Photo: Jfvoll · CC BY-SA 4.0A larger share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Howick than in 93% of Canadian towns
Howick is the usual workplace of 450 people, and 1,095 of its own residents commute to a job. Home was the workplace for 33% of its workers in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. Half the households in Howick had more than $83,900 in 2020, before tax, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900.
What sets Howick apart on jobs and income
More people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 85% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 68%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
3.6% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 3.8% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Many work from home
33% 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.
Jobs & income in Howick: graded B+
Better than 70% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #152 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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 Howick, 85% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Huron census division, 7 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 68%. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 54% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. 71% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at 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.
Leaving the car at home: 4% of commuters in Howick
Hardly anyone takes transit to work, 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).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
Each working day, more people leave Howick for work than come in
About 4 residents leave for work for each person who comes in. The job is inside the municipality for 20% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
80% of Howick’s residents in work leave it to work; Listowel takes the most
In the other direction the biggest source is Listowel, with 85.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Howick work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Earnings at home in Howick: households
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 64% of Canadian towns.
Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Howick sits 8% below. Of the 8 other places of 2,500 or more in the Huron census division, 2 have a higher median. CERB and the other emergency payments of 2020 are counted in these incomes, which lifted the lower ones that year.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Howick has a slower trip to work than the middle of Canadian towns: 28.9 minutes
Only 25% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. 11% spend an hour or longer getting to work; the middle of Ontario’s towns has 7.9%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 25.7 minutes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting duration in five bands; our average uses each band’s middle (75 minutes for an hour or more), so it runs about two minutes above Statistics Canada’s own.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
EI claims in the Huron census division run 22% above their 2019 level
February 2021 was the busiest month, with 2,400 people on EI, 2.4 times 2019’s average. That works out to around 3.7 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 3%.
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 Huron census division, with Howick one part of it.
Howick earns C− for walkability
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 3,200 to 6,100, Howick ranks 197th of 715 for 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 | Hay River Northwest Territories | 3,317 | 78% | 6.5% | $129K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | Red Lake Ontario | 4,285 | 77% | 5.1% | $111K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Perth South Ontario | 4,055 | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 10 | Island Park-Wellington Village Ontario | 5,486 | 81% | 7% | $161K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 195 | Maple Alberta | 3,920 | 76% | 12% | $114K | B+ |
| 196 | Oliver British Columbia | 5,262 | 78% | 8.4% | $69K | B+ |
| 197 | Howick Ontario | 4,517 | 85% | 3.6% | $84K | B+ |
| 198 | Electoral Area C, Cowichan Valley British Columbia | 5,074 | 83% | 5.9% | $91K | B+ |
| 199 | Bearspaw Alberta | 5,192 | 75% | 10% | $100K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 715 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Howick, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Work next door to Howick
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howick | 85% | 3.6% | $84K | 28.9 min | B+ | C− |
| Morris-Turnberry 13.2 km | 89% | 4.8% | $86K | 24.3 min | A | D |
| Wingham 18 km | 80% | 8.1% | $77K | 23.9 min | B+ | A |
| Palmerston 18.6 km | 81% | 5.5% | $83K | 27.8 min | B | 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 Howick, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- 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.
- Where people commute. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- 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. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- 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.
Questions about work in Howick
Where do people in Howick work?
20% work in Howick itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Listowel (270), then Palmerston (140).
How many jobs are there in Howick?
Some 450 people worked in Howick at the 2021 census: 0.4 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 122 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Howick?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula economic region at 3.8%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 3.6%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Howick?
Howick’s middle household had $83,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Howick get to work?
Driving takes 93% of commuters to work, 4% walk, and on census day 33% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Howick?
About 28.9 minutes on average, with 25% under a quarter-hour and 11% at an hour or longer.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, tables 98-10-0458 and 98-10-0459 (commuting) · 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).