Photo: Ryan Hodnett · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Guelph are higher than in 79% of Canadian towns
Of Guelph’s residents aged 15 to 64, 74% were employed when the 2021 census was taken, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. Workers in Guelph spend 24.2 minutes on the way to work on average, and 7.1% need an hour or more. The census counted 53,160 people working in Guelph and 45,845 residents commuting to a fixed workplace.
Guelph at work: what stands out
Work near the middle
In work at the 2021 census: 74% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 60% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
A local job centre
With 53,160 jobs based in Guelph and 45,845 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Guelph earns B for jobs and income
Better than 64% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #196 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.
Each working day, Guelph’s workforce swells by 11%
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 2 to 1 in Guelph. 70% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, the same as in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
21,160 people come into Guelph to work, most from Kitchener and Cambridge
40% of the people who work in Guelph live outside it, 5,090 of them in Kitchener, 23 km away. Going the other way, Cambridge is the biggest single destination (2,125).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Guelph at work: 74% of people aged 15 to 64
None of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Wellington census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 70% in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 68%. Counting retirees, 60% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at 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.
The median household in Guelph had $93,300 in 2020
That puts Guelph 2% above the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. Of the 7 other places of 2,500 or more in the Wellington census division, 5 have a higher median. Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for that year.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Without a car, 11% of Guelph’s commuters get to work
Transit takes 4.5% of commuters, above the 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. 87% drive to work, about the same as in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Working at home: 26% here, 21% 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).
How long the commute from Guelph takes
Timed exactly, the average is 21.7 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 41% 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.
EI claims in the Wellington census division run 34% above their 2019 level
Roughly 3.7 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 3%. The count topped out in April 2021 at 11,080 people, 3 times the 2019 average.
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). Behind EI beneficiaries sits data gathered across the Wellington census division, with Guelph one part of it.
The walkability of Guelph: A
Better than 92% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #363 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Guelph is 8th of 32 Canadian towns of 112,500 to 217,000
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lévis Quebec | 160,882 | 84% | 5.3% | $84K | A |
| 2 | Saanich British Columbia | 126,011 | 77% | 6.8% | $93K | A |
| 3 | Kelowna British Columbia | 167,654 | 78% | 7.9% | $83K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Burlington Ontario | 197,737 | 76% | 11% | $110K | B+ |
| 6 | Langley British Columbia | 163,885 | 78% | 6.2% | $108K | B+ |
| 7 | Saguenay Quebec | 151,972 | 78% | 5.5% | $69K | B+ |
| 8 | Guelph Ontario | 160,760 | 74% | 11% | $93K | B |
| 9 | Delta British Columbia | 124,670 | 77% | 7.3% | $108K | B |
| 10 | Red Deer Alberta | 115,409 | 70% | 12% | $85K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Waterloo Ontario | 142,450 | 68% | 12% | $94K | B |
| 14 | Thunder Bay Ontario | 117,671 | 68% | 11% | $78K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 32 | Oshawa Ontario | 213,592 | 64% | 15% | $86K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Guelph, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Work in the places around Guelph
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guelph | 74% | 11% | $93K | 24.2 min | B | A |
| Rockwood 5.3 km | 80% | 7.7% | $130K | 30.6 min | B+ | C+ |
| Puslinch 9.9 km | 80% | 9.3% | $134K | 27.8 min | A | D |
| Grand River South 16.5 km | 77% | 9.1% | $132K | 24.1 min | A | B |
| Grand River North 17.8 km | 76% | 9.4% | $116K | 22.4 min | A | C+ |
| Cambridge 18 km | 72% | 12% | $93K | 26.3 min | B− | A− |
| Idlewood 18.1 km | 74% | 6.3% | $125K | 23.5 min | A− | 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 Guelph, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- 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. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
- 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.
- 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 Guelph
What is the unemployment rate in Guelph?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 11% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Guelph metro area at 6.1% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Guelph?
Guelph’s middle household had $93,300 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Guelph get to work?
87% of commuters drive, 4.5% take public transit, 5.1% walk and 1.1% cycle; 26% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Guelph?
The average commute is 24.2 minutes; 41% of trips take under 15 minutes and 7.1% an hour or more.
Where do people in Guelph work?
Most stay: 70% work in Guelph. The rest go first to Cambridge (2,125) and Kitchener (1,260).
How many jobs are there in Guelph?
The 2021 census found about 53,160 people with their usual workplace in Guelph, or 1.2 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 4,389 businesses with employees in June 2026.
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).