Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of McKellar works elsewhere: the town has 0.2 jobs for each resident in work
McKellar counted 64% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. From McKellar, the drive or ride to work averages 32 minutes, with 14% going an hour or longer. In 2020, a household at the middle of McKellar had $79,000 before tax, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
What McKellar’s work numbers say
Fewer people in work than most towns
Counting everyone 15 and over, 38% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 64%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 32 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 14% take an hour or more. 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.
McKellar grades D for jobs and income
Better than 9% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
How many in McKellar were working in 2021
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Parry Sound census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting retirees, 38% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. In October 2026, 56% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. Counting those looking for work too, 41% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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.
Longer than the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from McKellar average 32 minutes
Timed exactly, the average is 30.8 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. Only 15% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 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.
More of McKellar’s workers leave each day than arrive
For every person who comes in to work, about 20 residents travel out. The job is inside the municipality for 10% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
90% of McKellar’s residents in work leave it to work; Parry Sound takes the most
- Parry Sound190
- McDougall25
Of those coming in, South River supplies the most: 10.
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 McKellar earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 54% of Canadian towns.
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 or more in the Parry Sound census division, 4 have a higher median. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes 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: 0% of commuters in McKellar
Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 95% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Only 19% worked at home on census day, against 21% 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).
EI claims in the Parry Sound census division are back near their 2019 level
February 2021 was the busiest month, with 3,090 people on EI, 2.1 times 2019’s average. That works out to around 4 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 5%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Not measured by town: EI beneficiaries (the Parry Sound 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).
Walkability in McKellar: graded D−
Better than 2% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How the places next to McKellar compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McKellar | 64% | 9.2% | $79K | 32 min | D | D− |
| McDougall 12.5 km | 82% | 9.6% | $93K | 20.7 min | A+ | D |
| Parry Sound 16.4 km | 72% | 9.5% | $63K | 17.4 min | C+ | A+ |
| Seguin 16.5 km | 68% | 6.8% | $85K | 25.6 min | C | C |
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 McKellar, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- 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.
- Where people commute. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about work in McKellar
How many jobs are there in McKellar?
About 35 people had their usual place of work in McKellar at the 2021 census, 0.2 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 41 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in McKellar?
At the 2021 census 9.2% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Northeast economic region, gives 6% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in McKellar?
At $79,000 before tax in 2020, the median household in McKellar compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in McKellar get to work?
95% of commuters go by car. On census day 19% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from McKellar?
On average 32 minutes; 15% take under 15 minutes and 14% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in McKellar work?
Only 10% work in McKellar itself; the rest go first to Parry Sound (190) and McDougall (25).
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).