Photo: Canadian2006 · CC BY-SA 3.0More of Watrous’ 15-to-64s are in work than in 87% of Canadian towns
Unemployment in Watrous stood at 4.3% on census day 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Commutes from Watrous average 15.9 minutes, and 6.5% take an hour or more. Before tax, the typical household in Watrous brought in $77,000 in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900.
Where Watrous stands out on work
More people in work than most towns
With 83% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, it has 59% of all adults employed. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 4.3% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 6%. Unemployment ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 15.9 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6.5% 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.
Watrous grades A+ for jobs and income
Better than 95% 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 Watrous, 83% 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, 46 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting retirees, 59% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. In October 2026, 65% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 61%. 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.
Commuting times in Watrous
In the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns, the average commute is 18.1 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 76%, more than the 67% in the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 13 minutes.
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.
About as many people come in to work in Watrous as leave
695 residents of Watrous had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 705 people had theirs in Watrous, wherever they lived.
67% 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.
239 people come into Watrous to work, most from Wood Creek No. 281 and Manitou Beach
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 Watrous work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
What households in Watrous earn
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 50% of Canadian towns.
That puts Watrous 11% below the median of Saskatchewan’s towns, $86,800. 32 of the 47 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 11 have a higher median. 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).
14% of commuters from Watrous go without a car
More people walk to work here than in the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns: 11% against 2.9%. 85% drive to work, fewer than the 91% in the middle of Saskatchewan’s towns. Only 13% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
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.
19% more people are on EI in Census Division No. 11 than in 2019
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 2%. At its peak, in February 2021, 16,430 people were on EI, 2.5 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 3.8 are on EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Not measured by town: EI beneficiaries (Census Division No. 11). EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Watrous earns A+ for walkability
Better than 96% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Around Watrous: jobs, pay and the commute
The nearest places to Watrous with figures are 36–72 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watrous | 83% | 4.3% | $77K | 15.9 min | A+ | A+ |
| Lanigan 35.6 km | 81% | 5% | $90K | 18.4 min | A+ | B |
| Davidson 58.5 km | 96% | 0% | $71K | 14.5 min | A+ | A |
| Humboldt 62.8 km | 82% | 4.8% | $80K | 17.5 min | A | A |
| Humboldt No. 370 66.4 km | 89% | 3.7% | $101K | 23 min | A+ | D− |
| Blucher No. 343 72.1 km | 80% | 6.5% | $106K | 30.2 min | B+ | 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 Watrous, 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. 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. 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. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Watrous
What is the average household income in Watrous?
Watrous’s middle household had $77,000 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Watrous get to work?
By car: 85% of commuters, 11% walk and 2.6% cycle; on census day 13% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Watrous?
15.9 minutes is the average trip, with 76% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 6.5% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Watrous work?
67% work in Watrous itself; of those who leave, the most go to Saskatoon (50), then Manitou Beach (30).
How many jobs are there in Watrous?
The 2021 census counted about 705 people working in Watrous: 1 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 102 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Watrous?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Saskatoon-Biggar economic region at 6%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 4.3%, against 9.9% 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).