Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.2 jobs for each resident in work, most of Bonfield commutes out
Workers in Bonfield spend 30.7 minutes on the way to work on average, and 4% need an hour or more. Bonfield counted 64% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Half the households in Bonfield had more than $77,500 in 2020, before tax, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
The work numbers behind Bonfield
Fewer people in work than most towns
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 64% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 48%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 6% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 7.3%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 30.7 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 4% last an hour or longer. 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.
Jobs & income in Bonfield: graded D
Better than 10% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #750 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
How many in Bonfield were working in 2021
Of the 3 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Nipissing census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 56% of the wider area’s adults in work. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 52% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 48%. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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 long the commute from Bonfield takes
The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. Only 9.9% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 28.4 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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.
Bonfield is quieter on a working day than at night
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 12 to 1. Of those who commute, 8.3% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
92% of Bonfield’s residents in work leave it to work; North Bay takes the most
- North Bay440
- East Ferris25
- Mattawa20
- Calvin10
- Sturgeon Falls10
- Callander10
Of those coming in, Midland supplies the most: 20.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Household income in Bonfield
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 51% of Canadian towns.
The middle of Ontario’s towns is $91,600, and Bonfield is 15% below it. One of the 3 other places of 2,500+ in the Nipissing census division has a higher median. 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).
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 2% of Bonfield’s commuters
Only 15% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. 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).
About as many people are on EI in the Nipissing census division as in 2019
For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.5 are on EI. In February 2021 it reached 5,550, the most in the series and 2.4 times the 2019 average.
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). For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of the Nipissing census division, Bonfield included.
Bonfield on foot: a C− grade
Better than 20% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #816 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Bonfield places 377th of 424 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 3,500
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 22 | McDougall Ontario | 3,002 | 82% | 9.6% | $93K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 31 | Adelaide-Metcalfe Ontario | 3,196 | 86% | 5.9% | $107K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 33 | Enniskillen Ontario | 3,174 | 82% | 5.2% | $105K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 375 | Delton Alberta | 2,657 | 60% | 20% | $72K | D |
| 376 | Montrose Alberta | 3,378 | 60% | 17% | $73K | D |
| 377 | Bonfield Ontario | 2,597 | 64% | 7.3% | $78K | D |
| 378 | Sainte-Clotilde Quebec | 3,297 | 55% | 8.1% | $81K | D |
| 379 | Gore Quebec | 2,756 | 71% | 6.6% | $74K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 424 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Bonfield, and others among Ontario’s towns.
The work picture around Bonfield
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonfield | 64% | 7.3% | $78K | 30.7 min | D | C− |
| East Ferris 10 km | 73% | 9.3% | $109K | 24.6 min | B+ | D |
| Chisholm 16.6 km | 69% | 15% | $79K | 31.8 min | D | C− |
| Callander 17 km | 74% | 7.8% | $100K | 21.5 min | A− | 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 Bonfield, 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. 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. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
- Household income. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- 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. 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. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment 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.
Questions about work in Bonfield
Where do people in Bonfield work?
8.3% work in Bonfield itself. Of those who leave, the most go to North Bay (440), then East Ferris (25).
How many jobs are there in Bonfield?
The 2021 census found about 90 people with their usual workplace in Bonfield, or 0.2 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 33 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Bonfield?
At the 2021 census 7.3% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Northeast economic region, gives 6% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Bonfield?
Bonfield’s middle household had $77,500 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Bonfield get to work?
94% of commuters drive, 2% walk; 15% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Bonfield?
The average commute is 30.7 minutes; 9.9% of trips take under 15 minutes and 4% an hour or more.
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).