Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Erin are higher than in 98% of Canadian towns
At the 2021 census, 80% of Erin’s 15-to-64s were in work, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. The average trip to work from Erin is 37.2 minutes; 14% of commuters spend an hour or more getting there. Out of work in May 2021: 8.2% of Erin’s labour force; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
The work numbers behind Erin
More people in work than most towns
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 80% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 64%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household had $126,600 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 37.2 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 14% 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.
Erin grades B for jobs and income
Better than 64% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #195 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is household income; 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.
Work and the working-age population of Erin
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Wellington census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 69%. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 64% were working. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 64% of the wider area’s adults in work. 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.
Median household income in Erin: $126,600 in 2020
2 of the 7 other places of 2,500+ in the Wellington census division have a higher median. Erin’s median is 38% above the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600). The year is 2020: emergency benefits like CERB count in these incomes, and they raised the bottom of the range.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Time on the road to work from Erin
Timed exactly, the average is 33.6 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. Only 19% 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.
The daily tide in Erin runs outward
Each person commuting in is matched by about 3 residents going out. 24% 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.
76% of Erin’s residents in work leave it to work; Mississauga takes the most
- Guelph215
- Georgetown120
- Brampton100
- Fergus100
- Orangeville75
- Bolton65
- Rockwood45
- Mono40
- Milton40
- Toronto35
- Mississauga540
- Brampton455
- Georgetown360
- Guelph220
- Toronto195
- Milton170
- Bolton160
- Orangeville160
- Rockwood70
- Fergus70
Of those coming in, Guelph supplies the most: 215.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Without a car, 3.8% of Erin’s commuters get to work
Nearly everyone drives: 94% of commuters go by car, truck or van. 28% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 0.9%, 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 Wellington census division run 34% above their 2019 level
Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 3%. At its peak, in April 2021, 11,080 people were on EI, 3 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.7 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: the Wellington 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 Erin: graded C+
Better than 43% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #714 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Erin ranks: 201st of 611 Canadian towns of 9,000 to 17,400
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Walsh Acres/Lakeridge/Garden Ridge Saskatchewan | 9,325 | 80% | 6.7% | $127K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Glebe-Dows Lake Ontario | 13,436 | 80% | 9.4% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Wellesley Ontario | 12,413 | 84% | 3.9% | $119K | A+ |
| 9 | Perth East Ontario | 13,423 | 86% | 3.9% | $96K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 199 | Lacombe Alberta | 14,733 | 72% | 12% | $89K | B |
| 200 | Leduc County Alberta | 16,400 | 80% | 9.5% | $107K | B |
| 201 | Erin Ontario | 12,924 | 80% | 8.2% | $127K | B |
| 202 | South Cambie British Columbia | 9,846 | 77% | 7.7% | $98K | B |
| 203 | Chutes-Montmorency Quebec | 16,273 | 78% | 6.4% | $73K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 611 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Erin, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Next to Erin: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erin | 80% | 8.2% | $127K | 37.2 min | B | C+ |
| East Garafraxa 14.6 km | 81% | 8.7% | $134K | 37.1 min | B+ | C |
| Orangeville 17.2 km | 75% | 11% | $104K | 33.2 min | C+ | A− |
| Georgetown 18.3 km | 76% | 9.7% | $127K | 31 min | B | B+ |
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 Erin, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t 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. 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. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- 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. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- 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 Erin
How do people in Erin get to work?
94% of commuters drive, 0.9% take public transit and 2.9% walk; 28% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Erin?
The average commute is 37.2 minutes; 19% of trips take under 15 minutes and 14% an hour or more.
Where do people in Erin work?
Only 24% work in Erin itself; the rest go first to Mississauga (540) and Brampton (455).
How many jobs are there in Erin?
The 2021 census found about 1,910 people with their usual workplace in Erin, or 0.5 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 567 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Erin?
Two figures answer it: 8.2% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6.5% for the Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie economic region in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Erin?
Before tax, half the households in Erin had more than $126,600 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
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).