Photo: MBBrdn · CC0Earning a living in Brandon
7.5% of the labour force in Brandon was out of work at the 2021 census, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns. The average trip to work from Brandon is 15.6 minutes; 2.5% of commuters spend an hour or more getting there. Half the households in Brandon had more than $76,200 in 2020, before tax; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
Brandon and work: the main findings
More jobs than the typical town
21,465 people work in Brandon and 19,930 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; 2.5% 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.
Brandon grades A− for jobs and income
Better than 78% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #62 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.
Workers pour into Brandon: 7% more on a working day
About 2 people arrive to work in Brandon for each resident who goes out. 89% 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.
Time on the road to work from Brandon
In the middle of Manitoba’s towns, the average commute is 23.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 65% of commuters, against 46% in the middle of Manitoba’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 14.6 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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.
3,727 people come into Brandon to work, most from Cornwallis and Whitehead
- Cornwallis1,015
- Whitehead470
- Elton300
- Oakland-Wawanesa260
- Riverdale215
- Oakview180
- Souris165
- North Cypress-Langford140
- Carberry120
- Minnedosa115
- North Cypress-Langford420
- La Salle260
- St. Adolphe175
- Carberry140
- Cornwallis115
- Elton100
- Minnedosa95
- Neepawa80
- Virden75
- Winnipeg75
Of everyone working in Brandon, 17% come in from elsewhere; 1,015 make the 18 km trip from Cornwallis. Going the other way, North Cypress-Langford is the biggest single destination (420).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
In Brandon, 76% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 3 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 7, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 60% in October 2026. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 68%. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 63% were working. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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.
How Brandon’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 52% of Canadian towns.
2 of the 3 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 7 have a higher median. Against the middle of Manitoba’s towns ($83,900), Brandon’s median is 9% below. Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
9.1% of commuters from Brandon go without a car
Transit takes 3.5% of commuters, close to the middle of Canadian towns. 90% drive to work, more than the 87% in the middle of Manitoba’s towns. Only 8.5% worked at home on census day, against 21% 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).
EI claims in Census Division No. 7 run 17% above their 2019 level
That works out to around 3.8 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 8%. The highest month was January 2021: 3,630 people, 2.6 times the 2019 level.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: Census Division No. 7. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Brandon earns A− for walkability
Better than 85% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #94 of 185 in Manitoba.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Brandon next to Canadian towns of 41,600 to 80,200: 5th of 64 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boucherville Quebec | 41,910 | 82% | 5.2% | $111K | A |
| 2 | Langford British Columbia | 59,664 | 81% | 6.2% | $93K | A |
| 3 | St. Albert Alberta | 74,621 | 77% | 9.1% | $118K | A |
| 4 | Grande Prairie Alberta | 71,160 | 73% | 12% | $103K | A |
| 5 | Brandon Manitoba | 59,444 | 76% | 7.5% | $76K | A− |
| 6 | Rouyn-Noranda Quebec | 43,270 | 79% | 4.8% | $76K | A− |
| 7 | Fredericton New Brunswick | 74,655 | 77% | 8.6% | $73K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 64 | Port-Maurice Quebec | 45,720 | 69% | 12% | $69K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Brandon, and others among Manitoba’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Brandon
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon | 76% | 7.5% | $76K | 15.6 min | A− | A− |
| Whitehead 14.8 km | 82% | 5.2% | $105K | 25.9 min | A | C− |
| Elton 15.4 km | 85% | 6.2% | $102K | 25 min | A | D− |
| Cornwallis 17.9 km | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | 17.8 min | A+ | C |
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 Brandon, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- 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. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- 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. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own 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. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
Questions about work in Brandon
How many jobs are there in Brandon?
About 21,465 people had their usual place of work in Brandon at the 2021 census, 1.1 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 1,932 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Brandon?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Southwest economic region at 5.8%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 7.5%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Brandon?
At $76,200 before tax in 2020, the median household in Brandon compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Brandon get to work?
90% of commuters go by car, 3.5% take public transit, 4.9% walk and 0.7% cycle. On census day 8.5% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Brandon?
On average 15.6 minutes; 65% take under 15 minutes and 2.5% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Brandon work?
89% work in Brandon itself; of those who leave, the most go to North Cypress-Langford (420), then La Salle (260).
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).