Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0A larger share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Mitchell than in 97% of Canadian towns
Mitchell is the usual workplace of 2,395 people, and 3,190 of its own residents commute to a job. In 2020, a household at the middle of Mitchell had $91,900 before tax, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. The 2021 census put unemployment in Mitchell at 5%; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
What Mitchell’s work numbers say
More people in work than most towns
With 88% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, it has 68% of all adults employed. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 3.8% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 5%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Mitchell grades A+ for jobs and income
Better than 96% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #13 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.
How many in Mitchell have a job: 88% of 15-to-64s
All 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Perth census division have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 54% in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 72%. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 68% 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.
More of Mitchell’s workers leave each day than arrive
Each person commuting in is matched by about 2 residents going out. The job is inside the municipality for 42% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
58% of Mitchell’s residents in work leave it to work; Stratford takes the most
- Seaforth250
- Stratford170
- London130
- Listowel60
- Clinton55
- Exeter50
- Perth East45
- Perth South35
- Guelph25
- St. Marys25
- Stratford795
- Listowel165
- Seaforth145
- Perth East120
- St. Marys90
- London80
- Exeter70
- Perth South55
- Clinton50
- Waterloo30
Inbound, the leader is Seaforth (250).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Household income in Mitchell
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 78% of Canadian towns.
2 of the 5 other places of 2,500+ in the Perth census division have a higher median. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Without a car, 6.5% of Mitchell’s commuters get to work
21% worked at home on census day, about the same as in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. On foot: 6.1% of commuters, well above the 3.2% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. The car is the way to work for 92% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
A shorter commute than the middle of Canadian towns: 23.4 minutes from Mitchell
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 20.4 minutes. In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 38%, more than the 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 5.9% take an hour or more, against 7.9%.
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.
In the Perth census division, 30% more people receive EI than in 2019
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 3%. April 2021 was the busiest month, with 3,460 people on EI, 2.7 times 2019’s average. That is about 3.8 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division.
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 Perth census division, with Mitchell one part of it.
Mitchell grades B for walkability
Better than 58% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #634 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Mitchell is 25th of 653 Canadian towns of 7,100 to 13,600
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | Glebe-Dows Lake Ontario | 13,436 | 80% | 9.4% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | Wellesley Ontario | 12,413 | 84% | 3.9% | $119K | A+ |
| 15 | Perth East Ontario | 13,423 | 86% | 3.9% | $96K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 23 | Betsworth Manitoba | 7,476 | 82% | 6.7% | $107K | A+ |
| 24 | Twin Lakes Saskatchewan | 7,286 | 78% | 5.8% | $121K | A+ |
| 25 | West Perth Ontario | 10,080 | 88% | 5% | $92K | A+ |
| 26 | Saltspring Island British Columbia | 12,429 | 84% | 5.5% | $77K | A+ |
| 27 | Oromocto New Brunswick | 9,451 | 77% | 4.6% | $91K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 653 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Mitchell, and others among Ontario’s towns.
The places around Mitchell, side by side
Distances here run 19–25 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Mitchell.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell | 88% | 5% | $92K | 23.4 min | A+ | B |
| Seaforth 18.7 km | 81% | 6.6% | $81K | 25.6 min | B+ | B |
| Perth South 20.7 km | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | 21.5 min | A+ | C− |
| Stratford 21.2 km | 76% | 11% | $77K | 18.4 min | B+ | A |
| Perth East 21.5 km | 86% | 3.9% | $96K | 22.2 min | A+ | B |
| St. Marys 24.6 km | 76% | 10% | $86K | 20.2 min | A− | 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 Mitchell, 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. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- 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. 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.
- 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.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Mitchell as part of West Perth, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Mitchell
Where do people in Mitchell work?
42% work in Mitchell itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Stratford (795), then Listowel (165).
How many jobs are there in Mitchell?
The 2021 census counted about 2,395 people working in Mitchell: 0.8 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 367 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Mitchell?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula economic region at 3.8%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 5%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Mitchell?
Before tax, half the households in Mitchell had more than $91,900 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Mitchell get to work?
By car: 92% of commuters, 6.1% walk and 0.4% cycle; on census day 21% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Mitchell?
23.4 minutes is the average trip, with 38% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 5.9% 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) · 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).