Photo: J. S. Bond · CC BY-SA 3.0Working-age people in Clinton have jobs more often than in 87% of Canadian towns
Half the households in Clinton had more than $80,000 in 2020, before tax; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. The census counted 1,805 people working in Clinton and 2,410 residents commuting to a fixed workplace. Census day 2021 found 6.2% of Clinton’s labour force without a job; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
Clinton at work: what stands out
More people in work than most towns
With 83% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, it has 58% of all adults employed. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
6.2% 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 ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 22.6 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 7.8% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Clinton: A
Better than 86% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #58 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; its weakest, household income.
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.
In Clinton, 83% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Huron census division, 6 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 61% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 58%: many residents are past working age. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 54% in October 2026. 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.
22.6 minutes from Clinton to work, under the middle of Canadian towns
An hour or more: 7.8% of commuters, close to the middle of Ontario’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 20.3 minutes. In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 44% of commuters, against 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
Clinton empties a little on a working day
Each person commuting in is matched by about 2 residents going out. 30% 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.
70% of Clinton’s residents in work leave it to work; Goderich takes the most
- Goderich620
- Bayfield260
- Seaforth210
- Wingham130
- Exeter70
- Mitchell55
- London55
- Kincardine55
- Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh50
- Stratford40
Coming the other way, Seaforth sends the most (290).
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 Clinton work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
How Clinton’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 56% of Canadian towns.
4 of the 8 other places of 2,500+ in the Huron census division have a higher median. The middle of Ontario’s towns is $91,600, and Clinton is 13% below it. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes 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).
7.5% of commuters from Clinton go without a car
More people walk to work here than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 6.8% against 3.2%. The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters. Working at home: 22% here, 21% 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).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
22% more people are on EI in the Huron census division than in 2019
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 3%. In February 2021 it reached 2,400, the most in the series and 2.4 times the 2019 average. That is about 3.7 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Huron 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).
Everyday places on foot in Clinton: B+
Better than 68% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #571 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 683 Canadian towns of 5,800 to 11,200, Clinton comes 87th on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Alta Vista Ontario | 8,387 | 78% | 8.3% | $138K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 25 | West Perth Ontario | 10,080 | 88% | 5% | $92K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 85 | Les Cèdres Quebec | 7,145 | 85% | 4.4% | $98K | A |
| 86 | Saint-Philippe Quebec | 8,674 | 83% | 4.9% | $103K | A |
| 87 | Central Huron Ontario | 8,318 | 83% | 6.2% | $80K | A |
| 88 | River East Manitoba | 7,774 | 77% | 7.2% | $103K | A |
| 89 | Amber Trails Manitoba | 9,256 | 78% | 7% | $125K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 683 | Beasley Ontario | 6,338 | 49% | 17% | $47K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Clinton, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Clinton and its neighbours: work and income
No closer places have figures: these lie 15–24 km from Clinton.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton | 83% | 6.2% | $80K | 22.6 min | A | B+ |
| Goderich 15.1 km | 73% | 9.3% | $69K | 18.1 min | B− | A |
| Bayfield 20.3 km | 82% | 5.9% | $85K | 25.2 min | A− | A− |
| Seaforth 22.2 km | 81% | 6.6% | $81K | 25.6 min | B+ | B |
| Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh 23.6 km | 82% | 5.1% | $78K | 26 min | B+ | D |
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 Clinton, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- 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. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- 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. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- Employment Insurance. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Clinton as part of Central Huron, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Clinton
What is the average household income in Clinton?
At $80,000 before tax in 2020, the median household in Clinton compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Clinton get to work?
By car: 91% of commuters, 6.8% walk and 0.7% cycle; on census day 22% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Clinton?
22.6 minutes is the average trip, with 44% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 7.8% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Clinton work?
Only 30% work in Clinton itself; the rest go first to Goderich (620) and Bayfield (260).
How many jobs are there in Clinton?
The 2021 census counted about 1,805 people working in Clinton: 0.8 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 309 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Clinton?
The census put unemployment at 6.2% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula economic region at 3.8%.
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).