Photo: Jfvoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Ayr has higher household incomes than 98% of Canadian towns
The 2021 census put unemployment in Ayr at 7.4%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. From Ayr, the drive or ride to work averages 26.5 minutes, with 5.2% going an hour or longer. Of Ayr’s residents aged 15 to 64, 81% were employed when the 2021 census was taken, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Ayr at work: what stands out
More people in work than most towns
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 81% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 65%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
7.4% 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 7.1% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $127,300 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
More jobs than the typical town
With 3,845 jobs based in Ayr and 3,410 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs and income in Ayr earn A
Better than 90% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #39 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.
81% of working-age people in Ayr have jobs
Of the 42 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Waterloo census division, 39 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 70%. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 65% of residents 15 and over were in work. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 65% in October 2026. 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.
The median household in Ayr had $127,300 in 2020
Of the 42 other places of 2,500 or more in the Waterloo census division, 4 have a higher median. Against the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600), Ayr’s median is 39% above. 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).
Ayr fills up on a working day: 9% more workers
22% 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.
3,112 people come into Ayr to work, most from Kitchener and Cambridge
81% of the people who work in Ayr live outside it, 995 of them in Kitchener, 15 km away. Of residents who leave for work, most head to Cambridge (1,120).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
4.1% of commuters from Ayr go without a car
Working at home: 28% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 0.2%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. Nearly everyone drives: 94% of commuters go by car, truck or van.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
Commuting times in Ayr
Timed exactly, the average is 23.7 minutes (Statistics Canada). 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.
EI claims in the Waterloo census division run 47% above their 2019 level
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.3 receive EI. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 2%. The highest month was April 2021: 28,950 people, 3 times the 2019 level.
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). Ayr doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Waterloo census division.
Ayr on foot: a B− grade
Better than 48% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #692 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 9,100 to 17,600, Ayr ranks 57th of 605 for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Walsh Acres/Lakeridge/Garden Ridge Saskatchewan | 9,325 | 80% | 6.7% | $127K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Glebe-Dows Lake Ontario | 13,436 | 80% | 9.4% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Wellesley Ontario | 12,413 | 84% | 3.9% | $119K | A+ |
| 9 | Perth East Ontario | 13,423 | 86% | 3.9% | $96K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 55 | Riverbend Alberta | 9,193 | 75% | 12% | $120K | A |
| 56 | Kitimat British Columbia | 10,019 | 71% | 9.4% | $104K | A |
| 57 | North Dumfries Ontario | 13,051 | 81% | 7.4% | $127K | A |
| 58 | Kincardine Ontario | 13,169 | 75% | 8.3% | $102K | A |
| 59 | Forest Hill South Ontario | 11,059 | 80% | 8.7% | $117K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 605 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Ayr, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Next to Ayr: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayr | 81% | 7.4% | $127K | 26.5 min | A | B− |
| Doon South 8.4 km | 72% | 9.4% | $136K | 28.4 min | B− | B− |
| Huron South 9.9 km | 80% | 9% | $120K | 28.2 min | A− | C+ |
| Pioneer Park 10.8 km | 74% | 10% | $81K | 26.3 min | C+ | A |
| Rosenberg 11 km | 70% | 9.4% | $112K | 27.7 min | B− | A− |
| Pioneer Tower West 11.5 km | 76% | 9.9% | $169K | 27.1 min | B+ | B− |
| Cambridge 12.7 km | 72% | 12% | $93K | 26.3 min | B− | 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 Ayr, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- 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. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- 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. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- Where people commute. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- 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. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Ayr as part of North Dumfries, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Ayr
How do people in Ayr get to work?
94% of commuters drive, 0.2% take public transit, 3.7% walk and 0.2% cycle; 28% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Ayr?
The average commute is 26.5 minutes; 28% of trips take under 15 minutes and 5.2% an hour or more.
Where do people in Ayr work?
22% work in Ayr itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Cambridge (1,120), then Kitchener (500).
How many jobs are there in Ayr?
The 2021 census found about 3,845 people with their usual workplace in Ayr, or 1.1 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 561 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Ayr?
The 2021 census found 7.4% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo metro area, is 7.1% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Ayr?
Ayr’s middle household had $127,300 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, 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).