Photo: Loozrboy from Toronto, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Cornell’s household incomes are higher than in 96% of Canadian towns
Cornell counted 70% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Workers in Cornell spend 35 minutes on the way to work on average (26 in the middle of Canadian towns). On census day, 39% of workers here were at home, next to 21% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Where Cornell stands out on work
Higher incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $118,400 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 35 minutes; the middle of Canadian towns is 26. Getting to work ↓
Many work from home
39% 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 Cornell: graded C
Better than 32% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #505 of 866 in Ontario.
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.
The median household in Cornell had $118,400 in 2020
Cornell’s median is 29% above the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600). 31 of the 52 other places of 2,500+ in the York census division have a higher median. Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 8.9% of Cornell’s commuters
88% drive to work, about the same as in the middle of Ontario’s towns. By bus, train or subway: 6.4%, 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).
Work and the working-age population of Cornell
Of the 52 other places of 2,500 people or more in the York census division, 23 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
A more recent figure, for the wider area: 62% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Working or looking, 68% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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.
People on EI in the York census division, month by month since 2019
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.5 receive EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 2%. April 2021 was the busiest month, with 58,380 people on EI, 3.7 times 2019’s average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: the York 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).
Walking in Cornell earns B+
Better than 73% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #548 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 397 Canadian towns of 15,400 to 29,700, Cornell comes 227th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| 3 | Cap-Rouge Quebec | 17,139 | 81% | 4.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | Wilmot Ontario | 22,890 | 81% | 6.8% | $115K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 22 | Thames Centre Ontario | 15,475 | 80% | 7.7% | $113K | A |
| 23 | North Perth Ontario | 18,168 | 83% | 5.7% | $84K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 225 | Port Hope Ontario | 18,446 | 71% | 11% | $88K | C |
| 226 | Sooke British Columbia | 17,248 | 75% | 6.7% | $90K | C |
| 227 | Cornell Ontario | 22,014 | 70% | 11% | $118K | C |
| 228 | Trinity-Bellwoods Ontario | 15,691 | 71% | 13% | $96K | C |
| 229 | Saddle Ridge Alberta | 21,479 | 67% | 13% | $107K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 397 | Parc-Extension Quebec | 29,066 | 61% | 16% | $48K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Cornell, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Next to Cornell: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell | 70% | 11% | $118K | 35 min | C | B+ |
| Upper Cornell 1.2 km | 71% | 12% | $130K | 33.7 min | C+ | B+ |
| Greensborough 2.5 km | 69% | 13% | $122K | 34.9 min | C | A− |
| Markham Village 2.6 km | 72% | 10% | $107K | 30.6 min | C+ | A |
| Mount Joy 2.9 km | 69% | 15% | $129K | 33.8 min | C | A |
| Box Grove 4 km | 65% | 14% | $128K | 33.8 min | C | A− |
| Wismer Commons 4.1 km | 65% | 14% | $111K | 35.1 min | C− | 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 Cornell, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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.
- 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. 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.
- 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. Everything here sums the dissemination areas inside Cornell’s lines, since the census has no neighbourhood profile; where people commute is on Markham’s page.
Questions about work in Cornell
What is the average household income in Cornell?
The median household in Cornell had $118,400 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Cornell get to work?
Driving takes 88% of commuters to work, 6.4% take public transit and 2.5% walk, and on census day 39% of those in work were at home.
How many jobs are there in Cornell?
The census places jobs by municipality, so the answer is in Markham’s figures, with the flows of its commuters.
What is the unemployment rate in Cornell?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 11% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Toronto metro area at 7.1% in October 2026.
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).