Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Working-age people in Brantford have jobs less often than in 77% of Canadian towns
Median household income in Brantford was $79,300 in 2020, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. Of everyone in Brantford working or looking for work in May 2021, 12% were unemployed; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. Workers in Brantford spend 24.9 minutes on the way to work on average, and 7.3% need an hour or more.
Where Brantford stands out on work
Work near the middle
Counting everyone 15 and over, 54% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 69%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
On census day in 2021 12% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 6%. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
On jobs and income, Brantford grades C
Better than 31% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #532 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.
About as many people come in to work in Brantford as leave
32,260 residents of Brantford had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 32,095 people had theirs in Brantford, wherever they lived.
The job is inside the municipality for 63% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
37% of Brantford’s residents in work leave it to work; Hamilton takes the most
- Paris3,435
- Hamilton2,380
- Simcoe1,770
- Cambridge965
- Caledonia475
- Woodstock395
- Kitchener385
- Burlington290
- Norwich120
- Mississauga105
- Hamilton3,200
- Paris2,950
- Cambridge1,315
- Woodstock595
- Burlington540
- Mississauga390
- Simcoe385
- Caledonia375
- Toronto360
- Oakville290
Of those coming in, Paris supplies the most: 3,435.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Brantford work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
In Brantford, 69% of the working-age population has a job
For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 63% in work in October 2026. Working or looking, 61% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 54% of residents 15 and over were in work. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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.
What households in Brantford earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 54% of Canadian towns.
Against the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600), Brantford’s median is 13% below. 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).
Leaving the car at home: 7.1% of commuters in Brantford
Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 16% against 21%. Transit takes 3.2% of commuters, close to the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
Commuting times in Brantford
A quarter-hour or less for 41% of commuters, against 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 22.5 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes.
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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
38% more people are on EI in the Brant census division than in 2019
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 5.1 receive EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%. The highest month was April 2021: 8,950 people, 3.1 times the 2019 level.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Brant census division. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
The Walkability grade for Brantford: A−
Better than 79% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #498 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Brantford next to Canadian towns of 86,500 to 166,800
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lévis Quebec | 160,882 | 84% | 5.3% | $84K | A |
| 2 | Saanich British Columbia | 126,011 | 77% | 6.8% | $93K | A |
| 3 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 97,845 | 79% | 7.3% | $123K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 10 | Guelph Ontario | 160,760 | 74% | 11% | $93K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 18 | Waterloo Ontario | 142,450 | 68% | 12% | $94K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | Thunder Bay Ontario | 117,671 | 68% | 11% | $78K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 35 | Pickering Ontario | 118,378 | 71% | 13% | $119K | C |
| 36 | Peterborough Ontario | 97,834 | 66% | 15% | $72K | C |
| 37 | Brantford Ontario | 123,521 | 69% | 12% | $79K | C |
| 38 | Ajax Ontario | 141,111 | 69% | 13% | $119K | C |
| 39 | St. Catharines Ontario | 153,865 | 66% | 16% | $72K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 41 | Cape Breton Nova Scotia | 106,752 | 59% | 20% | $63K | C− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Brantford, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Next to Brantford: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brantford | 69% | 12% | $79K | 24.9 min | C | A− |
| Paris 9.6 km | 78% | 8.8% | $107K | 28 min | B+ | C+ |
| Six Nations (Part) 40 15.1 km | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lynden 17.1 km | 81% | 5.8% | $114K | 27.9 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 Brantford, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- 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. Only people with a usual place of work are in it: those who work from home or have no fixed site are not. Home and work are both counted by municipality.
- 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.
- 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
Questions about work in Brantford
How long is the commute from Brantford?
On average 24.9 minutes; 41% take under 15 minutes and 7.3% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Brantford work?
Most stay: 63% work in Brantford. The rest go first to Hamilton (3,200) and Paris (2,950).
How many jobs are there in Brantford?
About 32,095 people had their usual place of work in Brantford at the 2021 census, 1 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 2,998 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Brantford?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Brantford metro area at 6%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 12%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Brantford?
Before tax, half the households in Brantford had more than $79,300 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Brantford get to work?
91% of commuters go by car, 3.2% take public transit, 3.5% walk and 0.4% cycle. On census day 16% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
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).