Photo: Words in the Wind · CC BY-SA 4.0Two Borders ranks among the Canadian towns where most working-age people have jobs
100 people have their usual place of work in Two Borders, against 300 residents who travel to a job. Home was the workplace for 40% of its workers in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. The median household in Two Borders had $75,000 before tax in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900.
The work figures that set Two Borders apart
More people in work than most towns
102% of people aged 15 to 64 had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; counting everyone 15 and over, retirees included, it was 71%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
3.7% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 5.8% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 19.2 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 3.8% take an hour or more. The trip to work ↓
Many work from home
On census day, 40% of those in work were working at home; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. Getting to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Two Borders grades A for jobs and income
Better than 94% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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.
Work for 102% of 15-to-64s in Two Borders
A more recent figure, for the wider area: 60% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Working or looking, 74% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 71% of residents 15 and over were in work. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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.
A larger share in work than in almost any Canadian town.
Shorter than the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Two Borders average 19.2 minutes
A quarter-hour or less for 54% of commuters, against 46% in the middle of Manitoba’s towns. An hour or more: 3.8% of commuters, under the 5.5% in the middle of Manitoba’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 17.2 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Manitoba’s towns, the average commute is 23.6 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.
Walking, cycling or transit: 14% of Two Borders’ commuters
Transit takes 3.8% of commuters, close to the middle of Canadian towns. The middle of Manitoba’s towns has 3.8% walking; here, 10% do. 89% drive to work, more than the 87% 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.
More workers leave Two Borders each day than arrive
Each person commuting in is matched by about 68 residents going out. 32% 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.
68% of Two Borders’ residents in work leave it to work; Melita takes the most
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 Two Borders work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Earnings at home in Two Borders: households
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 55% of Canadian towns.
That puts Two Borders 11% below the median of Manitoba’s towns, $83,900. Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
In Census Division No. 5, 4% more people receive EI than in 2019
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 8%. At its peak, in February 2021, 480 people were on EI, 2 times the 2019 average.
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. 5. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
On getting around on foot, Two Borders grades B
Better than 56% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
The places around Two Borders, side by side
Distances here run 22–44 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Two Borders.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two Borders | 102% | 3.7% | $75K | 19.2 min | A | B |
| Melita 21.7 km | 79% | 9.9% | $70K | 14.2 min | A− | A+ |
| Carnduff 40.2 km | 78% | 6.5% | $87K | 19.1 min | A | A+ |
| Pipestone 44 km | 81% | 8.3% | $74K | 19.7 min | A− | A |
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 Two Borders, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- 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. 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 census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- 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. 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. 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 Two Borders
How do people in Two Borders get to work?
89% of commuters go by car, 3.8% take public transit and 10% walk. On census day 40% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Two Borders?
On average 19.2 minutes; 54% take under 15 minutes and 3.8% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Two Borders work?
Only 32% work in Two Borders itself; the rest go first to Melita (140) and Pipestone (20).
How many jobs are there in Two Borders?
About 100 people had their usual place of work in Two Borders at the 2021 census, 0.3 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 33 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Two Borders?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 3.7% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Southwest economic region at 5.8% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Two Borders?
The median household in Two Borders had $75,000 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 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).