Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Altona earn less than those in 61% of Canadian towns
Of Altona’s residents aged 15 to 64, 74% were employed when the 2021 census was taken; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. For 2.9% of commuters in Altona, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 15.6 minutes. Unemployment in Altona stood at 5.2% on census day 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
Work in Altona: the figures worth knowing
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment stood at 5.2% on census day in 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
At $72,100 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
A local job centre
2,100 people work in Altona and 1,500 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 15.6 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 2.9% 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.
Jobs and income in Altona earn B+
Better than 68% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #80 of 185 in Manitoba.
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.
Altona at work: 74% of people aged 15 to 64
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 3, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 62% of residents that age. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 59%: many residents are past working age. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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.
Altona households: $72,100 a year at the median
4 of the 7 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 3 have a higher median. Altona’s median is 14% below the middle of Manitoba’s towns ($83,900). 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).
Altona fills up on a working day: 36% more workers
About 3 people arrive to work in Altona for each resident who goes out. Of those who commute, 77% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Commuting times in Altona
Timed exactly, the average is 12.8 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Manitoba’s towns averages 23.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 72% of commuters, against 46% in the middle of Manitoba’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.
940 people come into Altona to work, most from Rhineland and Winkler
- Rhineland665
- Winkler60
- Montcalm50
- Winnipeg40
- Morris30
- Stanley20
- Emerson-Franklin15
- Morden15
- Niverville10
- Morris10
- Winkler105
- Rhineland65
- Emerson-Franklin35
- Morris35
- Montcalm20
- Stanley15
- Morden15
- Winnipeg15
- St. Adolphe10
- Carman10
Of everyone working in Altona, 45% come in from elsewhere; 665 make the 12 km trip from Rhineland. Of residents who leave for work, most head to Winkler (105).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Leaving the car at home: 16% of commuters in Altona
Few ride transit: 0.6%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. More people cycle to work here than in the middle of Manitoba’s towns: 6.1% against 0.4%. Fewer drive than in the middle of Manitoba’s towns: 83% against 87%. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 9.7% against 21%.
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. 3 run 77% above their 2019 level
At its peak, in February 2021, 2,170 people were on EI, 2.3 times the 2019 average. That works out to around 5.4 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 24%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Data for EI beneficiaries covers Census Division No. 3. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
The Walkability grade for Altona: A
Better than 94% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #49 of 185 in Manitoba.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Ranked on jobs and income, Altona is 224th among 727 Canadian towns of 3,500 to 6,700
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 2 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | South Tuxedo Manitoba | 3,629 | 85% | 6.8% | $110K | A+ |
| 4 | Neepawa Manitoba | 6,328 | 85% | 2.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 222 | Radisson Manitoba | 3,653 | 76% | 8.2% | $92K | B+ |
| 223 | Mactaggart Alberta | 3,603 | 73% | 9% | $122K | B+ |
| 224 | Altona Manitoba | 4,989 | 74% | 5.2% | $72K | B+ |
| 225 | Penhold Alberta | 3,812 | 74% | 11% | $99K | B+ |
| 226 | Roxton Pond Quebec | 4,884 | 83% | 6% | $79K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 727 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Altona, and others among Manitoba’s towns.
How the places next to Altona compare on work
Distances here run 12–30 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Altona.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altona | 74% | 5.2% | $72K | 15.6 min | B+ | A |
| Rhineland 12.1 km | 73% | 2.8% | $79K | 19.5 min | B | B |
| Montcalm 22.3 km | 78% | 2.4% | $79K | 25.1 min | B | C+ |
| Stanley 28.8 km | 74% | 4.9% | $90K | 16.2 min | A | C− |
| Winkler 30 km | 76% | 4.2% | $71K | 12.5 min | B+ | 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 Altona, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- 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 share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- 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. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in Altona
What is the unemployment rate in Altona?
The 2021 census found 5.2% of those working or looking without a job; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
What is the average household income in Altona?
At $72,100 before tax in 2020, the median household in Altona compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Altona get to work?
83% of commuters drive, 0.6% take public transit, 9.4% walk and 6.1% cycle; 9.7% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Altona?
The average commute is 15.6 minutes; 72% of trips take under 15 minutes and 2.9% an hour or more.
Where do people in Altona work?
77% work in Altona itself; of those who leave, the most go to Winkler (105), then Rhineland (65).
How many jobs are there in Altona?
The 2021 census found about 2,100 people with their usual workplace in Altona, or 1.4 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 277 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
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, 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).