Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0North Frontenac has 0.3 jobs for every resident in work, so most leave town for work
For 23% of commuters in North Frontenac, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 32.9 minutes. North Frontenac counted 65% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Half the households in North Frontenac had more than $68,800 in 2020, before tax, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
The short version on work in North Frontenac
Fewer people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 65% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 38% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household had $68,800 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 32.9 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 23% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for North Frontenac: D−
Better than 4% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #827 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.
Work and the working-age population of North Frontenac
Of the 3 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Frontenac census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 55% in October 2026. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 43% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 38% of residents 15 and over were in work. May 2021, when the census was taken, was a pandemic spring; unemployment has come down since, as the Labour Force Survey records.
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.
Earnings at home in North Frontenac: households
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 70% of Canadian towns.
Every other place of 2,500 or more in the Frontenac census division has a higher median. That puts North Frontenac 25% below the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. Pandemic support paid in 2020, CERB first among it, is 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).
Time on the road to work from North Frontenac
Timed exactly, the average is 31.3 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 36%, more than the 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 North Frontenac’s workers leave each day than arrive
It sends out some 11 workers for every one it takes in. The job is inside the municipality for 24% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
76% of North Frontenac’s residents in work leave it to work; Addington Highlands takes the most
Addington Highlands sends the largest group the other way, 15 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
North Frontenac gets to work without a car for 6.3% of commuters
Home was the workplace for 28%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%. By bus, train or subway: 2.7%, much as 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).
EI claims in the Frontenac census division run 15% above their 2019 level
The highest month was April 2021: 7,710 people, 3 times the 2019 level. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.3 receive EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 3%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: the Frontenac 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).
North Frontenac earns C+ for walkability
Better than 36% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #757 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
North Frontenac next to Canadian towns of 2,500 to 3,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 22 | McDougall Ontario | 3,002 | 82% | 9.6% | $93K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 31 | Adelaide-Metcalfe Ontario | 3,196 | 86% | 5.9% | $107K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 33 | Enniskillen Ontario | 3,174 | 82% | 5.2% | $105K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 372 | St. Clair Ontario | 3,201 | 67% | 10% | $68K | D− |
| 373 | Greeningdon Ontario | 3,296 | 57% | 15% | $69K | D− |
| 374 | North Frontenac Ontario | 2,515 | 65% | 11% | $69K | D− |
| 375 | Spaniard's Bay Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,664 | 53% | 20% | $64K | D− |
| 376 | Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards Ontario | 2,505 | 66% | 14% | $64K | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 390 | 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 North Frontenac, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Work next door to North Frontenac
No closer places have figures: these lie 14–49 km from North Frontenac.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Frontenac | 65% | 11% | $69K | 32.9 min | D− | C+ |
| Addington Highlands 13.8 km | 54% | 15% | $57K | 31.2 min | D− | C+ |
| Central Frontenac 26.8 km | 60% | 12% | $70K | 39.5 min | D− | C− |
| Tweed 44.5 km | 68% | 10% | $69K | 32.2 min | D | C+ |
| Madoc 47.4 km | 68% | 11% | $80K | 32.9 min | D | D− |
| Stone Mills 48.9 km | 76% | 7.9% | $91K | 32.6 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 North Frontenac, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. People in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64 (2021 Census). The census doesn’t cross work with age below the municipality, so this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood has; retirees don’t weigh on it.
- 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. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Trip times. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- Where people commute. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- 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. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
Questions about work in North Frontenac
What is the unemployment rate in North Frontenac?
The 2021 census found 11% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Kingston-Pembroke economic region, is 6.8% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in North Frontenac?
The census puts North Frontenac at $68,800 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in North Frontenac get to work?
89% of commuters drive, 2.7% take public transit and 3.6% walk; 28% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from North Frontenac?
The average commute is 32.9 minutes; 36% of trips take under 15 minutes and 23% an hour or more.
Where do people in North Frontenac work?
Only 24% work in North Frontenac itself; the rest go first to Addington Highlands (110) and Ottawa (30).
How many jobs are there in North Frontenac?
The 2021 census found about 115 people with their usual workplace in North Frontenac, or 0.3 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 57 businesses with employees in June 2026.
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).