Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Spring Valley has some of the highest household incomes of any Canadian town
At the 2021 census, 79% of Spring Valley’s 15-to-64s were in work; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Working at home: 41% of its workers, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%. 11% of the labour force in Spring Valley was out of work at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
The work figures that set Spring Valley apart
More people in work than most towns
Counting everyone 15 and over, 60% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 79%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
At $141,700 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Many work from home
On census day, 41% of those in work were working at home; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. 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, Spring Valley grades A
Better than 91% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #30 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.
In and out of work in Spring Valley
Of the 105 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Hamilton census division, 99 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Working or looking, 67% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 60%. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 61% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. 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.
What households earned in Spring Valley: $141,700 in 2020
Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Spring Valley sits 55% above. Of the 105 other places of 2,500 or more in the Hamilton census division, 4 have a higher median. Pandemic support paid in 2020, CERB first among it, is part of these before-tax incomes.
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.
Spring Valley gets to work without a car for 2.6% of commuters
The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters. Few ride transit: 0.9%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
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
The highest month was January 2021: 30,560 people, 3.3 times the 2019 level. That is about 4.1 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 1%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of 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).
Spring Valley earns C+ for walkability
Better than 42% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #719 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Ranked on jobs and income, Spring Valley is 67th among 747 Canadian towns of 2,900 to 5,600
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| 2 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 3 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Red Lake Ontario | 4,285 | 77% | 5.1% | $111K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | Perth South Ontario | 4,055 | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | A+ |
| 10 | Island Park-Wellington Village Ontario | 5,486 | 81% | 7% | $161K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 65 | Saint-Bruno Quebec | 2,935 | 85% | 2.9% | $79K | A |
| 66 | Vanderhoof British Columbia | 4,545 | 74% | 8.2% | $91K | A |
| 67 | Spring Valley Ontario | 4,175 | 79% | 11% | $142K | A |
| 68 | Mackenzie British Columbia | 3,442 | 78% | 12% | $88K | A |
| 69 | Saint-Denis-de-Brompton Quebec | 5,249 | 82% | 4.1% | $100K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 747 | Division No. 1, Subdivision E Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,978 | 57% | 22% | $60K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Spring Valley, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Work in and around Spring Valley
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Valley | 79% | 11% | $142K | 25.3 min | A | C+ |
| Leeming 1.3 km | 79% | 8.7% | $142K | 26.1 min | A | B− |
| Shaver 1.3 km | 73% | 14% | $123K | 28 min | B | C+ |
| Garner 2.7 km | 75% | 8.4% | $140K | 25.4 min | A− | C+ |
| Sulphur Springs 4 km | 79% | 10% | $146K | 25.7 min | A | B |
| Marritt 4 km | 74% | 8.9% | $136K | 27.3 min | B | C+ |
| Oakes 4.4 km | 67% | 14% | $143K | 28.5 min | C+ | C+ |
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 Spring Valley, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- 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. 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. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
- Neighbourhood figures. The census reaches a neighbourhood only through its dissemination areas, and Spring Valley’s figures add those up. Hamilton’s page has the commuting flows, which exist only for the whole municipality.
Questions about work in Spring Valley
How many jobs are there in Spring Valley?
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 Spring Valley?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 11% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Hamilton metro area at 7.6% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Spring Valley?
Before tax, half the households in Spring Valley had more than $141,700 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Spring Valley get to work?
95% of commuters go by car, 0.9% take public transit and 1.7% walk. On census day 41% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
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).