Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainMost of Thompson works elsewhere: the town has 0.5 jobs for each resident in work
Out of work in May 2021: 2.5% of Thompson’s labour force, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Workers in Thompson spend 22.3 minutes on the way to work on average, and 2.4% need an hour or more. Half the households in Thompson had more than $74,200 in 2020, before tax, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900.
Work in Thompson: the figures worth knowing
Fewer people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 66% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 67% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021, 2.5% of those working or looking had no job; the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 22.3 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 2.4% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Thompson: C
Better than 30% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
How many in Thompson have a job: 66% of 15-to-64s
None of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 3 has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting those looking for work too, 68% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. 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.
Commuting times in Thompson
Timed exactly, the average is 19.9 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Manitoba’s towns averages 23.6 minutes. Only 33% get to work within a quarter-hour, 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
More go out than come in: the working day in Thompson
350 residents of Thompson had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 170 people had theirs in Thompson, wherever they lived.
Each person commuting in is matched by about 6 residents going out. Of those who commute, 38% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
62% of Thompson’s residents in work leave it to work; Winkler takes the most
Inbound, the leader is Morden (20).
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 Thompson work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Earnings at home in Thompson: households
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 56% of Canadian towns.
Against the middle of Manitoba’s towns ($83,900), Thompson’s median is 12% below. Of the 8 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 3, 4 have a higher median. Pandemic benefits paid in 2020 lifted the incomes at the bottom, and they are counted here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Thompson gets to work without a car for 12% of commuters
Working at home: 26% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. More people walk to work here than in the middle of Manitoba’s towns: 9.4% against 3.8%. 87% drive to work, about the same as in the middle of Manitoba’s towns.
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.
EI claims in Census Division No. 3 run 77% above their 2019 level
Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 24%. At its peak, in February 2021, 2,170 people were on EI, 2.3 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 5.4 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: 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).
How walkable Thompson is: B−
Better than 53% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Jobs near Thompson: the places around it
The nearest places to Thompson with figures are 20–27 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson | 66% | 2.5% | $74K | 22.3 min | C | B− |
| Morden 19.8 km | 77% | 7.8% | $72K | 15.9 min | B+ | B+ |
| Pembina 22.7 km | 79% | 5.8% | $71K | 26.2 min | C+ | B |
| Roland 23.7 km | 79% | 1.7% | $81K | 24.6 min | B+ | C+ |
| Carman 26.3 km | 80% | 5.2% | $67K | 21.7 min | B | A |
| Dufferin 27.2 km | 85% | 2.4% | $90K | 22.1 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 Thompson, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- 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. 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.
- 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 Thompson
How do people in Thompson get to work?
87% of commuters drive, 2.4% take public transit and 9.4% walk; 26% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Thompson?
The average commute is 22.3 minutes; 33% of trips take under 15 minutes and 2.4% an hour or more.
Where do people in Thompson work?
38% work in Thompson itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Winkler (80), then Morden (70).
How many jobs are there in Thompson?
The 2021 census found about 170 people with their usual workplace in Thompson, or 0.5 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 36 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Thompson?
2.5% of the labour force was unemployed on census day in May 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Thompson?
Thompson’s middle household had $74,200 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
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).