Photo: Wesoree · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Thornlea have higher incomes than those in 82% of Canadian towns
Home was the workplace for 43% of its workers in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. Workers in Thornlea spend 30.7 minutes on the way to work on average (26 in the middle of Canadian towns). 75% of people aged 15 to 64 in Thornlea had a job at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Thornlea at work: what stands out
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 30.7 minutes; the middle of Canadian towns is 26. Getting to work ↓
Many work from home
43% 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 Thornlea: graded B−
Better than 45% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #353 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.
Walking, cycling or transit: 12% of Thornlea’s commuters
By transit: 9.4% of commuters, well above the 5.6% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Fewer drive than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 84% against 88%.
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 Thornlea
Of the 52 other places of 2,500 people or more in the York census division, 50 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting those looking for work too, 59% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Counting retirees, 52% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 62% in work in October 2026. 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.
$96,600 a year: the median household in Thornlea
44 of the 52 other places of 2,500+ in the York census division have a higher median. Thornlea’s median is 5% above the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600). Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
EI claims in the York census division run 39% above their 2019 level
That is about 3.5 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 2%. In April 2021 it reached 58,380, the most in the series and 3.7 times the 2019 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). Behind EI beneficiaries sits data gathered across the York census division, with Thornlea one part of it.
Thornlea earns A+ for walkability
Better than 95% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #303 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Thornlea places 201st of 438 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 14,600 to 28,200
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 15 | Wilmot Ontario | 22,890 | 81% | 6.8% | $115K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Thames Centre Ontario | 15,475 | 80% | 7.7% | $113K | A |
| 25 | North Perth Ontario | 18,168 | 83% | 5.7% | $84K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 199 | Highland Ontario | 19,963 | 66% | 13% | $80K | B− |
| 200 | Parc-Jarry Quebec | 15,699 | 81% | 6.9% | $77K | B− |
| 201 | Thornlea Ontario | 20,872 | 75% | 11% | $97K | B− |
| 202 | Grandview British Columbia | 16,947 | 72% | 8.7% | $108K | C+ |
| 203 | Miramichi New Brunswick | 19,402 | 72% | 11% | $66K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 438 | South Parkdale Ontario | 21,663 | 64% | 17% | $57K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Thornlea, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Work in and around Thornlea
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornlea | 75% | 11% | $97K | 30.7 min | B− | A+ |
| German Mills 2 km | 74% | 12% | $134K | 29.7 min | B | A− |
| Langstaff 2.3 km | 68% | 14% | $93K | 32.2 min | C− | A+ |
| Steeles Corners 2.8 km | 63% | 17% | $71K | 33.9 min | D− | A+ |
| Bayview Woods-Steeles 3.6 km | 68% | 13% | $98K | 34 min | C− | A+ |
| Hillcrest Village 3.9 km | 67% | 14% | $92K | 36.2 min | C− | A+ |
| Newtonbrook East 4 km | 67% | 13% | $84K | 34.9 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 Thornlea, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- 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 census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- 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.
- 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
- Neighbourhood figures. Commuting flows and Statistics Canada’s timed averages stop at the municipality, so Markham’s page carries them; Thornlea’s own figures sum its dissemination areas.
Questions about work in Thornlea
How many jobs are there in Thornlea?
Statistics Canada counts jobs for whole municipalities only; Markham has the total and the commuting flows.
What is the unemployment rate in Thornlea?
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 Toronto metro area at 7.1%.
What is the average household income in Thornlea?
The census puts Thornlea at $96,600 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Thornlea get to work?
By car: 84% of commuters, 9.4% take public transit and 2.7% walk; on census day 43% 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).