Photo: cate cuerden from Stratford, Canada · CC BY 2.0Working-age people in Bayfield have jobs more often than in 83% of Canadian towns
In 2020, a household at the middle of Bayfield had $85,000 before tax; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 5.9% of Bayfield’s labour force, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns. An hour or more each way is the commute for 11% of workers in Bayfield; the average is 25.2 minutes.
The work figures that set Bayfield apart
More people in work than most towns
82% 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 56%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 3.8% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 5.9%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs & income in Bayfield: graded A−
Better than 80% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #88 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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.
In Bayfield, 82% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Huron census division, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting those looking for work too, 60% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 56% were working. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 54% of the wider area’s adults in work. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
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.
Bayfield empties a little on a working day
41% 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.
59% of Bayfield’s residents in work leave it to work; Exeter takes the most
In the other direction the biggest source is Exeter, with 310.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How Bayfield’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 66% of Canadian towns.
One of the 8 other places of 2,500+ in the Huron census division has a higher median. The middle of Ontario’s towns is $91,600, and Bayfield is 7% below it. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes 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).
8.6% of commuters in Bayfield walk, cycle or take transit
On foot: 7.9% of commuters, well above the 3.2% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. 90% drive to work, more than the 88% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Working at home: 20%, close to the middle of Canadian towns. Transit barely figures here, 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).
How long the commute from Bayfield takes
Timed exactly, the average is 22.7 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 41%, more 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.
22% more people are on EI in the Huron census division than in 2019
In February 2021 it reached 2,400, the most in the series and 2.4 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.7 receive EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 3%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the Huron census division, not by town. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Walkability in Bayfield: graded A−
Better than 77% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #523 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Bayfield ranks: 127th of 683 Canadian towns of 5,800 to 11,200
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | Sioux Lookout Ontario | 6,122 | 79% | 5.7% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Alta Vista Ontario | 8,387 | 78% | 8.3% | $138K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 25 | West Perth Ontario | 10,080 | 88% | 5% | $92K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 125 | Verchères Quebec | 5,819 | 84% | 4.7% | $90K | A− |
| 126 | Saint-Honoré Quebec | 6,984 | 79% | 4.9% | $90K | A− |
| 127 | Bluewater Ontario | 8,327 | 82% | 5.9% | $85K | A− |
| 128 | Glenwood Manitoba | 6,617 | 80% | 7.6% | $86K | A− |
| 129 | Blairmore Suburban Centre Saskatchewan | 7,411 | 76% | 7.5% | $91K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 683 | Beasley Ontario | 6,338 | 49% | 17% | $47K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Bayfield, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Work in the places around Bayfield
Distances here run 16–30 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Bayfield.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayfield | 82% | 5.9% | $85K | 25.2 min | A− | A− |
| Exeter 15.6 km | 79% | 7.9% | $77K | 23.2 min | B+ | B+ |
| Clinton 20.3 km | 83% | 6.2% | $80K | 22.6 min | A | B+ |
| Seaforth 29.8 km | 81% | 6.6% | $81K | 25.6 min | B+ | 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 Bayfield, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- 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. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- 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. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s 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. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- 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.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Bayfield as part of Bluewater, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Bayfield
How many jobs are there in Bayfield?
About 2,060 people had their usual place of work in Bayfield at the 2021 census, 0.9 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 283 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Bayfield?
The 2021 census found 5.9% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula economic region, is 3.8% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Bayfield?
Before tax, half the households in Bayfield had more than $85,000 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Bayfield get to work?
90% of commuters go by car, 7.9% walk and 0.7% cycle. On census day 20% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Bayfield?
On average 25.2 minutes; 41% take under 15 minutes and 11% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Bayfield work?
41% work in Bayfield itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Exeter (555), then London (160).
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).