Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Alpine
Half the households in Alpine had more than $75,200 in 2020, before tax; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. The 2021 census found 76% of working-age people in Alpine employed, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. A typical one-way commute from Alpine lasts 23.8 minutes, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns.
The work numbers behind Alpine
Work near the middle
With 76% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, it has 57% of all adults employed. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
On census day in 2021 11% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 7.1%. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Alpine grades B− for jobs and income
Better than 48% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #316 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.
How many in Alpine were working in 2021
Of the 42 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Waterloo census division, 30 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 64% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 57%: many residents are past working age. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 65% 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.
Household income in Alpine
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 54% of Canadian towns.
Of the 42 other places of 2,500 or more in the Waterloo census division, 28 have a higher median. That puts Alpine 18% below the median 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).
11% of commuters from Alpine go without a car
By car, truck or van: 88% of commuters, much as in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Only 15% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. By bus, train or subway: 6.7%, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
47% more people are on EI in the Waterloo census division than in 2019
In April 2021 it reached 28,950, the most in the series and 3 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.3 receive EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 2%.
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 Waterloo 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).
Walkability in Alpine: graded A
Better than 94% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #322 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
311th of 610: where Alpine ranks among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,100
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Perth South Ontario | 4,055 | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | McDougall Ontario | 3,002 | 82% | 9.6% | $93K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 34 | Adelaide-Metcalfe Ontario | 3,196 | 86% | 5.9% | $107K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 309 | Mathers Manitoba | 2,785 | 81% | 6.2% | $63K | B− |
| 310 | Poplar Park Ontario | 3,031 | 70% | 14% | $100K | B− |
| 311 | Alpine Ontario | 3,055 | 76% | 11% | $75K | B− |
| 312 | Prince Albert No. 461 Saskatchewan | 3,589 | 60% | 6.8% | $94K | B− |
| 313 | Buchanan Ontario | 3,006 | 68% | 10% | $107K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 610 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Alpine, and others among Ontario’s towns.
The work picture around Alpine
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine | 76% | 11% | $75K | 23.8 min | B− | A |
| Country Hills 1.1 km | 70% | 14% | $77K | 24.1 min | C | A |
| Country Hills West 1.5 km | 76% | 8.6% | $104K | 24.4 min | A− | A− |
| Southdale 1.6 km | 68% | 11% | $62K | 24.8 min | D | A |
| Laurentian Hills 1.6 km | 65% | 13% | $80K | 23.4 min | C | A− |
| Trillium Industrial Park 1.8 km | 69% | 11% | $87K | 23.9 min | C+ | C+ |
| Vanier 2.4 km | 67% | 13% | $68K | 25.5 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 Alpine, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- 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. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- 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 Alpine’s figures add those up. Kitchener’s page has the commuting flows, which exist only for the whole municipality.
Questions about work in Alpine
What is the unemployment rate in Alpine?
The census put unemployment at 11% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo metro area at 7.1%.
What is the average household income in Alpine?
The median household in Alpine had $75,200 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Alpine get to work?
By car: 88% of commuters, 6.7% take public transit, 3.7% walk and 0.7% cycle; on census day 15% of those in work worked from home.
How many jobs are there in Alpine?
Jobs are counted by municipality, not neighbourhood: the page for Kitchener has the jobs based there and where its commuters go.
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).