Working-age people in Forest Hill have jobs less often than in 85% of Canadian towns
In 2020, a household at the middle of Forest Hill had $85,900 before tax, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Forest Hill had an unemployment rate of 13% at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. Workers in Forest Hill spend 25.6 minutes on the way to work on average (26 in the middle of Canadian towns).
What Forest Hill’s work numbers say
Fewer people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 66% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 51%. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
13% 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 7.1% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
The Jobs & income grade for Forest Hill: C
Better than 31% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #520 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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 Forest Hill, 66% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 42 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Waterloo census division, 2 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 51%. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 65% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 59% of residents that age. 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.
How Forest Hill’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 67% of Canadian towns.
21 of the 42 other places of 2,500+ in the Waterloo census division have a higher median. Forest Hill’s median is 6% below the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600). 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).
Leaving the car at home: 11% of commuters in Forest Hill
By bus, train or subway: 7.5%, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Fewer drive than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 84% against 88%. Home was the workplace for 26%, 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 Waterloo census division, 47% more people receive EI than in 2019
The highest month was April 2021: 28,950 people, 3 times the 2019 level. That is about 4.3 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 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).
The Walkability grade for Forest Hill: A+
Better than 96% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #295 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 713 Canadian towns of 4,000 to 7,800, Forest Hill comes 503rd on 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 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Sioux Lookout Ontario | 6,122 | 79% | 5.7% | $103K | A+ |
| 6 | Red Lake Ontario | 4,285 | 77% | 5.1% | $111K | A+ |
| 7 | Perth South Ontario | 4,055 | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 501 | Callaghan Alberta | 4,180 | 67% | 14% | $100K | C |
| 502 | Beacon Hill South - Cardinal Heights Ontario | 7,746 | 69% | 12% | $85K | C |
| 503 | Forest Hill Ontario | 5,760 | 66% | 13% | $86K | C |
| 504 | Mount Royal Saskatchewan | 5,292 | 67% | 9.4% | $66K | C |
| 505 | Kings County, Subdivision D Nova Scotia | 6,517 | 72% | 12% | $72K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 713 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Forest Hill, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Around Forest Hill: jobs, pay and the commute
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Hill | 66% | 13% | $86K | 25.6 min | C | A+ |
| Meinzinger Park-Lakeside 0.8 km | 71% | 14% | $74K | 22.9 min | C+ | A |
| Laurentian Hills 1.5 km | 65% | 13% | $80K | 23.4 min | C | A− |
| Victoria Hills 1.7 km | 63% | 15% | $69K | 28.2 min | D | A+ |
| Forest Heights 1.9 km | 74% | 9.4% | $111K | 24.1 min | A− | B+ |
| Victoria Park 2.2 km | 68% | 13% | $65K | 23.1 min | C− | A+ |
| Southdale 2.3 km | 68% | 11% | $62K | 24.8 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 Forest Hill, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. The share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- 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. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- 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 Forest Hill’s figures add those up. Kitchener’s page has the commuting flows, which exist only for the whole municipality.
Questions about work in Forest Hill
How many jobs are there in Forest Hill?
The census places jobs by municipality, so the answer is in Kitchener’s figures, with the flows of its commuters.
What is the unemployment rate in Forest Hill?
At the 2021 census 13% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo metro area, gives 7.1% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Forest Hill?
The median household in Forest Hill had $85,900 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Forest Hill get to work?
By car: 84% of commuters, 7.5% take public transit and 3.7% walk; on census day 26% of those in work worked from home.
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).