Household incomes in Buchanan are higher than in 91% of Canadian towns
The 2021 census put unemployment in Buchanan at 10%, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. At the 2021 census, 68% of Buchanan’s 15-to-64s were in work; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. On average, people in Buchanan spend 26.2 minutes getting to work, next to 26 for the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Buchanan: what the figures say
Fewer people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 68% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 55% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $107,300 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.
On jobs and income, Buchanan grades B−
Better than 48% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #322 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.
Who in Buchanan has a job
Of the 105 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Hamilton census division, 55 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 61% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 55% of residents 15 and over were in work. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 61% in work 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.
Household income in Buchanan: $107,300 at the median
39 of the 105 other places of 2,500+ in the Hamilton census division have a higher median. That puts Buchanan 17% above the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 11% of Buchanan’s commuters
On foot: 5.3% of commuters, well above the 3.2% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. The car takes 85% of commuters here, under the 88% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Home was the workplace for 23%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%. Transit takes 5.8% 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).
38% more people are on EI in the Hamilton census division than in 2019
That works out to around 4.1 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 1%. At its peak, in January 2021, 30,560 people were on EI, 3.3 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 Hamilton census division, with Buchanan one part of it.
Buchanan on foot: a A grade
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Buchanan places 313th of 610 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,100
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Perth South Ontario | 4,055 | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | McDougall Ontario | 3,002 | 82% | 9.6% | $93K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 34 | Adelaide-Metcalfe Ontario | 3,196 | 86% | 5.9% | $107K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 311 | Alpine Ontario | 3,055 | 76% | 11% | $75K | B− |
| 312 | Prince Albert No. 461 Saskatchewan | 3,589 | 60% | 6.8% | $94K | B− |
| 313 | Buchanan Ontario | 3,006 | 68% | 10% | $107K | B− |
| 314 | Brockville Manitoba | 2,632 | 73% | 5.6% | $75K | B− |
| 315 | Mulmur Ontario | 3,813 | 76% | 9.9% | $117K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 610 | 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 Buchanan, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Buchanan and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan | 68% | 10% | $107K | 26.2 min | B− | A |
| Westcliffe East 0.9 km | 75% | 12% | $109K | 24.8 min | B+ | A− |
| Rolston 1 km | 61% | 15% | $78K | 26.8 min | C− | A |
| Gilbert 1.2 km | 60% | 17% | $88K | 26.3 min | C | A |
| Balfour 1.4 km | 66% | 12% | $80K | 27.5 min | C− | A+ |
| Kirkendall South 1.7 km | 75% | 9.3% | $139K | 24.4 min | A− | A |
| Greeningdon 1.8 km | 57% | 15% | $69K | 29.5 min | D− | 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 Buchanan, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. 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.
- 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’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- 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. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
- Neighbourhood figures. We add up Buchanan’s dissemination areas for its census figures. Flows between places and timed averages exist only for the whole municipality: see Hamilton’s page.
Questions about work in Buchanan
How many jobs are there in Buchanan?
The census places jobs by municipality, so the answer is in Hamilton’s figures, with the flows of its commuters.
What is the unemployment rate in Buchanan?
At the 2021 census 10% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Hamilton metro area, gives 7.6% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Buchanan?
Buchanan’s middle household had $107,300 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Buchanan get to work?
85% of commuters drive, 5.8% take public transit and 5.3% walk; 23% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
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).