Photo: Joe Mabel (on Flickr as Joe Mabel from Seattle, US) · CC BY-SA 3.0A smaller share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Oshawa than in 87% of Canadian towns
Before tax, the typical household in Oshawa brought in $85,600 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Getting to work from Oshawa takes 32.3 minutes on average, an hour or more for 15%. The 2021 census put unemployment in Oshawa at 15%, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Oshawa: what the figures say
Fewer people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 64% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 52% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 15% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 8.9%. Unemployment ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 32.3 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 15% 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.
On jobs and income, Oshawa grades D
Better than 14% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #699 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.
In Oshawa, 64% of the working-age population has a job
None of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Durham census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 62% in October 2026. Counting those looking for work too, 61% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 52%. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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.
How long the commute from Oshawa takes
Trips under 15 minutes: 26%, fewer than the 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 29.3 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes.
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 Oshawa’s workers leave each day than arrive
It sends out some 2 workers for every one it takes in. The job is inside the municipality for 39% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
61% of Oshawa’s residents in work leave it to work; Toronto takes the most
- Bowmanville6,045
- Whitby3,745
- Ajax1,360
- Toronto1,065
- Pickering605
- Port Perry590
- Lindsay555
- Port Hope310
- Markham240
- Peterborough175
- Toronto7,780
- Whitby7,315
- Ajax2,780
- Bowmanville2,500
- Pickering2,325
- Markham1,250
- Vaughan650
- Port Perry560
- Mississauga485
- Richmond Hill340
Coming the other way, Bowmanville sends the most (6,045).
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 Oshawa earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 67% of Canadian towns.
Every other place of 2,500 or more in the Durham census division has a higher median. Against the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600), Oshawa’s median is 7% below. Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
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, 9.7% of Oshawa’s commuters get to work
Working at home: 23% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 6.3% of commuters, above the 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Driving to work is about as common as in the middle of Ontario’s towns, at 88%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the Durham census division, 44% more people receive EI than in 2019
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 3%. At its peak, in February 2021, 38,290 people were on EI, 3.2 times the 2019 average. That works out to around 4.6 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across 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). For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of the Durham census division, Oshawa included.
How walkable Oshawa is: A
Better than 90% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #391 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Oshawa compares with Canadian towns of 149,500 to 288,300 people
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lévis Quebec | 160,882 | 84% | 5.3% | $84K | A |
| 2 | Kelowna British Columbia | 167,654 | 78% | 7.9% | $83K | A |
| 3 | Burlington Ontario | 197,737 | 76% | 11% | $110K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | Guelph Ontario | 160,760 | 74% | 11% | $93K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury Ontario | 188,504 | 71% | 10% | $84K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Richmond Hill Ontario | 222,031 | 68% | 13% | $103K | C |
| 20 | Richmond British Columbia | 239,584 | 69% | 11% | $79K | C− |
| 21 | Oshawa Ontario | 213,592 | 64% | 15% | $86K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Oshawa, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Oshawa
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oshawa | 64% | 15% | $86K | 32.3 min | D | A |
| Whitby 7.1 km | 71% | 12% | $123K | 33.3 min | C+ | A |
| Bowmanville 12.7 km | 73% | 11% | $113K | 31.3 min | B− | B |
| Ajax 15 km | 69% | 13% | $119K | 34.8 min | C | 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 Oshawa, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so it isn’t an unemployment 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.
- 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. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- 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. 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. Only people with a usual place of work are in it: those who work from home or have no fixed site are not. Home and work are both counted by municipality.
- 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 Oshawa
What is the average household income in Oshawa?
The census puts Oshawa at $85,600 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Oshawa get to work?
88% of commuters drive, 6.3% take public transit, 3.2% walk and 0.2% cycle; 23% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Oshawa?
The average commute is 32.3 minutes; 26% of trips take under 15 minutes and 15% an hour or more.
Where do people in Oshawa work?
Only 39% work in Oshawa itself; the rest go first to Toronto (7,780) and Whitby (7,315).
How many jobs are there in Oshawa?
The 2021 census found about 34,070 people with their usual workplace in Oshawa, or 0.7 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 3,926 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Oshawa?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Oshawa metro area at 8.9%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 15%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
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).