Photo: maar345 · CC BY 2.0A place people come to for work: Renfrew has 1.9 jobs per resident in work
In May 2021, unemployment in Renfrew reached 11%, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. Before tax, the typical household in Renfrew brought in $60,600 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Jobs were held by 66% of people aged 15 to 64 in Renfrew in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%.
The work figures that set Renfrew apart
Fewer people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 66% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 44%. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $60,600 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 22.7 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 10% last an hour or longer. 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.
Jobs and income in Renfrew earn D
Better than 14% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #696 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, household income.
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 and out of work in Renfrew
Of the 15 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Renfrew census division, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting retirees, 44% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 55% in work in October 2026. Working or looking, 49% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at home.
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.
What households in Renfrew earn
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 87% of Canadian towns.
Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Renfrew sits 34% below. Every other place of 2,500 or more in the Renfrew census division has a higher median. Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for 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).
A working day adds 75% to the people at work in Renfrew
2,175 residents of Renfrew had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 4,095 people had theirs in Renfrew, wherever they lived.
About 4 people arrive to work in Renfrew for each resident who goes out. Of those who commute, 68% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
22.7 minutes from Renfrew to work, under the middle of Canadian towns
In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 57% of commuters, against 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. 10% spend an hour or longer getting to work; the middle of Ontario’s towns has 7.9%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 19.9 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.
2,609 people come into Renfrew to work, most from Horton and Admaston/Bromley
64% of the people who work in Renfrew live outside it, 540 of them in Horton, 8 km away. Of residents who leave for work, most head to Ottawa (180).
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 Renfrew work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
10% of commuters in Renfrew walk, cycle or take transit
More people walk to work here than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 9.3% against 3.2%. By car, truck or van: 87% of commuters, much as in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Only 13% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, 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).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
EI claims in the Renfrew census division run 13% above their 2019 level
For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.2 are on EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 1%. At its peak, in April 2021, 5,690 people were on EI, 2.4 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: the Renfrew 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).
Everyday places on foot in Renfrew: A
Better than 93% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #353 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Renfrew is 610th of 680 Canadian towns of 6,100 to 11,800 people for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | Sioux Lookout Ontario | 6,122 | 79% | 5.7% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Alta Vista Ontario | 8,387 | 78% | 8.3% | $138K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 25 | West Perth Ontario | 10,080 | 88% | 5% | $92K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 608 | North Central Saskatchewan | 9,124 | 49% | 22% | $55K | D |
| 609 | Falconridge Alberta | 10,218 | 61% | 17% | $82K | D |
| 610 | Renfrew Ontario | 8,721 | 66% | 11% | $61K | D |
| 611 | Hawthorn Meadows - Sheffield Glen Ontario | 6,838 | 66% | 14% | $68K | D |
| 612 | Bendale South Ontario | 10,885 | 61% | 15% | $93K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 680 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Renfrew, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Jobs near Renfrew: the places around it
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renfrew | 66% | 11% | $61K | 22.7 min | D | A |
| Horton 8.3 km | 75% | 8% | $91K | 25.8 min | B | D− |
| Admaston/Bromley 12.5 km | 82% | 5.9% | $85K | 27.2 min | B+ | D− |
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 Renfrew, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- 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.
- 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. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Renfrew
What is the average household income in Renfrew?
Renfrew’s middle household had $60,600 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Renfrew get to work?
Driving takes 87% of commuters to work, 9.3% walk and 0.8% cycle, and on census day 13% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Renfrew?
About 22.7 minutes on average, with 57% under a quarter-hour and 10% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Renfrew work?
Most stay: 68% work in Renfrew. The rest go first to Ottawa (180) and Arnprior (150).
How many jobs are there in Renfrew?
Statistics Canada counted 293 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Renfrew?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Kingston-Pembroke economic region at 6.8%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 11%, 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).