Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer of Powassan’s 15-to-64s are in work than in 61% of Canadian towns
Powassan is the usual workplace of 580 people, and 910 of its own residents commute to a job. Before tax, the typical household in Powassan brought in $81,100 in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. In May 2021, unemployment in Powassan reached 10%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
The short version on work in Powassan
Work near the middle
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 73% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 52%. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
10% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 6% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Powassan grades C+ for jobs and income
Better than 38% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #445 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is household income; 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.
More workers leave Powassan each day than arrive
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 2 to 1. Of those who commute, 27% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
73% of Powassan’s residents in work leave it to work; North Bay takes the most
Inbound, the leader is North Bay (135).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Powassan work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Work for 73% of 15-to-64s in Powassan
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Parry Sound census division, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 52%. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 56% in work in October 2026. The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 58% of residents that age. 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 income in Powassan
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 59% of Canadian towns.
That puts Powassan 11% below the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. 3 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Parry Sound census division have a higher median. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 4% of Powassan’s commuters
Transit takes 0.9% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 93% of commuters. Home was the workplace for 18%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
Close to the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Powassan average 26.2 minutes
Only 25% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 1.8% take an hour or more, against 7.9%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 23.6 minutes. 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
EI claims in the Parry Sound census division are back near their 2019 level
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%. The highest month was February 2021: 3,090 people, 2.1 times the 2019 level. That is about 4 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of the Parry Sound 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).
The Walkability grade for Powassan: C+
Better than 36% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #758 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Powassan places 474th of 750 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 2,600 to 4,900
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Red Lake Ontario | 4,285 | 77% | 5.1% | $111K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 14 | Perth South Ontario | 4,055 | 87% | 7.3% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 31 | McDougall Ontario | 3,002 | 82% | 9.6% | $93K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 472 | Quinndale Ontario | 3,621 | 67% | 15% | $87K | C+ |
| 473 | New Richmond Quebec | 3,947 | 69% | 7.4% | $65K | C+ |
| 474 | Powassan Ontario | 3,657 | 73% | 10% | $81K | C+ |
| 475 | Wellington New Brunswick | 3,458 | 76% | 14% | $70K | C+ |
| 476 | Pasadena Newfoundland and Labrador | 3,930 | 67% | 15% | $83K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 750 | 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 Powassan, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Powassan and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powassan | 73% | 10% | $81K | 26.2 min | C+ | C+ |
| Nipissing 8.7 km | 67% | 14% | $82K | 31.3 min | C− | D |
| Chisholm 13.3 km | 69% | 15% | $79K | 31.8 min | D | C− |
| Callander 15.7 km | 74% | 7.8% | $100K | 21.5 min | A− | 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 Powassan, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Trip times. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed average.
- Where people commute. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- Employment Insurance. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- The Labour Force Survey. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. The share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- 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 Powassan
What is the unemployment rate in Powassan?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Northeast economic region at 6%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 10%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Powassan?
Before tax, half the households in Powassan had more than $81,100 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Powassan get to work?
Driving takes 93% of commuters to work, 0.9% take public transit and 3.1% walk, and on census day 18% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Powassan?
About 26.2 minutes on average, with 25% under a quarter-hour and 1.8% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Powassan work?
27% work in Powassan itself. Of those who leave, the most go to North Bay (500), then Callander (35).
How many jobs are there in Powassan?
Some 580 people worked in Powassan at the 2021 census: 0.6 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 97 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
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).