Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0The share of 15-to-64s with a job in Cochrane trails that of 78% of Canadian towns
The 2021 census put unemployment in Cochrane at 7.9%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. From Cochrane, the drive or ride to work averages 17.7 minutes, with 9.6% going an hour or longer. Half the households in Cochrane had more than $76,200 in 2020, before tax, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900.
The work figures that set Cochrane apart
Fewer people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 68% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 52% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
A local job centre
2,495 people work in Cochrane and 1,705 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 17.7 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 9.6% 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.
Jobs and income in Cochrane earn B−
Better than 50% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #301 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is trip times; 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.
Cochrane at work: 68% of people aged 15 to 64
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Cochrane census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 56% of residents that age. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 52%. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 56% in October 2026. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
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.
A working day adds 41% to the people at work in Cochrane
Each resident commuting out of Cochrane is matched by about 6 coming in. Of those who commute, 91% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
The length of the trip to work in Cochrane
Timed exactly, the average is 19.4 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 73%, more 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.
940 people come into Cochrane to work, most from Cochrane, Unorganized, North Part and Timmins
- Timmins30
- Kapuskasing20
- Iroquois Falls15
- Black River-Matheson10
- Cochrane, Unorganized, North Part10
- Kivalliq, Unorganized (NO)10
Of everyone working in Cochrane, 38% come in from elsewhere; 170 make the 47 km trip from Cochrane, Unorganized, North Part. The main destination the other way is Timmins, with 30.
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 Cochrane
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 52% of Canadian towns.
That puts Cochrane 17% below the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. 2 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Cochrane census division have a higher median. Pandemic support paid in 2020, CERB first among it, is 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).
Leaving the car at home: 14% of commuters in Cochrane
Only 9.3% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. By bus, train or subway: 3.7%, much as in the middle of Canadian towns. The car takes 83% of commuters here, under the 88% in the middle of Ontario’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the Cochrane census division, 12% fewer people receive EI than in 2019
The count topped out in July 2021 at 4,270 people, 2 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.7 are on EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 3%.
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 Cochrane 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 of Cochrane: A−
Better than 81% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #484 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Cochrane places 340th of 682 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 4,200 to 8,000
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 3 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | Sioux Lookout Ontario | 6,122 | 79% | 5.7% | $103K | A+ |
| 7 | Red Lake Ontario | 4,285 | 77% | 5.1% | $111K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | Island Park-Wellington Village Ontario | 5,486 | 81% | 7% | $161K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 338 | Electoral Area A, Cariboo British Columbia | 6,172 | 69% | 11% | $80K | B− |
| 339 | New Glasgow Prince Edward Island | 5,502 | 76% | 12% | $81K | B− |
| 340 | Cochrane Ontario | 5,948 | 68% | 7.9% | $76K | B− |
| 341 | Portage la Prairie Manitoba | 7,359 | 68% | 5.8% | $88K | B− |
| 342 | Macewan Glen Alberta | 4,718 | 68% | 13% | $113K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 682 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Cochrane, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Next to Cochrane: how nearby places compare
The nearest places to Cochrane with figures are 44–49 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cochrane | 68% | 7.9% | $76K | 17.7 min | B− | A− |
| Iroquois Falls 43.6 km | 57% | 12% | $74K | 29.7 min | D | A |
| Cochrane, Unorganized, North Part 46.9 km | 65% | 11% | $98K | 20.7 min | B | B |
| Smooth Rock Falls 49.3 km | 57% | 8.8% | $66K | 30.7 min | D− | 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 Cochrane, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- 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. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- 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.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- 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.
Questions about work in Cochrane
What is the unemployment rate in Cochrane?
The 2021 census found 7.9% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Northeast economic region, is 6% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Cochrane?
Cochrane’s middle household had $76,200 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Cochrane get to work?
83% of commuters drive, 3.7% take public transit, 9.6% walk and 0.5% cycle; 9.3% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Cochrane?
The average commute is 17.7 minutes; 73% of trips take under 15 minutes and 9.6% an hour or more.
Where do people in Cochrane work?
91% work in Cochrane itself; of those who leave, the most go to Timmins (30), then Kapuskasing (20).
How many jobs are there in Cochrane?
The 2021 census found about 2,495 people with their usual workplace in Cochrane, or 1.5 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 175 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).