Photo: Michael Pardo from Niagara, Canada · CC0Pelham has higher household incomes than 93% of Canadian towns
Working at home: 29% of its workers, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%. The census counted 3,240 people working in Pelham and 4,610 residents commuting to a fixed workplace. Of Pelham’s residents aged 15 to 64, 76% were employed when the 2021 census was taken; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%.
The short version on work in Pelham
Work near the middle
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 76% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 53%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
At $110,200 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs & income in Pelham: graded A−
Better than 79% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #94 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.
What households earned in Pelham: $110,200 in 2020
No other place of 2,500 or more in the Niagara census division has a higher median. That puts Pelham 20% above the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
On a working day, Pelham loses more workers than it gains
About 2 residents leave for work for each person who comes in. Of those who commute, 25% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
75% of Pelham’s residents in work leave it to work; St. Catharines takes the most
- Welland700
- St. Catharines415
- Port Colborne170
- Niagara Falls165
- Thorold135
- Wainfleet115
- Smithville90
- Beamsville60
- Hamilton55
- Caledonia50
- St. Catharines925
- Welland740
- Niagara Falls410
- Hamilton260
- Thorold225
- Beamsville185
- Smithville105
- Niagara-on-the-Lake90
- Port Colborne85
- Grimsby75
Coming the other way, Welland sends the most (700).
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 Pelham have a job: 76% of 15-to-64s
Of the 11 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Niagara census division, 8 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 58% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 53% were working. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 55% of the wider area’s adults 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.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 3.3% of Pelham’s commuters
Nearly everyone drives: 95% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Few ride transit: 0.2%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
25 minutes from Pelham to work, about the middle of Canadian towns
Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 6.8% take an hour or more, against 7.9%. Timed exactly, the average is 23.2 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 33% of commuters, against 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.
EI claims in the Niagara census division run 37% above their 2019 level
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 1%. February 2021 was the busiest month, with 35,740 people on EI, 4.3 times 2019’s average. Roughly 4.3 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 counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100). Pelham shares its EI beneficiaries numbers with the rest of the Niagara census division.
The Walkability grade for Pelham: C+
Better than 40% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #732 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Pelham ranks: 67th of 458 Canadian towns of 14,000 to 27,000
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| 3 | Cap-Rouge Quebec | 17,139 | 81% | 4.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | Wilmot Ontario | 22,890 | 81% | 6.8% | $115K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 26 | Thames Centre Ontario | 15,475 | 80% | 7.7% | $113K | A |
| 27 | North Perth Ontario | 18,168 | 83% | 5.7% | $84K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 65 | Tecumseh Ontario | 25,554 | 70% | 13% | $109K | A− |
| 66 | Saint-Lambert Quebec | 23,355 | 83% | 6.8% | $88K | A− |
| 67 | Pelham Ontario | 19,980 | 76% | 8.6% | $110K | A− |
| 68 | Windermere Alberta | 14,922 | 79% | 9.2% | $126K | A− |
| 69 | Oakridge Ontario | 16,247 | 72% | 11% | $116K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 458 | South Parkdale Ontario | 21,663 | 64% | 17% | $57K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Pelham, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Next to Pelham: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelham | 76% | 8.6% | $110K | 25 min | A− | C+ |
| Welland 6.6 km | 65% | 15% | $72K | 24.5 min | C− | A− |
| Thorold 10.3 km | 64% | 15% | $83K | 25.6 min | C | B |
| Wainfleet 15.4 km | 74% | 9.2% | $96K | 29.9 min | B− | D |
| St. Catharines 15.6 km | 66% | 16% | $72K | 22.2 min | C | A |
| Beamsville 17.1 km | 76% | 9.5% | $103K | 26.1 min | B+ | B |
| Niagara Falls 17.3 km | 60% | 23% | $75K | 22 min | C | B+ |
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 Pelham, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. 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.
- Where people commute. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- 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. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Pelham
How many jobs are there in Pelham?
The 2021 census found about 3,240 people with their usual workplace in Pelham, or 0.7 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 686 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Pelham?
The 2021 census found 8.6% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the St. Catharines-Niagara metro area, is 7.1% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Pelham?
The median household in Pelham had $110,200 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Pelham get to work?
95% of commuters drive, 0.2% take public transit, 2.7% walk and 0.4% cycle; 29% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Pelham?
The average commute is 25 minutes; 33% of trips take under 15 minutes and 6.8% an hour or more.
Where do people in Pelham work?
25% work in Pelham itself. Of those who leave, the most go to St. Catharines (925), then Welland (740).
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).