Photo: Schreiber Public Library · Public domainFewer of Schreiber’s 15-to-64s are in work than in 86% of Canadian towns
Median household income in Schreiber was $76,100 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. From Schreiber, the drive or ride to work averages 14 minutes, with 3.8% going an hour or longer. Schreiber had an unemployment rate of 9.6% at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
What the numbers say about work in Schreiber
Fewer people in work than most towns
The 2021 census found 65% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 48%. In work ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 14 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 3.8% 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 & income in Schreiber: graded B−
Better than 52% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
How many in Schreiber have a job: 65% of 15-to-64s
None of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Thunder Bay census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 59% in October 2026. Counting those looking for work too, 53% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 48% of residents 15 and over were in work. 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.
14 minutes from Schreiber to work, under the middle of Canadian towns
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 11.5 minutes. In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 73% 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.
More of Schreiber’s workers leave each day than arrive
Each person commuting in is matched by about 3 residents going out. Of those who commute, 40% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
60% of Schreiber’s residents in work leave it to work; Terrace Bay takes the most
- Terrace Bay155
- Geraldton40
- Marathon15
Of those coming in, Terrace Bay supplies the most: 45.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
What households in Schreiber earn
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 52% of Canadian towns.
5 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Thunder Bay census division have a higher median. Against the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600), Schreiber’s median is 17% below. 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).
Without a car, 10% of Schreiber’s commuters get to work
Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car takes 85% of commuters here, under the 88% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Only 7.1% worked at home on census day, against 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).
About as many people are on EI in the Thunder Bay census division as in 2019
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 1%. At its peak, in April 2021, 8,970 people were on EI, 2.6 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the Thunder Bay 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).
Walkability in Schreiber: graded B+
Better than 75% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Work in the places around Schreiber
Schreiber has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 12–77 km out.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schreiber | 65% | 9.6% | $76K | 14 min | B− | B+ |
| Terrace Bay 12.3 km | 67% | 9% | $87K | 12.9 min | B+ | A− |
| Marathon 66.5 km | 68% | 8.2% | $94K | 20.1 min | B+ | A |
| Nipigon 77 km | 67% | 14% | $74K | 19 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 Schreiber, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. 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. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- 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. 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.
- 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 Schreiber
How long is the commute from Schreiber?
About 14 minutes on average, with 73% under a quarter-hour and 3.8% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Schreiber work?
40% work in Schreiber itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Terrace Bay (155), then Geraldton (40).
How many jobs are there in Schreiber?
Some 205 people worked in Schreiber at the 2021 census: 0.6 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 27 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Schreiber?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 9.6% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Northwest economic region at 2.9% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Schreiber?
The census puts Schreiber at $76,100 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Schreiber get to work?
Driving takes 85% of commuters to work, 10% walk, and on census day 7.1% of those in work were at home.
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).