Photo: Jason Zhang · CC0The share of 15-to-64s with a job in Underwood trails that of 95% of Canadian towns
On average, people in Underwood spend 30.7 minutes getting to work, next to 26 for the middle of Canadian towns. The median household in Underwood had $85,900 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Unemployment in Underwood stood at 19% on census day 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
Work in Underwood: the figures worth knowing
Fewer people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 57% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 42%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 7.1% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 19%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 30.7 minutes on average, against 26 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.
On jobs and income, Underwood grades D
Better than 14% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #709 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.
57% of working-age people in Underwood have jobs
None of the 52 other places of 2,500 people or more in the York census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 42% of residents 15 and over were in work. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 62% in October 2026. 52% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from home.
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.
Leaving the car at home: 8.5% of commuters in Underwood
Working at home: 24% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. By bus, train or subway: 6.7%, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. By car, truck or van: 89% of commuters, against 88% 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.
What households in Underwood earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 67% of Canadian towns.
Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Underwood sits 6% below. 48 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).
39% more people are on EI in the York census division than in 2019
Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 2%. In April 2021 it reached 58,380, the most in the series and 3.7 times the 2019 average. Roughly 3.5 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI.
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 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).
The Walkability grade for Underwood: A
Better than 91% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #378 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 4,200 to 8,100, Underwood ranks 616th of 696 for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 3 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | Sioux Lookout Ontario | 6,122 | 79% | 5.7% | $103K | A+ |
| 7 | Red Lake Ontario | 4,285 | 77% | 5.1% | $111K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | Island Park-Wellington Village Ontario | 5,486 | 81% | 7% | $161K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 614 | Hawthorn Meadows - Sheffield Glen Ontario | 6,838 | 66% | 14% | $68K | D |
| 615 | Blue Quill Alberta | 4,567 | 67% | 16% | $74K | D |
| 616 | Underwood Ontario | 5,972 | 57% | 19% | $86K | D |
| 617 | Bartonville Ontario | 4,311 | 66% | 12% | $71K | D |
| 618 | Pictou County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 6,575 | 68% | 13% | $70K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 696 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Underwood, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Underwood
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Underwood | 57% | 19% | $86K | 30.7 min | D | A |
| Milliken 0.6 km | 57% | 20% | $81K | 32.5 min | D | A |
| Hagerman's Corners 1.7 km | 61% | 17% | $88K | 31.6 min | C− | A |
| Steeles 2.4 km | 58% | 19% | $82K | 32.3 min | D | A+ |
| Milliken 2.5 km | 57% | 19% | $83K | 34.1 min | D | A+ |
| Agincourt North 3.6 km | 61% | 17% | $87K | 34.8 min | D | A+ |
| East L'Amoreaux 3.7 km | 59% | 18% | $85K | 35.5 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 Underwood, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Trip times. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed 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.
- 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. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
- Neighbourhood figures. Commuting flows and Statistics Canada’s timed averages stop at the municipality, so Markham’s page carries them; Underwood’s own figures sum its dissemination areas.
Questions about work in Underwood
How do people in Underwood get to work?
By car: 89% of commuters, 6.7% take public transit and 1.8% walk; on census day 24% of those in work worked from home.
How many jobs are there in Underwood?
Jobs and commuting flows exist only for Markham as a whole, and its page carries them.
What is the unemployment rate in Underwood?
The 2021 census found 19% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Toronto metro area, is 7.1% (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).