Household incomes in Garner are among the highest of any Canadian town
Unemployment in Garner stood at 8.4% on census day 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Home was the workplace for 35% of its workers in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. In Garner, 75% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
What stands out about work in Garner
Higher incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $139,800 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Many work from home
35% of workers worked at home on census day, against 21% 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.
On jobs and income, Garner grades A−
Better than 77% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #106 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.
$139,800 a year: the median household in Garner
Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Garner sits 53% above. Of the 105 other places of 2,500 or more in the Hamilton census division, 5 have a higher median. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Before tax, 2020: higher than in almost any Canadian town.
Garner gets to work without a car for 3.3% of commuters
Transit takes 1.2% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 95% of commuters go by car, truck or van.
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.
In and out of work in Garner
Of the 105 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Hamilton census division, 84 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Working or looking, 65% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 59% of residents 15 and over were in work. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 61% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. 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.
EI claims in the Hamilton census division run 38% above their 2019 level
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. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 1%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Not measured by town: EI beneficiaries (the Hamilton 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).
Getting around Garner on foot earns C+
Better than 40% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #735 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Garner next to Canadian towns of 3,800 to 7,400: 166th of 717 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 2 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Sioux Lookout Ontario | 6,122 | 79% | 5.7% | $103K | A+ |
| 6 | Red Lake Ontario | 4,285 | 77% | 5.1% | $111K | A+ |
| 7 | Perth South Ontario | 4,055 | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 164 | Saint-Paul Quebec | 7,208 | 82% | 3.9% | $86K | A− |
| 165 | Lucan Biddulph Ontario | 6,827 | 82% | 7.2% | $105K | A− |
| 166 | Garner Ontario | 5,456 | 75% | 8.4% | $140K | A− |
| 167 | Saint-Boniface Quebec | 5,405 | 82% | 3.8% | $81K | A− |
| 168 | Larkspur Alberta | 5,472 | 76% | 12% | $110K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 717 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Garner, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Next to Garner: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garner | 75% | 8.4% | $140K | 25.4 min | A− | C+ |
| Marritt 1.4 km | 74% | 8.9% | $136K | 27.3 min | B | C+ |
| Leeming 1.6 km | 79% | 8.7% | $142K | 26.1 min | A | B− |
| Oakes 1.7 km | 67% | 14% | $143K | 28.5 min | C+ | C+ |
| Sulphur Springs 2 km | 79% | 10% | $146K | 25.7 min | A | B |
| Shaver 2.5 km | 73% | 14% | $123K | 28 min | B | C+ |
| Horning 2.6 km | 75% | 14% | $121K | 27.8 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 Garner, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Trip times. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s average.
- 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.
- 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. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- 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. Garner’s census figures are summed from its dissemination areas. Commuting flows and Statistics Canada’s timed averages are published only for the whole municipality, so they are on Hamilton’s page.
Questions about work in Garner
How many jobs are there in Garner?
Jobs are counted by municipality, not neighbourhood: the page for Hamilton has the jobs based there and where its commuters go.
What is the unemployment rate in Garner?
Two figures answer it: 8.4% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 7.6% for the Hamilton metro area in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Garner?
The census puts Garner at $139,800 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Garner get to work?
Driving takes 95% of commuters to work, 1.2% take public transit and 2.1% walk, and on census day 35% of those in work were at home.
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).