Photo: JustSomePics · CC BY-SA 3.0The share of 15-to-64s with a job in Chesley tops that of 83% of Canadian towns
Chesley is the usual workplace of 1,290 people, and 1,925 of its own residents commute to a job. Half the households in Chesley had more than $80,000 in 2020, before tax, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. When the 2021 census was taken, 7.1% of people in Chesley who wanted a job had none, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What Chesley’s work numbers say
More people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 82% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 61%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
7.1% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 3.8% in October 2026. 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 Chesley: graded B
Better than 62% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #210 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.
How many in Chesley have a job: 82% of 15-to-64s
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Bruce census division, 6 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Working or looking, 65% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 61%: many residents are past working age. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 54% in October 2026. May 2021, when the census was taken, was a pandemic spring; unemployment has come down since, as the Labour Force Survey records.
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.
Chesley empties a little on a working day
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 2 to 1. 26% 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.
74% of Chesley’s residents in work leave it to work; Port Elgin takes the most
- Walkerton125
- Durham120
- Chatsworth100
- Georgian Bluffs75
- Port Elgin65
- Hanover60
- Owen Sound50
- Kincardine45
- Mildmay25
- Meaford20
- Port Elgin335
- Kincardine325
- Owen Sound245
- Hanover125
- Walkerton115
- Wiarton90
- Georgian Bluffs40
- Durham25
- Grey Highlands20
- Chatsworth15
Coming the other way, Walkerton sends the most (125).
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 Chesley
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 56% of Canadian towns.
Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Chesley sits 13% below. 5 of the 7 other places of 2,500+ in the Bruce census division have 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).
3.9% of commuters in Chesley walk, cycle or take transit
Nearly everyone drives: 95% of commuters go by car, truck or van. 25% of everyone in work 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.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
27.1 minutes from Chesley to work, about the middle of Canadian towns
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 25.1 minutes. The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. Only 27% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 4.5% take an hour or more, against 7.9%.
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.
21% more people are on EI in the Bruce census division than in 2019
At its peak, in February 2021, 3,510 people were on EI, 2.4 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.1 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 counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100). Figures for EI beneficiaries are published for the Bruce census division as a whole, not for Chesley alone.
The walkability of Chesley: B−
Better than 45% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #702 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Chesley places 264th of 699 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 5,300 to 10,300
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Island Park-Wellington Village Ontario | 5,486 | 81% | 7% | $161K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Alta Vista Ontario | 8,387 | 78% | 8.3% | $138K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 262 | Scenic Acres Alberta | 8,026 | 72% | 12% | $140K | B |
| 263 | Douglas New Brunswick | 6,840 | 76% | 8.8% | $87K | B |
| 264 | Arran-Elderslie Ontario | 7,639 | 82% | 7.1% | $80K | B |
| 265 | Barrhead County No. 11 Alberta | 6,186 | 81% | 7.7% | $83K | B |
| 266 | Minto Ontario | 10,029 | 81% | 5.5% | $83K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 699 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Chesley, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Next to Chesley: how nearby places compare
Chesley has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 21–27 km out.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesley | 82% | 7.1% | $80K | 27.1 min | B | B− |
| Port Elgin 21 km | 73% | 8% | $103K | 22.5 min | A− | A− |
| Chatsworth 23.6 km | 74% | 8.2% | $81K | 29.7 min | C | C− |
| Walkerton 25.5 km | 79% | 6.4% | $83K | 23 min | A− | C+ |
| Hanover 26.7 km | 73% | 9.5% | $69K | 21.4 min | C+ | A |
| Owen Sound 27 km | 69% | 11% | $63K | 19 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 Chesley, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- 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. 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.
- The Labour Force Survey. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Chesley as part of Arran-Elderslie, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Chesley
What is the unemployment rate in Chesley?
The 2021 census found 7.1% 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 Chesley?
Before tax, half the households in Chesley had more than $80,000 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Chesley get to work?
By car: 95% of commuters, 3.5% walk and 0.4% cycle; on census day 25% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Chesley?
27.1 minutes is the average trip, with 27% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 4.5% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Chesley work?
26% work in Chesley itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Port Elgin (335), then Kincardine (325).
How many jobs are there in Chesley?
The 2021 census counted about 1,290 people working in Chesley: 0.7 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 222 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).