Photo: Nelro2 at en.wikipedia · CC BY 3.0A larger share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Seaforth than in 78% of Canadian towns
Half the households in Seaforth had more than $80,900 in 2020, before tax; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Seaforth is the usual workplace of 1,915 people, and 2,975 of its own residents commute to a job. Unemployment in Seaforth stood at 6.6% on census day 2021, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Seaforth: what the figures say
More people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 81% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 61%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 3.8% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 6.6%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
On jobs and income, Seaforth grades B+
Better than 68% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #162 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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.
In Seaforth, 81% of the working-age population has a job
Of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Huron census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 54% in work in October 2026. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 65% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 61%: many residents are past working age. 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.
Each working day, more people leave Seaforth for work than come in
Each person commuting in is matched by about 2 residents going out. The job is inside the municipality for 30% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
70% of Seaforth’s residents in work leave it to work; Listowel takes the most
In the other direction the biggest source is Clinton, with 210.
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 Seaforth work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Household income in Seaforth
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 58% of Canadian towns.
Seaforth’s median is 12% below the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600). 3 of the 8 other places of 2,500+ in the Huron 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).
Without a car, 4.8% of Seaforth’s commuters get to work
Transit takes 0.4% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 94% of commuters. Home was the workplace for 22%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%.
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.
25.6 minutes from Seaforth to work, about 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 36% of commuters, against 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. An hour or more: 7.8% of commuters, close to the middle of Ontario’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 22.8 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.
In the Huron census division, 22% more people receive EI than in 2019
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 3%. At its peak, in February 2021, 2,400 people were on EI, 2.4 times the 2019 average. That works out to around 3.7 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across 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 Huron 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).
Seaforth on foot: a B grade
Better than 57% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #643 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Seaforth places 201st of 645 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 7,300 to 14,000
| # | 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 Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Glebe-Dows Lake Ontario | 13,436 | 80% | 9.4% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Wellesley Ontario | 12,413 | 84% | 3.9% | $119K | A+ |
| 14 | Perth East Ontario | 13,423 | 86% | 3.9% | $96K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 199 | Beaver Bank Nova Scotia | 9,157 | 75% | 8.9% | $108K | B+ |
| 200 | Queenswood Heights Ontario | 8,998 | 73% | 8.1% | $110K | B+ |
| 201 | Huron East Ontario | 10,402 | 81% | 6.6% | $81K | B+ |
| 202 | Booth Manitoba | 9,016 | 76% | 7.1% | $79K | B+ |
| 203 | Aloha Estates British Columbia | 13,194 | 80% | 7% | $101K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 645 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Seaforth, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Jobs near Seaforth: the places around it
The nearest places to Seaforth with figures are 19–30 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seaforth | 81% | 6.6% | $81K | 25.6 min | B+ | B |
| Mitchell 18.7 km | 88% | 5% | $92K | 23.4 min | A+ | B |
| Clinton 22.2 km | 83% | 6.2% | $80K | 22.6 min | A | B+ |
| Morris-Turnberry 27.6 km | 89% | 4.8% | $86K | 24.3 min | A | D |
| Wingham 29.8 km | 80% | 8.1% | $77K | 23.9 min | B+ | A |
| Bayfield 29.8 km | 82% | 5.9% | $85K | 25.2 min | A− | 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 Seaforth, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- 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. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- 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. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- 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.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Seaforth as part of Huron East, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Seaforth
How do people in Seaforth get to work?
Driving takes 94% of commuters to work, 0.4% take public transit and 4.4% walk, and on census day 22% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Seaforth?
About 25.6 minutes on average, with 36% under a quarter-hour and 7.8% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Seaforth work?
30% work in Seaforth itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Listowel (295), then Clinton (290).
How many jobs are there in Seaforth?
Some 1,915 people worked in Seaforth at the 2021 census: 0.6 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 370 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Seaforth?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 6.6% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula economic region at 3.8% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Seaforth?
Seaforth’s middle household had $80,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
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).