Photo: Harleyd613 · CC BY 4.094% of Ottawa’s commuters work without leaving it
At the 2021 census, Ottawa sat at the middle of Canadian towns on work: 73% of 15-to-64s had a job. The median household in Ottawa had $102,600 before tax in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. Home was the workplace for 44% of its workers in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%.
Where Ottawa stands out on work
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household had $102,600 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
A local job centre
272,920 people work in Ottawa and 232,105 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Many work from home
On census day, 44% of those in work were working at home; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. Getting to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
What the Jobs & income Grade will weigh in Ottawa
Its letter, once Canada is graded, rests on four census figures: the share of 15-to-64s in work, median household income, unemployment and the average commute, each set against Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more.
How Ottawa’s household incomes compare
60 of the 103 other places of 2,500+ in the Ottawa census division have a higher median. That puts Ottawa 12% above the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Each working day, Ottawa’s workforce swells by 9%
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 4 to 1 in Ottawa.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Without a car, 20% of Ottawa’s commuters get to work
Transit takes 11% of commuters, above the 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. On foot: 7% of commuters, well above the 3.2% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. 77% drive to work, fewer than the 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).
54,277 people come into Ottawa to work, most from Gatineau and Rockland
- Gatineau20,945
- Rockland3,820
- Embrun3,180
- Kemptville2,005
- Limoges1,610
- Almonte1,600
- Carleton Place1,515
- Winchester1,440
- Beckwith1,225
- Arnprior915
- Gatineau4,840
- Kemptville725
- Rockland570
- Carleton Place535
- Embrun530
- Arnprior455
- Almonte385
- Toronto380
- Winchester330
- Montréal270
Of everyone working in Ottawa, 20% come in from elsewhere; 20,945 make the 12 km trip from Gatineau. Gatineau is where the largest group of commuters out goes, 4,840 of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How many in Ottawa were working in 2021
Of the 103 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Ottawa census division, 43 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 66% of residents that age. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 59%. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 61% in work in October 2026. 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.
Household incomes across Ottawa: $55K to $168K
Median household income in each of Ottawa’s 103 neighbourhoods: the highest is 3 times the lowest. The share of 15-to-64s in work runs from 57% in Greenbelt (east) to 84% in Kinburn.
| Neighbourhood | People | Household income | In work, 15–64 | Average trip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centretown | 32,035 | $72,900 | 77% | 21.7 min |
| Portobello South | 29,960 | $128,800 | 75% | 28.8 min |
| Stonebridge - Half Moon Bay | 28,714 | $126,700 | 74% | 29.8 min |
| Bridlewood - Emerald Meadows | 25,824 | $136,400 | 77% | 25.3 min |
| Old Barrhaven East | 23,585 | $121,100 | 73% | 26.6 min |
| Old Barrhaven West | 22,012 | $128,000 | 74% | 25.9 min |
| Overbrook | 19,953 | $70,900 | 58% | 25.3 min |
| Kanata Lakes | 19,861 | $132,400 | 72% | 24 min |
| Riverside South - Leitrim | 19,802 | $142,100 | 77% | 26.4 min |
| Stittsville | 19,753 | $148,500 | 78% | 24.8 min |
| Fallingbrook | 17,836 | $133,400 | 76% | 27.7 min |
| Carlington | 16,354 | $71,500 | 65% | 24.1 min |
| Old Hunt Club | 16,270 | $101,000 | 70% | 24.8 min |
| Ledbury-Heron Gate-Ridgemont | 15,610 | $64,500 | 58% | 26.5 min |
| Brookside - Briarbrook - Morgans Grant | 15,509 | $138,500 | 73% | 26.3 min |
| Bayshore | 14,491 | $71,300 | 62% | 28 min |
| Chapel Hill South | 14,278 | $143,300 | 77% | 24.9 min |
| Convent Glen - Orleans Woods | 14,118 | $110,200 | 74% | 24.7 min |
| Findlay Creek | 14,089 | $132,700 | 72% | 25.3 min |
| Riverview | 14,030 | $76,300 | 69% | 23.5 min |
| Glen Cairn | 14,020 | $112,700 | 75% | 24.4 min |
| Rideaucrest - Davidson Heights | 13,998 | $139,000 | 73% | 26.1 min |
| Sandy Hill | 13,830 | $62,000 | 64% | 24.7 min |
| Glebe-Dows Lake | 13,436 | $113,200 | 80% | 20.5 min |
| Stittsville North | 13,331 | $132,500 | 78% | 25.1 min |
| Westboro | 12,899 | $99,600 | 78% | 21.8 min |
| Orleans Village - Chateauneuf | 12,399 | $125,900 | 74% | 25.2 min |
| Chapman Mills | 12,075 | $121,100 | 72% | 29 min |
| Chapel Hill North | 11,715 | $128,900 | 71% | 23.4 min |
| Cardinal Creek | 11,676 | $136,600 | 78% | 28.2 min |
| Katimavik-Hazeldean | 11,437 | $115,500 | 74% | 21.5 min |
| Carson Grove - Carson Meadows | 11,290 | $87,200 | 70% | 25.5 min |
| Laurentian | 11,133 | $110,300 | 73% | 21.5 min |
| Whitehaven - Woodpark - Glabar Park | 11,111 | $84,200 | 73% | 25.1 min |
| Borden Farm - Fisher Glen | 11,100 | $84,000 | 68% | 25.2 min |
| Rothwell Heights - Beacon Hill North | 10,985 | $120,300 | 70% | 23.3 min |
| Hintonburg-Mechanicsville | 10,966 | $79,000 | 79% | 23.5 min |
| Vanier North | 10,498 | $69,400 | 70% | 25.1 min |
| Stittsville East | 10,482 | $130,300 | 76% | 27.3 min |
| Greely | 10,359 | $157,200 | 77% | 27.4 min |
| Richmond | 9,526 | $135,600 | 79% | 27.9 min |
| Manor Park | 9,491 | $82,200 | 72% | 24.4 min |
| Centrepointe - Briargreen | 9,259 | $121,700 | 73% | 23.7 min |
| Braemar Park-Belair Heights-Copeland Park | 9,248 | $92,500 | 73% | 23.3 min |
| Queenswood Heights | 8,998 | $109,600 | 73% | 25.3 min |
| Blossom Park - Timbermill | 8,907 | $107,000 | 69% | 24.5 min |
| Manotick | 8,770 | $158,800 | 80% | 27.2 min |
| Craig Henry - Manordale | 8,758 | $108,900 | 69% | 25.2 min |
| Carleton Heights-Courtland Park | 8,621 | $78,500 | 69% | 25.5 min |
| West Centretown | 8,560 | $61,500 | 68% | 25.4 min |
| Hunt Club Park | 8,556 | $107,000 | 65% | 23 min |
| Britannia | 8,421 | $66,500 | 65% | 27.1 min |
| Alta Vista | 8,387 | $138,400 | 78% | 20.2 min |
| Old Ottawa East | 8,308 | $96,200 | 73% | 22.7 min |
| Crestview-Tanglewood | 8,302 | $101,500 | 73% | 24.1 min |
| Elmvale - Canterbury | 8,149 | $95,000 | 73% | 22.6 min |
| Beacon Hill South - Cardinal Heights | 7,746 | $85,100 | 69% | 26.9 min |
| Blackburn Hamlet | 7,606 | $100,300 | 76% | 23.5 min |
| Vanier South | 7,259 | $55,700 | 62% | 26.4 min |
| Lowertown East | 6,996 | $55,300 | 62% | 25.2 min |
| Hawthorn Meadows - Sheffield Glen | 6,838 | $67,600 | 66% | 25.1 min |
| Beaverbrook | 6,762 | $106,700 | 73% | 24 min |
| Old Ottawa South | 6,704 | $159,200 | 76% | 22.1 min |
| City View | 6,468 | $95,700 | 71% | 26.4 min |
| Fisher Heights | 6,451 | $86,600 | 70% | 24.7 min |
| Fitzroy | 6,400 | $112,500 | 77% | 38.8 min |
| Osgoode - Vernon | 6,398 | $130,100 | 83% | 30.4 min |
| Munster - Ashton | 6,372 | $126,300 | 80% | 32 min |
| Pineview | 6,346 | $100,700 | 69% | 21.9 min |
| Playfair Park - Guildwood Estates | 6,186 | $111,500 | 78% | 22 min |
| Cumberland | 6,139 | $142,400 | 76% | 28.2 min |
| Civic Hospital | 6,091 | $121,400 | 74% | 19.7 min |
| Crystal Bay - Lakeview Park | 6,059 | $138,200 | 77% | 25.7 min |
| Lowertown West | 5,947 | $75,300 | 72% | 23.7 min |
| Iris | 5,733 | $84,100 | 70% | 23.2 min |
| New Edinburgh | 5,728 | $125,900 | 79% | 22 min |
| Dunrobin | 5,724 | $168,100 | 76% | 28.4 min |
| Emerald Woods - Sawmill Creek | 5,714 | $76,500 | 58% | 24.5 min |
| Carp | 5,621 | $157,500 | 81% | 26.9 min |
| Greenboro West | 5,597 | $99,300 | 66% | 25.7 min |
| Island Park-Wellington Village | 5,486 | $161,000 | 81% | 20.6 min |
| North Gower - Kars | 5,439 | $133,400 | 79% | 28.3 min |
| Metcalfe | 5,434 | $133,100 | 79% | 27.4 min |
| Billings Bridge - Heron Park | 5,370 | $59,100 | 66% | 24.3 min |
| Bells Corners East | 4,963 | $97,600 | 73% | 23.2 min |
| Greenboro East | 4,800 | $102,800 | 73% | 21.9 min |
| Qualicum - Redwood | 4,761 | $99,000 | 70% | 22.8 min |
| Riverside Park - Mooneys Bay | 4,692 | $88,200 | 71% | 24 min |
| Queenswood - Chatelaine | 4,537 | $101,800 | 73% | 24.9 min |
| Bells Corners West | 4,422 | $85,200 | 74% | 25.9 min |
| Merivale Gardens - Grenfell Glen - Pineglen - Country Place | 4,172 | $141,000 | 79% | 22.7 min |
| Trend-Arlington | 3,844 | $112,500 | 77% | 25.4 min |
| Corkery | 3,822 | $158,300 | 83% | 29.5 min |
| Edwards - Carlsbad Springs | 3,536 | $105,400 | 73% | 24.3 min |
| Queensway Terrace North | 3,160 | $107,000 | 78% | 21.9 min |
| Greenbelt (east) | 3,094 | $129,200 | 57% | 22.5 min |
| Leslie Park - Bruce Farm | 3,056 | $99,700 | 71% | 25.7 min |
| Riverside Park South - Revelstoke | 3,030 | $144,400 | 76% | 20.8 min |
| South Keys | 2,865 | $87,800 | 67% | 25 min |
| Navan - Sarsfield | 2,853 | $136,600 | 75% | 29.1 min |
| Vars | 2,767 | $125,600 | 81% | 29.8 min |
| Waterridge Village | 2,737 | $88,500 | 69% | 23.9 min |
| Kinburn | 2,639 | $124,500 | 84% | 29.1 min |
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: each neighbourhood summed from its dissemination areas; incomes are 2020’s.
A commute like the middle of Canadian towns: 25.9 minutes from Ottawa
In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 27%, fewer than the 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 5.1% take an hour or more, against 7.9%. Timed exactly, the average is 23 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.
55% more people are on EI in the Ottawa census division than in 2019
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 6%. The count topped out in April 2021 at 42,900 people, 3.3 times the 2019 average. Roughly 3.7 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the Ottawa census division, not by town. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Jobs near Ottawa: the places around it
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa | 73% | 10% | $103K | 25.9 min | — | — |
| Carleton Heights-Courtland Park 0.6 km | 69% | 13% | $79K | 25.5 min | C | A+ |
| Borden Farm - Fisher Glen 1.2 km | 68% | 13% | $84K | 25.2 min | C | A+ |
| Fisher Heights 1.2 km | 70% | 12% | $87K | 24.7 min | C+ | A+ |
| Riverside Park - Mooneys Bay 2 km | 71% | 14% | $88K | 24 min | B− | A+ |
| Riverside Park South - Revelstoke 2.3 km | 76% | 7.2% | $144K | 20.8 min | A | A− |
| Carlington 2.6 km | 65% | 13% | $72K | 24.1 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 Ottawa, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- 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. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Ottawa
What is the average household income in Ottawa?
The median household in Ottawa had $102,600 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Ottawa get to work?
77% of commuters go by car, 11% take public transit, 7% walk and 1.5% cycle. On census day 44% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Ottawa?
On average 25.9 minutes; 27% take under 15 minutes and 5.1% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Ottawa work?
Most stay: 94% work in Ottawa. The rest go first to Gatineau (4,840) and Kemptville (725).
How many jobs are there in Ottawa?
About 272,920 people had their usual place of work in Ottawa at the 2021 census, 1.2 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 31,781 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Ottawa?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 10% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario part metro area at 7.3% in October 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). 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).