Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Strathcona are lower than in 83% of Canadian towns
Public transit carries 16% of its commuters. Commutes from Strathcona average 27.3 minutes, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. At the 2021 census, 68% of Strathcona’s 15-to-64s were in work; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%.
Work in Strathcona: the figures worth knowing
Fewer people in work than most towns
68% of people aged 15 to 64 had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; counting everyone 15 and over, retirees included, it was 51%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 14% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 7.6% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household had $62,800 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs and income in Strathcona earn D
Better than 8% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #778 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, household income.
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 Strathcona has a job
Of the 105 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Hamilton census division, 52 have 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. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 59%. Counting retirees, 51% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. 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 Strathcona: $62,800 at the median
91 of the 105 other places of 2,500+ in the Hamilton census division have a higher median. Strathcona’s median is 31% below the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600). Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Strathcona gets to work without a car for 33% of commuters
The middle of Ontario’s towns has 0.2% cycling; here, 3.4% do. Fewer drive than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 66% against 88%. Home was the workplace for 31%, 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).
In the Hamilton census division, 38% more people receive EI than in 2019
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 1%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 30,560 people on EI, 3.3 times 2019’s average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.1 are on EI.
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).
Strathcona on foot: a A+ grade
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #66 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Canadian towns of 6,500 to 12,600, and where Strathcona sits
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Wellesley Ontario | 12,413 | 84% | 3.9% | $119K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Alta Vista Ontario | 8,387 | 78% | 8.3% | $138K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | West Perth Ontario | 10,080 | 88% | 5% | $92K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 625 | Humber Summit Ontario | 12,194 | 60% | 17% | $83K | D |
| 626 | Algoma, Unorganized, North Part Ontario | 7,008 | 62% | 16% | $76K | D |
| 627 | Strathcona Ontario | 9,348 | 68% | 14% | $63K | D |
| 628 | Cumberland County, Subdivision B Nova Scotia | 7,015 | 56% | 15% | $57K | D |
| 629 | Victoria Hills Ontario | 10,760 | 63% | 15% | $69K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 659 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Strathcona, and others among Ontario’s towns.
The work picture around Strathcona
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strathcona | 68% | 14% | $63K | 27.3 min | D | A+ |
| Central 1 km | 61% | 15% | $56K | 27.4 min | D− | A+ |
| Kirkendall North 1.1 km | 74% | 11% | $79K | 27.4 min | C | A+ |
| Durand 1.3 km | 65% | 13% | $49K | 29.1 min | D− | A+ |
| Westdale South 1.6 km | 62% | 14% | $73K | 25.8 min | C− | A+ |
| Kirkendall South 1.8 km | 75% | 9.3% | $139K | 24.4 min | A− | A |
| Corktown 2.1 km | 63% | 13% | $52K | 30.3 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 Strathcona, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed 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. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- 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.
- 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. The census reaches a neighbourhood only through its dissemination areas, and Strathcona’s figures add those up. Hamilton’s page has the commuting flows, which exist only for the whole municipality.
Questions about work in Strathcona
How many jobs are there in Strathcona?
Statistics Canada counts jobs for whole municipalities only; Hamilton has the total and the commuting flows.
What is the unemployment rate in Strathcona?
At the 2021 census 14% 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 Strathcona?
The census puts Strathcona at $62,800 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Strathcona get to work?
66% of commuters go by car, 16% take public transit, 13% walk and 3.4% cycle. On census day 31% 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).