Photo: Onasill ~ Bill - Onasill ~ 109 Millions Views · CC BY-SA 2.0Aurora’s household incomes are higher than in 96% of Canadian towns
The average trip to work from Aurora is 32.6 minutes; 11% of commuters spend an hour or more getting there. On census day, 39% of workers here were at home, next to 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. At the 2021 census, 72% of Aurora’s 15-to-64s were in work, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Aurora and work: the main findings
Higher incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $119,400 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
More jobs than the typical town
15,680 people work in Aurora and 15,020 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 32.6 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 11% take an hour or more. The trip to work ↓
Many work from home
39% of workers worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. 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.
Aurora grades C+ for jobs and income
Better than 40% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #413 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.
$119,400 a year: the median household in Aurora
Of the 52 other places of 2,500 or more in the York census division, 28 have a higher median. Aurora’s median is 30% above the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600). 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).
In and out of Aurora: the working day evens out
31% 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.
The length of the trip to work in Aurora
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 29.6 minutes. In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. Only 25% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 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.
Leaving the car at home: 8.2% of commuters in Aurora
By bus, train or subway: 4.7%, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. 89% drive to work, more than the 88% in the middle of Ontario’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
11,009 people come into Aurora to work, most from Newmarket and Toronto
- Newmarket2,420
- Toronto1,320
- Richmond Hill1,200
- Keswick895
- East Gwillimbury640
- Markham630
- Vaughan580
- Bradford520
- Barrie385
- Stouffville310
- Toronto2,760
- Newmarket1,675
- Vaughan1,430
- Richmond Hill1,220
- Markham1,130
- Mississauga320
- Stouffville255
- King230
- East Gwillimbury230
- Brampton155
Of everyone working in Aurora, 70% come in from elsewhere; 2,420 make the 5 km trip from Newmarket. Of residents who leave for work, most head to Toronto (2,760).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Work and the working-age population of Aurora
Of the 52 other places of 2,500 people or more in the York census division, 37 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Working or looking, 67% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 59%. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 62% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. 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.
How EI claims in the York census division have moved since 2019
In April 2021 it reached 58,380, the most in the series and 3.7 times the 2019 average. That is about 3.5 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 2%.
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). Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for Aurora alone, so this card uses the figure for the York census division.
Walkability in Aurora: graded A−
Better than 81% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #487 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Aurora next to Canadian towns of 47,200 to 91,000: 36th of 58 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Langford British Columbia | 59,664 | 81% | 6.2% | $93K | A |
| 2 | St. Albert Alberta | 74,621 | 77% | 9.1% | $118K | A |
| 3 | Grande Prairie Alberta | 71,160 | 73% | 12% | $103K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Halton Hills Ontario | 68,265 | 76% | 9.7% | $127K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Woodstock Ontario | 55,572 | 72% | 12% | $82K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 26 | Sarnia Ontario | 80,539 | 66% | 13% | $78K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 34 | North Bay Ontario | 62,062 | 67% | 12% | $72K | C+ |
| 35 | St. Thomas Ontario | 49,388 | 69% | 11% | $75K | C+ |
| 36 | Aurora Ontario | 67,385 | 72% | 12% | $119K | C+ |
| 37 | Fleetwood British Columbia | 63,957 | 72% | 7.9% | $109K | C+ |
| 38 | Belleville Ontario | 62,914 | 66% | 12% | $74K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 58 | Sault-Saint-Louis Quebec | 47,270 | 73% | 10% | $66K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Aurora, and others among Ontario’s towns.
How Aurora compares with the places nearby
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora | 72% | 12% | $119K | 32.6 min | C+ | A− |
| Newmarket 5.4 km | 71% | 12% | $110K | 30.9 min | C+ | A |
| King 11 km | 74% | 11% | $141K | 34.4 min | C+ | B− |
| East Gwillimbury 12.4 km | 72% | 12% | $119K | 35 min | C+ | B |
| Richmond Hill 13.2 km | 68% | 13% | $103K | 33.6 min | C | A |
| Cathedraltown 13.6 km | 71% | 9.9% | $124K | 33.2 min | C+ | A− |
| Hope 13.7 km | 72% | 12% | $139K | 31.3 min | C+ | 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 Aurora, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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.
- Employment Insurance. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- 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 Aurora
Where do people in Aurora work?
Only 31% work in Aurora itself; the rest go first to Toronto (2,760) and Newmarket (1,675).
How many jobs are there in Aurora?
Some 15,680 people worked in Aurora at the 2021 census: 1 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 2,670 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Aurora?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 12% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Toronto metro area at 7.1% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Aurora?
The census puts Aurora at $119,400 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Aurora get to work?
Driving takes 89% of commuters to work, 4.7% take public transit, 3% walk and 0.5% cycle, and on census day 39% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Aurora?
About 32.6 minutes on average, with 25% under a quarter-hour and 11% at an hour or longer.
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).