based in Wadena and 365 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 14.8 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 5.9% 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.
Wadena earns A− for jobs and income
Better than 76% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is trip times; 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 and out of work in Wadena
A larger share in work than in 89% of Canadian towns.
An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 54% of residents 15 and over were in work. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 59% in work in October 2026. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 56% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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.
Half the households in Wadena had more than $57,700 in 2020
The middle of Saskatchewan’s towns is $86,800, and Wadena is 34% below it. 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).
A working day adds 53% to the people at work in Wadena
About 4 people arrive to work in Wadena for each resident who goes out. 77% 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 length of the trip to work in Wadena
Timed exactly, the average is 11.8 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns, the average commute is 18.1 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 78%, more 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.
310 people come into Wadena to work, most from Sasman No. 336 and Lakeview No. 337
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Without a car, 9.9% of Wadena’s commuters get to work
Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 11% against 21%. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car takes 89% of commuters here, under 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).
EI claims in Census Division No. 10 run 9% above their 2019 level
Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for Wadena alone, so this card uses the figure for Census Division No. 10.
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 3%. February 2021 was the busiest month, with 630 people on EI, 1.9 times 2019’s average. Roughly 3.9 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).
Getting around Wadena on foot earns A−
Better than 82% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Jobs and income in the places around Wadena
Wadena has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 33–78 km out.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wadena | 84% | 3.4% | $58K | 14.8 min | A− | A− |
| Wynyard 32.8 km | 81% | 4.8% | $63K | 15.1 min | A− | A− |
| Foam Lake 39 km | 67% | 4.4% | $58K | 21.2 min | C− | A− |
| Preeceville 77.9 km | 77% | 9.6% | $55K | 20.2 min | C+ | 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 Wadena, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- In work. People in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64 (2021 Census). The census doesn’t cross work with age below the municipality, so this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood has; retirees don’t weigh on it.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- 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.
- 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. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Wadena
Where do people in Wadena work?
77% work in Wadena itself; of those who leave, the most go to Kamsack (10), then Foam Lake (10).
How many jobs are there in Wadena?
The 2021 census found about 590 people with their usual workplace in Wadena, or 1.6 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 90 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Wadena?
The census put unemployment at 3.4% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Yorkton-Melville economic region at 4.9%.
What is the average household income in Wadena?
At $57,700 before tax in 2020, the median household in Wadena compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Wadena get to work?
89% of commuters drive, 9.9% walk; 11% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Wadena?
The average commute is 14.8 minutes; 78% of trips take under 15 minutes and 5.9% an hour or more.
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).