Photo: Michael Gil · CC BY 2.0Alliston has higher household incomes than 90% of Canadian towns
Commutes from Alliston average 37 minutes, and 21% take an hour or more. Alliston counted 76% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. The 2021 census put unemployment in Alliston at 9.6%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What sets Alliston apart on jobs and income
Higher incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $104,800 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
A local job centre
15,760 people work in Alliston and 12,820 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 37 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 21% 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.
Alliston grades C+ for jobs and income
Better than 44% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #364 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, trip times.
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.
Median household income in Alliston: $104,800 in 2020
Against the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600), Alliston’s median is 14% above. Of the 17 other places of 2,500 or more in the Simcoe census division, 5 have a higher median. 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).
A working day adds 17% to the people at work in Alliston
Of those who commute, 44% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Longer than the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Alliston average 37 minutes
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 33.3 minutes. The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 28%, fewer than the 31% in the middle of Ontario’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.
10,158 people come into Alliston to work, most from Barrie and Angus
- Barrie2,310
- Angus1,320
- Adjala-Tosorontio1,090
- Innisfil510
- Stayner455
- Bradford355
- Springwater310
- Wasaga Beach285
- Oro-Medonte220
- Shelburne215
Of everyone working in Alliston, 64% come in from elsewhere; 2,310 make the 33 km trip from Barrie. Of residents who leave for work, most head to Toronto (1,345).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How many in Alliston were working in 2021
Of the 17 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Simcoe census division, 14 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 62% in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 66%. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 60%. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from home.
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.
Walking, cycling or transit: 4.5% of Alliston’s commuters
Nearly everyone drives: 94% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Transit takes 0.5% of commuters, against 3.5% 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 the Simcoe census division run 38% above their 2019 level
At its peak, in February 2021, 31,440 people were on EI, 3.2 times the 2019 average. That is about 4.4 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 5%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100). Figures for EI beneficiaries are published for the Simcoe census division as a whole, not for Alliston alone.
On getting around on foot, Alliston grades B
Better than 58% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #637 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Alliston is 51st of 96 Canadian towns of 35,500 to 68,500 people for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dieppe New Brunswick | 35,986 | 79% | 6.7% | $87K | A |
| 2 | Neufchatel Est—Lebourgneuf Quebec | 37,164 | 83% | 6.2% | $83K | A |
| 3 | Boucherville Quebec | 41,910 | 82% | 5.2% | $111K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | LaSalle Ontario | 36,452 | 69% | 13% | $119K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Stratford Ontario | 36,097 | 76% | 11% | $77K | B+ |
| 17 | Brant Ontario | 45,565 | 78% | 8.8% | $107K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 49 | Prince Albert Saskatchewan | 40,728 | 65% | 12% | $74K | B− |
| 50 | Quinte West Ontario | 50,385 | 69% | 11% | $81K | C+ |
| 51 | New Tecumseth Ontario | 50,739 | 76% | 9.6% | $105K | C+ |
| 52 | Bois-Francs Quebec | 35,858 | 73% | 9.3% | $92K | C+ |
| 53 | North Bay Ontario | 62,062 | 67% | 12% | $72K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 96 | Metrotown British Columbia | 36,594 | 71% | 11% | $64K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Alliston, and others among Ontario’s towns.
How the places next to Alliston compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliston | 76% | 9.6% | $105K | 37 min | C+ | B |
| Adjala-Tosorontio 14.3 km | 77% | 9% | $118K | 37.7 min | B− | C− |
| Bradford 17.6 km | 73% | 11% | $114K | 35.8 min | C+ | 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 Alliston, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Where people commute. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- Employment Insurance. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- 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.
- 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.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Alliston as part of New Tecumseth, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Alliston
How long is the commute from Alliston?
About 37 minutes on average, with 28% under a quarter-hour and 21% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Alliston work?
Only 44% work in Alliston itself; the rest go first to Toronto (1,345) and Vaughan (1,025).
How many jobs are there in Alliston?
Some 15,760 people worked in Alliston at the 2021 census: 1.2 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 1,184 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Alliston?
Two figures answer it: 9.6% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 7.1% for the Toronto metro area in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Alliston?
Before tax, half the households in Alliston had more than $104,800 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Alliston get to work?
Driving takes 94% of commuters to work, 0.5% take public transit, 3.6% walk and 0.4% cycle, and on census day 21% of those in work were at home.
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).