Photo: P199 · CC0McDougall has 0.4 jobs for every resident in work, so most leave town for work
Half the households in McDougall had more than $92,500 in 2020, before tax, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. McDougall counted 82% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. Commutes from McDougall average 20.7 minutes, and 4.8% take an hour or more.
The work numbers behind McDougall
More people in work than most towns
82% of people aged 15 to 64 had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; counting everyone 15 and over, retirees included, it was 55%. In work ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 20.7 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 4.8% last an hour or longer. The trip to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
The Jobs & income grade for McDougall: A+
Better than 97% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #11 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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.
Work and the working-age population of McDougall
All 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Parry Sound census division have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
In October 2026, 56% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 61% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 55% were working. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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.
Commuting times in McDougall
In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 46%, more than the 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 20 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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.
McDougall empties a little on a working day
It sends out some 3 workers for every one it takes in. The job is inside the municipality for 9.7% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
90% of McDougall’s residents in work leave it to work; Parry Sound takes the most
Coming the other way, Parry Sound sends the most (80).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
What households in McDougall earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 78% of Canadian towns.
McDougall’s median is 1% above the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600). One of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Parry Sound census division has a higher median. Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for 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).
Leaving the car at home: 2.2% of commuters in McDougall
Only 14% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 94% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the Parry Sound census division, the count on EI is close to where it was in 2019
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 5%. The count topped out in February 2021 at 3,090 people, 2.1 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4 are on EI.
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). McDougall doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Parry Sound census division.
How walkable McDougall is: D
Better than 9% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #852 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
McDougall next to Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,100: 24th of 610 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Perth South Ontario | 4,055 | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 22 | Saint-Anaclet-de-Lessard Quebec | 3,018 | 85% | 4.5% | $83K | A+ |
| 23 | Grassie Manitoba | 2,857 | 83% | 6.1% | $128K | A+ |
| 24 | McDougall Ontario | 3,002 | 82% | 9.6% | $93K | A+ |
| 25 | Glendale Manitoba | 3,586 | 81% | 9.2% | $103K | A+ |
| 26 | Havre-Saint-Pierre Quebec | 3,389 | 76% | 6.6% | $96K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 34 | Adelaide-Metcalfe Ontario | 3,196 | 86% | 5.9% | $107K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 36 | Enniskillen Ontario | 3,174 | 82% | 5.2% | $105K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 610 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of McDougall, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Work next door to McDougall
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McDougall | 82% | 9.6% | $93K | 20.7 min | A+ | D |
| Parry Sound 12 km | 72% | 9.5% | $63K | 17.4 min | C+ | A+ |
| McKellar 12.5 km | 64% | 9.2% | $79K | 32 min | D | D− |
| Carling 14.1 km | 74% | 7.1% | $85K | 28.6 min | C+ | D− |
| The Archipelago 17 km | 81% | 8.2% | $84K | 22.7 min | A | B |
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 McDougall, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- 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. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- 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 McDougall
How long is the commute from McDougall?
On average 20.7 minutes; 46% take under 15 minutes and 4.8% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in McDougall work?
9.7% work in McDougall itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Parry Sound (630), then Seguin (55).
How many jobs are there in McDougall?
About 330 people had their usual place of work in McDougall at the 2021 census, 0.4 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 103 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in McDougall?
The census put unemployment at 9.6% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Northeast economic region at 6%.
What is the average household income in McDougall?
McDougall’s middle household had $92,500 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in McDougall get to work?
94% of commuters go by car, 2.2% walk. On census day 14% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
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).