Photo: Svhartje · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Swan River trail those of 86% of Canadian towns
Getting to work from Swan River takes 12.3 minutes on average, an hour or more for 1.7%. 71% of people aged 15 to 64 in Swan River had a job at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. 8% of the labour force in Swan River was out of work at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
Work in Swan River, in a few figures
Lower incomes than most towns
At $61,000 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
A local job centre
2,320 people work in Swan River and 1,340 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 12.3 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 1.7% 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.
Swan River earns C+ for jobs and income
Better than 41% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #134 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.
Before tax, the median household in Swan River had $61,000
That puts Swan River 27% below the median of Manitoba’s towns, $83,900. CERB and the other emergency payments of 2020 are counted in these incomes, which lifted the lower ones that year.
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 69% to the people at work in Swan River
Swan River takes in some 8 workers for every resident it sends out. 90% 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 Swan River
Timed exactly, the average is 10.2 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Manitoba’s towns, the average commute is 23.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 81% 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.
1,115 people come into Swan River to work, most from Swan Valley West and Minitonas-Bowsman
- Swan Valley West645
- Minitonas-Bowsman340
- Mountain (North)30
- Winnipeg20
- Livingston No. 33115
- Grandview10
- Mountain (South)10
Of everyone working in Swan River, 48% come in from elsewhere; 645 make the 16 km trip from Swan Valley West. Outbound, Minitonas-Bowsman takes the most: 80 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
In and out of work in Swan River
A smaller share in work than in 70% of Canadian towns.
Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 55% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 51% were working. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 51% in October 2026. 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.
18% of commuters from Swan River go without a car
On foot: 17% of commuters, well above the 3.8% in the middle of Manitoba’s towns. The car takes 82% of commuters here, under the 87% in the middle of Manitoba’s towns. Only 5.3% 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).
About as many people are on EI in Census Division No. 20 as in 2019
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 11%. At its peak, in August 2021, 500 people were on EI, 2.2 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.5 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of Census Division No. 20. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Walking in Swan River earns A
Better than 91% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #67 of 185 in Manitoba.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Swan River is 461st of 788 Canadian towns of 2,800 to 5,500
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| 2 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 3 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | South Tuxedo Manitoba | 3,629 | 85% | 6.8% | $110K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 459 | Bifrost-Riverton Manitoba | 3,518 | 73% | 6.1% | $69K | C+ |
| 460 | Gilkson Ontario | 2,963 | 71% | 13% | $96K | C+ |
| 461 | Swan River Manitoba | 4,048 | 71% | 8% | $61K | C+ |
| 462 | Didsbury Alberta | 5,185 | 76% | 10% | $78K | C+ |
| 463 | Carpenter Ontario | 2,941 | 63% | 9.6% | $122K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 788 | Saint-Côme Quebec | 2,810 | 58% | 14% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Swan River, and others among Manitoba’s towns.
The work picture around Swan River
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swan River | 71% | 8% | $61K | 12.3 min | C+ | A |
| Minitonas-Bowsman 15.9 km | 80% | 5.5% | $70K | 21.8 min | B | B− |
| Swan Valley West 16.3 km | 93% | 3.8% | $70K | 20 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 Swan River, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- 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. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
Questions about work in Swan River
How many jobs are there in Swan River?
The 2021 census found about 2,320 people with their usual workplace in Swan River, or 1.7 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 321 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Swan River?
The census put unemployment at 8% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Parklands and North economic region at 5.7%.
What is the average household income in Swan River?
Before tax, half the households in Swan River had more than $61,000 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Swan River get to work?
82% of commuters drive, 17% walk and 1% cycle; 5.3% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Swan River?
The average commute is 12.3 minutes; 81% of trips take under 15 minutes and 1.7% an hour or more.
Where do people in Swan River work?
90% work in Swan River itself; of those who leave, the most go to Minitonas-Bowsman (80), then Swan Valley West (10).
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).