Photo: P199 · CC BY 2.5A smaller share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Deseronto than in 95% of Canadian towns
410 people have their usual place of work in Deseronto, against 450 residents who travel to a job. Half the households in Deseronto had more than $64,600 in 2020, before tax; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Deseronto had an unemployment rate of 16% at the 2021 census, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Deseronto: what the figures say
Fewer people in work than most towns
58% of people aged 15 to 64 had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; counting everyone 15 and over, retirees included, it was 46%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 16% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 6.8% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $64,600 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Deseronto grades D for jobs and income
Better than 8% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
How many in Deseronto have a job: 58% of 15-to-64s
None of the 9 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Hastings census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 55%. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 55% in work in October 2026. 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.
Earnings at home in Deseronto: households
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 79% of Canadian towns.
7 of the 9 other places of 2,500+ in the Hastings census division have a higher median. That puts Deseronto 29% below the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
More of Deseronto’s workers leave each day than arrive
Of those who commute, 17% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
83% of Deseronto’s residents in work leave it to work; Greater Napanee takes the most
Coming the other way, Greater Napanee sends the most (90).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 3.7% of Deseronto’s commuters
Nearly everyone drives: 94% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Only 14% 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).
Close to the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Deseronto average 25.1 minutes
Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 3.7% take an hour or more, against 7.9%. Timed exactly, the average is 24.1 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. Only 28% get to work within a quarter-hour, 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.
26% more people are on EI in the Hastings census division than in 2019
The highest month was April 2021: 7,740 people, 2.9 times the 2019 level. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.2 are on EI. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 1%.
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). For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of the Hastings census division, Deseronto included.
Walkability in Deseronto: graded B+
Better than 66% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Around Deseronto: jobs, pay and the commute
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deseronto | 58% | 16% | $65K | 25.1 min | D | B+ |
| Greater Napanee 7.8 km | 68% | 9.4% | $78K | 25.6 min | C | B− |
| Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory 8.8 km | 57% | 9% | $58K | 24.2 min | D | C− |
| Tyendinaga 13.9 km | 74% | 9.7% | $98K | 29.4 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 Deseronto, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- 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. 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. 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. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- 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.
Questions about work in Deseronto
How do people in Deseronto get to work?
94% of commuters go by car, 3.7% walk. On census day 14% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Deseronto?
On average 25.1 minutes; 28% take under 15 minutes and 3.7% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Deseronto work?
Only 17% work in Deseronto itself; the rest go first to Greater Napanee (140) and Belleville (120).
How many jobs are there in Deseronto?
About 410 people had their usual place of work in Deseronto at the 2021 census, 0.9 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 38 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Deseronto?
The 2021 census found 16% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Kingston-Pembroke economic region, is 6.8% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Deseronto?
The median household in Deseronto had $64,600 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
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).