Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Sheldon top those of 89% of Canadian towns
On average, people in Sheldon spend 27.4 minutes getting to work, next to 26 for the middle of Canadian towns. Sheldon counted 70% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Unemployment in Sheldon stood at 12% on census day 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
Jobs and income in Sheldon: what the figures say
Work near the middle
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 70% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 51%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
At $103,900 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. 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, Sheldon grades C+
Better than 44% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #360 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.
Sheldon households: $103,900 a year at the median
Of the 105 other places of 2,500 or more in the Hamilton census division, 41 have a higher median. That puts Sheldon 13% above the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. Pandemic benefits paid in 2020 lifted the incomes at the bottom, and they are counted here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
In and out of work in Sheldon
Of the 105 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Hamilton census division, 62 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 51%: many residents are past working age. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 61% of the wider area’s adults in work. 58% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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.
4.9% of commuters from Sheldon go without a car
Working at home: 24% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 3.5% of commuters, close to the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 92% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the Hamilton census division, 38% more people receive EI than in 2019
That works out to around 4.1 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 1%. The highest month was January 2021: 30,560 people, 3.3 times the 2019 level.
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, Sheldon included.
On getting around on foot, Sheldon grades B
Better than 56% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #647 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Sheldon next to Canadian towns of 17,800 to 34,400: 158th of 341 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Whitehorse Yukon | 34,129 | 82% | 5.6% | $112K | A+ |
| 3 | Arcola East Saskatchewan | 33,823 | 79% | 7.7% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Woolwich Ontario | 31,382 | 82% | 6.2% | $115K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Wilmot Ontario | 22,890 | 81% | 6.8% | $115K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | North Perth Ontario | 18,168 | 83% | 5.7% | $84K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 156 | Miramichi New Brunswick | 19,402 | 72% | 11% | $66K | C+ |
| 157 | Orangeville Ontario | 33,070 | 75% | 11% | $104K | C+ |
| 158 | Sheldon Ontario | 25,488 | 70% | 12% | $104K | C+ |
| 159 | King Ontario | 29,077 | 74% | 11% | $141K | C+ |
| 160 | Essa Ontario | 26,036 | 73% | 11% | $108K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 341 | Parc-Extension Quebec | 29,066 | 61% | 16% | $48K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Sheldon, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Work in and around Sheldon
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheldon | 70% | 12% | $104K | 27.4 min | C+ | B |
| Butler 2 km | 66% | 12% | $98K | 25.9 min | C+ | A |
| Barnstown 2 km | 63% | 14% | $119K | 26.2 min | C+ | A |
| Eleanor 2.5 km | 66% | 14% | $119K | 27 min | C+ | A− |
| Crerar 3 km | 67% | 16% | $93K | 31 min | C− | A− |
| Rushdale 3.2 km | 67% | 12% | $117K | 27 min | B− | A |
| Templemead 3.2 km | 68% | 13% | $106K | 26.8 min | C+ | 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 Sheldon, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- 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. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- 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.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
- Neighbourhood figures. Sheldon’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 Sheldon
How many jobs are there in Sheldon?
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 Sheldon?
The census put unemployment at 12% 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%.
What is the average household income in Sheldon?
Sheldon’s middle household had $103,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Sheldon get to work?
92% of commuters drive, 3.5% take public transit, 1.2% walk and 0.2% cycle; 24% 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).