Photo: Balcer~commonswiki · CC BY 2.5Households in Caledonia have higher incomes than those in 78% of Canadian towns
Out of work in May 2021: 8.3% of Caledonia’s labour force, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. For 12% of commuters in Caledonia, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 31.8 minutes. The 2021 census found 74% of working-age people in Caledonia employed; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%.
What sets Caledonia apart on jobs and income
Work near the middle
In work at the 2021 census: 74% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 57% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 31.8 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 12% take an hour or more. 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.
Caledonia grades C+ for jobs and income
Better than 37% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #456 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.
Commuting times in Caledonia
Timed exactly, the average is 28.9 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.
More workers leave Caledonia each day than arrive
Each person commuting in is matched by about 2 residents going out. Of those who commute, 47% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
53% of Caledonia’s residents in work leave it to work; Hamilton takes the most
- Simcoe1,800
- Hamilton1,000
- Brantford375
- Welland200
- Smithville175
- Wainfleet155
- Port Colborne135
- Paris115
- Burlington55
- Pelham50
- Hamilton4,400
- Simcoe580
- Brantford475
- Burlington470
- Smithville240
- Oakville165
- Toronto160
- Mississauga160
- Grimsby145
- Welland140
Inbound, the leader is Simcoe (1,800).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Work and the working-age population of Caledonia
A smaller share in work than in 54% of Canadian towns.
An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 57% of residents 15 and over were in work. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 60% of the wider area’s adults in work. Counting those looking for work too, 62% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. 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.
$92,100 a year: the median household in Caledonia
That puts Caledonia 1% above the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. Pandemic benefits paid in 2020 lifted the incomes at the bottom, and they are counted here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
4.3% of commuters from Caledonia go without a car
Nearly everyone drives: 94% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Only 16% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 0.3%, 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).
27% more people are on EI in the Haldimand-Norfolk census division than in 2019
That is about 4.6 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 1%. February 2021 was the busiest month, with 6,160 people on EI, 2.6 times 2019’s average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of the Haldimand-Norfolk 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).
Getting around Caledonia on foot earns B−
Better than 53% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #674 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Caledonia is 50th of 72 Canadian towns of 39,200 to 75,700
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boucherville Quebec | 41,910 | 82% | 5.2% | $111K | A |
| 2 | Langford British Columbia | 59,664 | 81% | 6.2% | $93K | A |
| 3 | St. Albert Alberta | 74,621 | 77% | 9.1% | $118K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Brant Ontario | 45,565 | 78% | 8.8% | $107K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | Lakeshore Ontario | 45,954 | 71% | 13% | $114K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | Timmins Ontario | 45,569 | 71% | 8.6% | $82K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 48 | Fleetwood British Columbia | 63,957 | 72% | 7.9% | $109K | C+ |
| 49 | Belleville Ontario | 62,914 | 66% | 12% | $74K | C+ |
| 50 | Haldimand County Ontario | 56,059 | 74% | 8.3% | $92K | C+ |
| 51 | Bradford West Gwillimbury Ontario | 51,346 | 73% | 11% | $114K | C+ |
| 52 | East Gwillimbury Ontario | 42,989 | 72% | 12% | $119K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 72 | Port-Maurice Quebec | 45,720 | 69% | 12% | $69K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Caledonia, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Next to Caledonia: how nearby places compare
No closer places have figures: these lie 29–40 km from Caledonia.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caledonia | 74% | 8.3% | $92K | 31.8 min | C+ | B− |
| Smithville 28.6 km | 76% | 8.3% | $106K | 30.6 min | B | C+ |
| Hamilton 31.2 km | 68% | 12% | $86K | 28.3 min | — | — |
| Grimsby 35.4 km | 76% | 10% | $104K | 28 min | B | B |
| Wainfleet 37.1 km | 74% | 9.2% | $96K | 29.9 min | B− | D |
| Brantford 39.8 km | 69% | 12% | $79K | 24.9 min | C | 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 Caledonia, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- 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. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- 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. 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. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- Where people commute. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Caledonia as part of Haldimand County, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Caledonia
What is the unemployment rate in Caledonia?
Two figures answer it: 8.3% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 7% for the Hamilton-Niagara Peninsula economic region in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Caledonia?
The census puts Caledonia at $92,100 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Caledonia get to work?
94% of commuters drive, 0.3% take public transit, 3.8% walk and 0.2% cycle; 16% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Caledonia?
The average commute is 31.8 minutes; 28% of trips take under 15 minutes and 12% an hour or more.
Where do people in Caledonia work?
Only 47% work in Caledonia itself; the rest go first to Hamilton (4,400) and Simcoe (580).
How many jobs are there in Caledonia?
The 2021 census found about 11,755 people with their usual workplace in Caledonia, or 0.8 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 1,580 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
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).