Photo: JeffJ · Public domainFewer of Kearney’s 15-to-64s are in work than in 90% of Canadian towns
9.8% of the labour force in Kearney was out of work at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. Getting to work from Kearney takes 34.3 minutes on average, an hour or more for 10%. Median household income in Kearney was $70,000 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
Where Kearney stands out on work
Fewer people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 62% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 43%. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $70,000 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 34.3 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 10% take an hour or more. The trip 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 and income in Kearney earn D−
Better than 4% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
62% of working-age people in Kearney have jobs
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Parry Sound census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 43% were working. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 56% in October 2026. Counting those looking for work too, 49% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. 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.
Household income in Kearney
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 66% of Canadian towns.
The middle of Ontario’s towns is $91,600, and Kearney is 24% below it. 5 of the 7 other places of 2,500+ in the Parry Sound census division have a higher median. Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for 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).
The length of the trip to work in Kearney
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 34 minutes. In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 19%, fewer than the 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns.
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.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 0% of Kearney’s commuters
Working at home: 21%, close to the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 93% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Parry Sound census division are back near their 2019 level
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 5%. The count topped out in February 2021 at 3,090 people, 2.1 times the 2019 average. That is about 4 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: the Parry Sound 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).
Kearney grades D− for walkability
Better than 2% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Work next door to Kearney
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kearney | 62% | 9.8% | $70K | 34.3 min | D− | D− |
| Perry 10.5 km | 69% | 8.8% | $73K | 29.3 min | D | D |
| Armour 12 km | 62% | 18% | $71K | 29.8 min | D | C |
| Burk's Falls 17.8 km | 77% | 11% | $54K | 24.9 min | C− | B+ |
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 Kearney, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- 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. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
Questions about work in Kearney
What is the unemployment rate in Kearney?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Northeast economic region at 6%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 9.8%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Kearney?
Kearney’s middle household had $70,000 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Kearney get to work?
By car: 93% of commuters; on census day 21% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Kearney?
34.3 minutes is the average trip, with 19% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 10% taking an hour or more.
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).