Photo: Onasill ~ Bill - 103 Million Views - Thank You · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Fergus have higher incomes than those in 86% of Canadian towns
Out of work in May 2021: 7.2% of Fergus’ labour force, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Fergus is the usual workplace of 7,280 people, and 9,640 of its own residents commute to a job. In Fergus, 81% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
The work figures that set Fergus apart
More people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 81% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 60%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
7.2% 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 6.5% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $100,700 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
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 Fergus: A−
Better than 83% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #74 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 Fergus
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Wellington census division, 6 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 60% of residents 15 and over were in work. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 64% in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 65%. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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.
$100,700 a year: the median household in Fergus
4 of the 7 other places of 2,500+ in the Wellington census division have a higher median. The middle of Ontario’s towns is $91,600, and Fergus is 10% above it. 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).
The daily tide in Fergus runs outward
Each person commuting in is matched by about 2 residents going out. Of those who commute, 44% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
56% of Fergus’ residents in work leave it to work; Guelph takes the most
- Guelph850
- Drayton345
- Kitchener280
- Mount Forest240
- Rockwood195
- Elmira165
- Waterloo95
- Orangeville80
- Palmerston75
- Cambridge75
- Guelph2,160
- Cambridge340
- Rockwood325
- Kitchener320
- Elmira250
- Waterloo200
- Orangeville185
- Brampton180
- Mount Forest170
- Mississauga165
Inbound, the leader is Guelph (850).
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 Fergus work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Leaving the car at home: 4.6% of commuters in Fergus
Transit takes 0.3% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 94% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Home was the workplace for 24%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%.
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.
Close to the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Fergus average 27.1 minutes
An hour or more: 9.4% of commuters, above the 7.9% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 24.7 minutes. The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 36% 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.
EI claims in the Wellington census division run 34% above their 2019 level
The count topped out in April 2021 at 11,080 people, 3 times the 2019 average. That works out to around 3.7 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 3%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the Wellington census division, not by town. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Fergus on foot: a B+ grade
Better than 65% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #586 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
21st of 192: where Fergus ranks among Canadian towns of 24,200 to 46,700
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whitehorse Yukon | 34,129 | 82% | 5.6% | $112K | A+ |
| 2 | Arcola East Saskatchewan | 33,823 | 79% | 7.7% | $123K | A+ |
| 3 | Woolwich Ontario | 31,382 | 82% | 6.2% | $115K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Bridlewood - Emerald Meadows Ontario | 25,824 | 77% | 8.9% | $136K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Duberger—Les Saules Quebec | 27,419 | 83% | 6.7% | $71K | A− |
| 20 | Beloeil Quebec | 25,240 | 85% | 5% | $90K | A− |
| 21 | Centre Wellington Ontario | 34,565 | 81% | 7.2% | $101K | A− |
| 22 | Saint-Constant Quebec | 32,124 | 82% | 5.4% | $101K | A− |
| 23 | Outremont Quebec | 24,629 | 76% | 9.3% | $108K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 25 | LaSalle Ontario | 36,452 | 69% | 13% | $119K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 192 | Parc-Extension Quebec | 29,066 | 61% | 16% | $48K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Fergus, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Next to Fergus: how nearby places compare
No closer places have figures: these lie 20–23 km from Fergus.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fergus | 81% | 7.2% | $101K | 27.1 min | A− | B+ |
| Rockwood 20.1 km | 80% | 7.7% | $130K | 30.6 min | B+ | C+ |
| Elmira 20.4 km | 82% | 6.2% | $115K | 21.8 min | A+ | B+ |
| East Garafraxa 21.4 km | 81% | 8.7% | $134K | 37.1 min | B+ | C |
| Grand Valley 22.1 km | 80% | 7.8% | $101K | 41.6 min | B− | B |
| Guelph 22.6 km | 74% | 11% | $93K | 24.2 min | B | 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 Fergus, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- 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. 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. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- 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.
- 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.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Fergus as part of Centre Wellington, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Fergus
How do people in Fergus get to work?
Driving takes 94% of commuters to work, 0.3% take public transit, 3.7% walk and 0.6% cycle, and on census day 24% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Fergus?
About 27.1 minutes on average, with 36% under a quarter-hour and 9.4% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Fergus work?
44% work in Fergus itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Guelph (2,160), then Cambridge (340).
How many jobs are there in Fergus?
Some 7,280 people worked in Fergus at the 2021 census: 0.8 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 1,127 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Fergus?
Two figures answer it: 7.2% 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 Fergus?
The median household in Fergus had $100,700 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).