Photo: Joey Coleman from Hamilton, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Household incomes in Gibson trail those of 95% of Canadian towns
A typical one-way commute from Gibson lasts 30.4 minutes, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. Buses, trains and subways take 15% of its commuters to work. In Gibson, 50% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%.
The work figures that set Gibson apart
Fewer people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 50% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 43%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 21% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 7.6%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $55,400 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 30.4 minutes; the middle of Canadian towns is 26. 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Gibson: D−
Behind almost every Canadian town on three measures together, #859 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is trip times; 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.
How many in Gibson were working in 2021
Of the 105 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Hamilton census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 61% of the wider area’s adults in work. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 54% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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 Gibson had $55,400 in 2020
Of the 105 other places of 2,500 or more in the Hamilton census division, 100 have a higher median. Against the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600), Gibson’s median is 40% below. 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).
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 24% of Gibson’s commuters
Home was the workplace for 23%, 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.
EI claims in the Hamilton census division run 38% above their 2019 level
Roughly 4.1 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. Set against the same month a year before, 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.
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 Gibson one part of it.
Walking in Gibson earns A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #130 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Gibson next to Canadian towns of 5,300 to 10,200
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | Sioux Lookout Ontario | 6,122 | 79% | 5.7% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Island Park-Wellington Village Ontario | 5,486 | 81% | 7% | $161K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Alta Vista Ontario | 8,387 | 78% | 8.3% | $138K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 690 | Saint-Calixte Quebec | 7,627 | 65% | 9.6% | $60K | D− |
| 691 | Beechborough-Greenbrook Ontario | 6,419 | 60% | 17% | $63K | D− |
| 692 | Gibson Ontario | 7,581 | 50% | 21% | $55K | D− |
| 693 | Beasley Ontario | 6,338 | 49% | 17% | $47K | D− |
| 694 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Gibson, and others among Ontario’s towns.
How Gibson compares with the places nearby
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibson | 50% | 21% | $55K | 30.4 min | D− | A+ |
| Stipeley 0.7 km | 63% | 13% | $68K | 31.7 min | D− | A+ |
| St. Clair 0.8 km | 67% | 10% | $68K | 32 min | D− | A+ |
| Landsdale 1 km | 58% | 14% | $57K | 29.9 min | D− | A+ |
| Stinson 1.1 km | 60% | 14% | $55K | 30.9 min | D− | A+ |
| Blakeley 1.2 km | 58% | 15% | $56K | 29.3 min | D− | A+ |
| Industrial Sector A and Keith 1.6 km | 59% | 16% | $68K | 28 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 Gibson, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- 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. 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. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- 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.
- 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. Commuting flows and Statistics Canada’s timed averages stop at the municipality, so Hamilton’s page carries them; Gibson’s own figures sum its dissemination areas.
Questions about work in Gibson
What is the average household income in Gibson?
Gibson’s middle household had $55,400 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Gibson get to work?
Driving takes 73% of commuters to work, 15% take public transit, 7.7% walk and 1.5% cycle, and on census day 23% of those in work were at home.
How many jobs are there in Gibson?
Jobs and commuting flows exist only for Hamilton as a whole, and its page carries them.
What is the unemployment rate in Gibson?
The census put unemployment at 21% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Hamilton metro area at 7.6%.
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).