Photo: P199 · Public domainThe share of 15-to-64s with a job in Brighton trails that of 88% of Canadian towns
Brighton is the usual workplace of 1,740 people, and 2,815 of its own residents commute to a job. Median household income in Brighton was $81,100 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. When the 2021 census was taken, 10% of people in Brighton who wanted a job had none, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
Work in Brighton, in a few figures
Fewer people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 64% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 43% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 29.2 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 11% 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.
On jobs and income, Brighton grades C−
Better than 16% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #688 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.
64% of working-age people in Brighton have jobs
None of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Northumberland census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 53% in October 2026. 48% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 43% of residents 15 and over were in work. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at 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.
Longer than the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Brighton average 29.2 minutes
An hour or more: 11% of commuters, above the 7.9% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 27.1 minutes (Statistics Canada). Trips under 15 minutes: 27%, 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.
More go out than come in: the working day in Brighton
Each person commuting in is matched by about 2 residents going out. The job is inside the municipality for 29% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
71% of Brighton’s residents in work leave it to work; Quinte West takes the most
- Quinte West725
- Belleville295
- Cobourg230
- Colborne130
- Campbellford90
- Picton70
- Port Hope55
- Bowmanville55
- Toronto50
- Whitby40
Of those coming in, Quinte West supplies the most: 395.
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 Brighton
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 59% of Canadian towns.
4 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Northumberland census division have a higher median. Brighton’s median is 11% below the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600). Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Walking, cycling or transit: 2.2% of Brighton’s commuters
The car is the way to work for 96% of commuters. 20% worked at home on census day, about the same as in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Northumberland census division run 29% above their 2019 level
April 2021 was the busiest month, with 4,180 people on EI, 2.8 times 2019’s average. That works out to around 4.2 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 1%.
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). Brighton doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Northumberland census division.
On getting around on foot, Brighton grades C
Better than 27% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #786 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
528th of 611: where Brighton ranks among Canadian towns of 9,000 to 17,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 526 | Pineridge Alberta | 10,062 | 63% | 16% | $76K | C− |
| 527 | Pleasant View Ontario | 15,248 | 64% | 17% | $92K | C− |
| 528 | Brighton Ontario | 12,900 | 64% | 10% | $81K | C− |
| 529 | Elliot Lake Ontario | 12,317 | 52% | 17% | $50K | C− |
| 530 | Daniel McIntyre Manitoba | 9,584 | 65% | 11% | $65K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 611 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Brighton, and others among Ontario’s towns.
The work picture around Brighton
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton | 64% | 10% | $81K | 29.2 min | C− | C |
| Colborne 11.6 km | 74% | 7.9% | $87K | 31.6 min | C | B− |
| Quinte West 16.6 km | 69% | 11% | $81K | 22.1 min | C+ | 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 Brighton, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- 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. The share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- 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 Brighton
Where do people in Brighton work?
29% work in Brighton itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Quinte West (725), then Belleville (295).
How many jobs are there in Brighton?
The 2021 census found about 1,740 people with their usual workplace in Brighton, or 0.6 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 314 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Brighton?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Muskoka-Kawarthas economic region at 5.1%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 10%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Brighton?
The census puts Brighton at $81,100 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Brighton get to work?
96% of commuters drive, 2.2% walk; 20% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Brighton?
The average commute is 29.2 minutes; 27% of trips take under 15 minutes and 11% 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).