Blakeley’s household incomes are lower than in 95% of Canadian towns
58% of people aged 15 to 64 in Blakeley had a job at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. On average, people in Blakeley spend 29.3 minutes getting to work, next to 26 for the middle of Canadian towns. Of everyone in Blakeley working or looking for work in May 2021, 15% were unemployed; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
What stands out about work in Blakeley
Fewer people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 58% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 49% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 15% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 7.6% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household had $55,700 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 29.3 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. Getting 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 Blakeley: graded D−
Better than 2% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #851 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, household income.
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 Blakeley
Of the 105 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Hamilton census division, 5 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 61% in October 2026. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
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.
Blakeley households: $55,700 a year at the median
The middle of Ontario’s towns is $91,600, and Blakeley is 39% below it. Of the 105 other places of 2,500 or more in the Hamilton census division, 99 have a higher median. 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).
Walking, cycling or transit: 20% of Blakeley’s commuters
On foot: 8.6% of commuters, well above the 3.2% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. The car takes 75% of commuters here, under the 88% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. 25% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 11% of commuters, above the 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).
EI claims in the Hamilton census division run 38% above their 2019 level
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 1%. In January 2021 it reached 30,560, the most in the series and 3.3 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.1 receive EI.
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 Hamilton census division, Blakeley included.
On getting around on foot, Blakeley grades A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #165 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Blakeley and other Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,300
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 11 | Red Lake Ontario | 4,285 | 77% | 5.1% | $111K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Perth South Ontario | 4,055 | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 26 | McDougall Ontario | 3,002 | 82% | 9.6% | $93K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 655 | Division No. 7, Subdivision E Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,632 | 55% | 25% | $60K | D− |
| 656 | Westwood Alberta | 3,279 | 53% | 19% | $48K | D− |
| 657 | Blakeley Ontario | 3,151 | 58% | 15% | $56K | D− |
| 658 | Mandeville Quebec | 2,511 | 67% | 13% | $53K | D− |
| 659 | Sheet Harbour Nova Scotia | 3,334 | 55% | 13% | $56K | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 666 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Blakeley, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Jobs near Blakeley: the places around it
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blakeley | 58% | 15% | $56K | 29.3 min | D− | A+ |
| Stipeley 0.8 km | 63% | 13% | $68K | 31.7 min | D− | A+ |
| St. Clair 1.1 km | 67% | 10% | $68K | 32 min | D− | A+ |
| Crown Point West 1.1 km | 64% | 16% | $72K | 28.5 min | D | A+ |
| Gibson 1.2 km | 50% | 21% | $55K | 30.4 min | D− | A+ |
| Raleigh 1.2 km | 66% | 14% | $74K | 26.6 min | C− | A+ |
| Delta East 1.5 km | 73% | 11% | $97K | 27.8 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 Blakeley, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
- Neighbourhood figures. The census reaches a neighbourhood only through its dissemination areas, and Blakeley’s figures add those up. Hamilton’s page has the commuting flows, which exist only for the whole municipality.
Questions about work in Blakeley
What is the average household income in Blakeley?
At $55,700 before tax in 2020, the median household in Blakeley compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Blakeley get to work?
75% of commuters drive, 11% take public transit and 8.6% walk; 25% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How many jobs are there in Blakeley?
There is no count for a neighbourhood: the jobs figure, and where commuters go, are published for Hamilton as one municipality.
What is the unemployment rate in Blakeley?
The 2021 census found 15% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Hamilton metro area, is 7.6% (October 2026).
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · 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).