Photo: Shhewitt · CC0Loyalist has 0.6 jobs for every resident in work, so most commute out
Before tax, the typical household in Loyalist brought in $94,200 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Loyalist counted 68% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 9.7% of Loyalist’s labour force, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Loyalist and work: the main findings
Fewer people in work than most towns
The 2021 census found 68% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 54%. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
Unemployment was 9.7% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 5.9% 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.
Jobs & income in Loyalist: graded B−
Better than 45% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #347 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.
How many in Loyalist were working in 2021
Of the 3 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Lennox and Addington census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 59%. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 54% of residents 15 and over were in work. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 58% of the wider area’s adults in work. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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.
A commuter town: Loyalist sends out more workers than it takes in
About 2 residents leave for work for each person who comes in. Of those who commute, 19% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
81% of Loyalist’s residents in work leave it to work; Kingston takes the most
- Kingston3,495
- Greater Napanee360
- Belleville100
- South Frontenac50
- Picton40
- Quinte West30
- Toronto25
- Stone Mills20
- Ottawa15
- Brockville15
In the other direction the biggest source is Kingston, with 1,070.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Earnings at home in Loyalist: households
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 80% of Canadian towns.
No other place of 2,500 or more in the Lennox and Addington census division has a higher median. Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Loyalist sits 3% above. 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).
Walking, cycling or transit: 3.8% of Loyalist’s commuters
Transit takes 1.1% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 95% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 20% against 21%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
At 25 minutes, commutes from Loyalist are close to the middle of Canadian towns
Only 21% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 2.7% take an hour or more, against 7.9%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 22.2 minutes. The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 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.
10% more people are on EI in the Lennox and Addington census division than in 2019
For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.3 are on EI. Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 3%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 2,270 people on EI, 2.4 times 2019’s average.
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). Loyalist doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Lennox and Addington census division.
How walkable Loyalist is: B−
Better than 53% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #669 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Loyalist ranks: 212th of 466 Canadian towns of 13,800 to 26,700
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 18 | Wilmot Ontario | 22,890 | 81% | 6.8% | $115K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 27 | Thames Centre Ontario | 15,475 | 80% | 7.7% | $113K | A |
| 28 | North Perth Ontario | 18,168 | 83% | 5.7% | $84K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 210 | Panorama Hills Alberta | 25,494 | 69% | 15% | $113K | B− |
| 211 | Maple Ontario | 20,122 | 71% | 13% | $125K | B− |
| 212 | Loyalist Ontario | 19,761 | 68% | 9.7% | $94K | B− |
| 213 | Heights British Columbia | 22,141 | 75% | 8.4% | $94K | B− |
| 214 | Highland Ontario | 19,963 | 66% | 13% | $80K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 466 | Oakridge Ontario | 13,913 | 51% | 21% | $60K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Loyalist, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Next to Loyalist: how nearby places compare
No closer places have figures: these lie 13–27 km from Loyalist.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loyalist | 68% | 9.7% | $94K | 25 min | B− | B− |
| Kingston 13.4 km | 68% | 13% | $79K | 19.8 min | B− | A+ |
| Greater Napanee 23 km | 68% | 9.4% | $78K | 25.6 min | C | B− |
| South Frontenac 25.5 km | 76% | 9% | $104K | 30.1 min | B | C− |
| Frontenac Islands 26.9 km | 77% | 9.9% | $90K | 37.3 min | C+ | B |
| Stone Mills 27.2 km | 76% | 7.9% | $91K | 32.6 min | C+ | C− |
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 Loyalist, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- 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. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- 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.
- Where people commute. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- Employment Insurance. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- 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 Loyalist
Where do people in Loyalist work?
Only 19% work in Loyalist itself; the rest go first to Kingston (3,495) and Greater Napanee (360).
How many jobs are there in Loyalist?
In June 2026, 328 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Loyalist?
Two figures answer it: 9.7% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 5.9% for the Kingston metro area in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Loyalist?
At $94,200 before tax in 2020, the median household in Loyalist compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Loyalist get to work?
Driving takes 95% of commuters to work, 1.1% take public transit, 2.5% walk and 0.2% cycle, and on census day 20% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Loyalist?
About 25 minutes on average, with 21% under a quarter-hour and 2.7% 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).