Photo: Earl Andrew at en.wikipedia · Public domainWorking-age people in Riverview are less likely to have a job than in 76% of Canadian towns
12% of the labour force in Riverview was out of work at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Buses, trains and subways take 23% of its commuters to work. Before tax, the typical household in Riverview brought in $76,300 in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900.
What stands out about work in Riverview
Work near the middle
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 69% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 55%. In work ↓
Many work from home
40% of workers worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Riverview: C
Better than 33% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #498 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
36% of commuters from Riverview go without a car
Working at home: 40% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. The car takes 60% of commuters here, under 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).
In Riverview, 69% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 102 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Ottawa census division, 18 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting those looking for work too, 63% 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 55%. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 61% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. 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.
Household income in Riverview
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 52% of Canadian towns.
Riverview’s median is 17% below the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600). 88 of the 102 other places of 2,500+ in the Ottawa census division 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).
55% more people are on EI in the Ottawa census division than in 2019
The highest month was April 2021: 42,900 people, 3.3 times the 2019 level. That works out to around 3.7 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 6%.
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). Riverview doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Ottawa census division.
Riverview earns A+ for walkability
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #1 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
373rd of 584: where Riverview ranks among Canadian towns of 9,800 to 18,900
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Glebe-Dows Lake Ontario | 13,436 | 80% | 9.4% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Wellesley Ontario | 12,413 | 84% | 3.9% | $119K | A+ |
| 8 | Perth East Ontario | 13,423 | 86% | 3.9% | $96K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 371 | Thorncliffe Alberta | 15,570 | 68% | 15% | $83K | C |
| 372 | Grand Falls-Windsor Newfoundland and Labrador | 14,510 | 62% | 16% | $66K | C |
| 373 | Riverview Ontario | 14,030 | 69% | 12% | $76K | C |
| 374 | Port Hope Ontario | 18,446 | 71% | 11% | $88K | C |
| 375 | Sooke British Columbia | 17,248 | 75% | 6.7% | $90K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 584 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Riverview, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Jobs near Riverview: the places around it
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverview | 69% | 12% | $76K | 23.5 min | C | A+ |
| Elmvale - Canterbury 2.1 km | 73% | 12% | $95K | 22.6 min | B+ | A+ |
| Old Ottawa East 2.3 km | 73% | 11% | $96K | 22.7 min | B+ | A+ |
| Playfair Park - Guildwood Estates 2.3 km | 78% | 8% | $112K | 22 min | A | A+ |
| Alta Vista 2.4 km | 78% | 8.3% | $138K | 20.2 min | A+ | A+ |
| Overbrook 2.5 km | 58% | 15% | $71K | 25.3 min | D | A+ |
| Hawthorn Meadows - Sheffield Glen 2.8 km | 66% | 14% | $68K | 25.1 min | D | 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 Riverview, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s average.
- 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. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- 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.
- Neighbourhood figures. The census reaches a neighbourhood only through its dissemination areas, and Riverview’s figures add those up. Ottawa’s page has the commuting flows, which exist only for the whole municipality.
Questions about work in Riverview
What is the unemployment rate in Riverview?
At the 2021 census 12% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario part metro area, gives 7.3% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Riverview?
The median household in Riverview had $76,300 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Riverview get to work?
Driving takes 60% of commuters to work, 23% take public transit, 10% walk and 2.9% cycle, and on census day 40% of those in work were at home.
How many jobs are there in Riverview?
There is no count for a neighbourhood: the jobs figure, and where commuters go, are published for Ottawa as one municipality.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · 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).