Photo: P199 · Public domainDeep River has 2.4 jobs for every resident in work
From Deep River, the drive or ride to work averages 22.4 minutes, with 3.3% going an hour or longer. 6.6% of the labour force in Deep River was out of work at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. In 2020, a household at the middle of Deep River had $94,800 before tax, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
What sets Deep River apart on jobs and income
Less unemployment than most towns
6.6% 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 6.8% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 22.4 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 3.3% 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.
Jobs & income in Deep River: graded B
Better than 63% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #207 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.
Work for 70% of 15-to-64s in Deep River
Of the 15 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Renfrew census division, 7 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting those looking for work too, 52% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 49%: many residents are past working age. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 55% in October 2026. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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.
Deep River fills up on a working day: 94% more workers
Deep River takes in some 6 workers for every resident it sends out. The job is inside the municipality for 70% of its commuters, as in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Time on the road to work from Deep River
Timed exactly, the average is 19.9 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 38% 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.
1,729 people come into Deep River to work, most from Chalk River and Petawawa
- Chalk River515
- Petawawa420
- Laurentian Valley280
- Pembroke205
- Whitewater Region65
- North Algona Wilberforce30
- Head, Clara and Maria20
- L'Isle-aux-Allumettes15
- Rapides-des-Joachims15
- Ottawa15
- Petawawa200
- Pembroke45
- Chalk River25
- Cambridge10
- Renfrew10
71% of the people who work in Deep River live outside it, 515 of them in Chalk River, 8 km away. Petawawa is where the largest group of commuters out goes, 200 of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
What households in Deep River earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 81% of Canadian towns.
That puts Deep River 3% above the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. 2 of the 15 other places of 2,500+ in the Renfrew census division have a higher median. 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).
Deep River gets to work without a car for 14% of commuters
More people walk to work here than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 12% against 3.2%. Fewer drive than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 82% against 88%. Working at home: 28% 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).
EI claims in the Renfrew census division run 13% above their 2019 level
That is about 4.2 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 1%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Renfrew 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).
Walkability in Deep River: graded A+
Better than 96% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #293 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 761 Canadian towns of 3,000 to 5,900, Deep River comes 275th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| 2 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 3 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Red Lake Ontario | 4,285 | 77% | 5.1% | $111K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | Perth South Ontario | 4,055 | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 11 | Island Park-Wellington Village Ontario | 5,486 | 81% | 7% | $161K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 273 | St. George Manitoba | 4,254 | 75% | 8.2% | $89K | B |
| 274 | City Park Saskatchewan | 3,827 | 81% | 9.3% | $59K | B |
| 275 | Deep River Ontario | 4,353 | 70% | 6.6% | $95K | B |
| 276 | Killarney - Turtle Mountain Manitoba | 3,708 | 74% | 8.1% | $72K | B |
| 277 | Laurentian Hills Ontario | 3,147 | 71% | 5.5% | $94K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 761 | Saint-Alexis-des-Monts Quebec | 3,190 | 61% | 11% | $50K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Deep River, and others among Ontario’s towns.
How Deep River compares with the places nearby
The nearest places to Deep River with figures are 8–42 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deep River | 70% | 6.6% | $95K | 22.4 min | B | A+ |
| Chalk River 7.7 km | 71% | 5.5% | $94K | 22.4 min | B | C− |
| Petawawa 28.6 km | 71% | 6.3% | $102K | 16.5 min | A | B− |
| L'Isle-aux-Allumettes 40.5 km | 74% | 5.5% | $69K | 31.9 min | D | D |
| Laurentian Valley 41.1 km | 73% | 9.1% | $94K | 22.4 min | B+ | C− |
| Pembroke 42.2 km | 63% | 12% | $63K | 18.9 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 Deep River, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Trip times. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed 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. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- 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 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. 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 Deep River
How long is the commute from Deep River?
The average commute is 22.4 minutes; 38% of trips take under 15 minutes and 3.3% an hour or more.
Where do people in Deep River work?
70% work in Deep River itself; of those who leave, the most go to Petawawa (200), then Pembroke (45).
How many jobs are there in Deep River?
The 2021 census found about 2,445 people with their usual workplace in Deep River, or 2.4 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 95 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Deep River?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 6.6% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Kingston-Pembroke economic region at 6.8% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Deep River?
Deep River’s middle household had $94,800 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Deep River get to work?
82% of commuters drive, 12% walk and 1.7% cycle; 28% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
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).