Photo: Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine · CC0Working-age people in Markham are less likely to have a job than in 83% of Canadian towns
In 2020, a household at the middle of Markham had $104,500 before tax, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. The average trip to work from Markham is 32.8 minutes; 11% of commuters spend an hour or more getting there. Home was the workplace for 39% of its workers in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%.
What stands out about work in Markham
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, 52%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 14% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 7.1% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $104,500 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 32.8 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 11% last an hour or longer. The trip 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.
How Markham will be graded on jobs and income
Four things will decide the grade, all from the census and all compared with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more: who is in work at 15 to 64, household income at the median, unemployment and commuting time.
How many in Markham have a job: 66% of 15-to-64s
Of the 53 other places of 2,500 people or more in the York census division, 12 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 62% in work in October 2026. Counting those looking for work too, 60% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 52% of residents 15 and over were in work. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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.
Earnings at home in Markham: households
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 75% of Canadian towns.
That puts Markham 14% above the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. Of the 53 other places of 2,500 or more in the York census division, 41 have a higher median. The year is 2020: emergency benefits like CERB count in these incomes, and they raised the bottom of the range.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Time on the road to work from Markham
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 29.7 minutes. In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 17%, 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
Leaving the car at home: 10% of commuters in Markham
By bus, train or subway: 7.8%, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. By car, truck or van: 87% of commuters, much as in the middle of Ontario’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
In and out of Markham: the working day evens out
75,195 residents of Markham had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 75,710 people had theirs in Markham, wherever they lived.
Of those who commute, 36% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
48,339 people come into Markham to work, most from Toronto and Richmond Hill
- Toronto21,490
- Richmond Hill5,670
- Vaughan2,845
- Stouffville2,380
- Whitby1,675
- Ajax1,590
- Pickering1,510
- Oshawa1,250
- Newmarket1,240
- Aurora1,130
- Toronto29,975
- Richmond Hill5,020
- Vaughan4,475
- Mississauga2,030
- Stouffville945
- Newmarket860
- Brampton675
- Aurora630
- Pickering510
- Whitby285
64% of the people who work in Markham live outside it, 21,490 of them in Toronto, 18 km away. Toronto is where the largest group of commuters out goes, 29,975 of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Markham work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
How household incomes vary across Markham: $66K to $145K
Median household income in each of Markham’s 22 neighbourhoods: the highest is 2.2 times the lowest. The share of 15-to-64s in work runs from 57% in Underwood to 75% in Thornlea.
| Neighbourhood | People | Household income | In work, 15–64 | Average trip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hagerman's Corners | 43,555 | $88,000 | 61% | 31.6 min |
| Box Grove | 25,496 | $127,800 | 65% | 33.8 min |
| Berczy Village | 22,149 | $112,800 | 62% | 34.1 min |
| Cornell | 22,014 | $118,400 | 70% | 35 min |
| Thornlea | 20,872 | $96,600 | 75% | 30.7 min |
| Wismer Commons | 20,591 | $110,900 | 65% | 35.1 min |
| Vinegar Hill | 19,543 | $114,100 | 63% | 32.9 min |
| Greensborough | 19,270 | $122,100 | 69% | 34.9 min |
| Unionville | 17,632 | $112,800 | 66% | 31.3 min |
| Buttonville | 15,001 | $133,900 | 67% | 29.8 min |
| Quantztown | 13,146 | $119,900 | 66% | 33.7 min |
| Milliken | 12,138 | $81,300 | 57% | 32.5 min |
| German Mills | 11,923 | $134,100 | 74% | 29.7 min |
| Cathedraltown | 11,029 | $123,700 | 71% | 33.2 min |
| Markham Village | 10,319 | $106,900 | 72% | 30.6 min |
| Steeles Corners | 9,468 | $71,200 | 63% | 33.9 min |
| Mount Joy | 8,345 | $128,500 | 69% | 33.8 min |
| Upper Cornell | 8,304 | $130,200 | 71% | 33.7 min |
| Langstaff | 8,147 | $93,000 | 68% | 32.2 min |
| Brown's Corners | 7,228 | $65,800 | 64% | 28.6 min |
| Cachet | 6,361 | $145,200 | 67% | 30.2 min |
| Underwood | 5,972 | $85,900 | 57% | 30.7 min |
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: each neighbourhood summed from its dissemination areas; incomes are 2020’s.
Employment Insurance in the York census division since 2019
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 2%. At its peak, in April 2021, 58,380 people were on EI, 3.7 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.5 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the York census division, not by town. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Neighbouring places to Markham, compared
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markham | 66% | 14% | $105K | 32.8 min | — | — |
| Unionville 1.5 km | 66% | 13% | $113K | 31.3 min | C | A |
| Hagerman's Corners 2.1 km | 61% | 17% | $88K | 31.6 min | C− | A |
| Quantztown 2.1 km | 66% | 12% | $120K | 33.7 min | C | A− |
| Berczy Village 3.2 km | 62% | 15% | $113K | 34.1 min | C− | A |
| Underwood 3.3 km | 57% | 19% | $86K | 30.7 min | D | A |
| Brown's Corners 3.3 km | 64% | 16% | $66K | 28.6 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 Markham, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- Where people commute. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- Employment Insurance. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
Questions about work in Markham
Where do people in Markham work?
36% work in Markham itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Toronto (29,975), then Richmond Hill (5,020).
How many jobs are there in Markham?
The 2021 census counted about 75,710 people working in Markham: 1 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 16,411 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Markham?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 14% 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.
What is the average household income in Markham?
At $104,500 before tax in 2020, the median household in Markham compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Markham get to work?
By car: 87% of commuters, 7.8% take public transit, 2.3% walk and 0.3% cycle; on census day 39% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Markham?
32.8 minutes is the average trip, with 17% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 11% 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). 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).