Photo: Balcer · CC BY 2.5Household incomes in Shelburne top those of 85% of Canadian towns
Most commutes from Shelburne take well under an hour: the average is 39.6 minutes, and 28% take 60 minutes or longer. 75% of people aged 15 to 64 in Shelburne had a job at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. 10% of the labour force in Shelburne was out of work at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
The work numbers behind Shelburne
Higher incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $99,300 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 39.6 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 28% 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.
On jobs and income, Shelburne grades C+
Better than 38% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #446 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.
Household income in Shelburne: $99,300 at the median
Every other place of 2,500 or more in the Dufferin census division has a higher median. That puts Shelburne 8% above the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. CERB and the other emergency payments of 2020 are counted in these incomes, which lifted the lower ones 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).
Time on the road to work from Shelburne
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 36.3 minutes. The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. Only 24% get to work within a quarter-hour, 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.
Shelburne empties a little on a working day
For every person who comes in to work, about 2 residents travel out.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
72% of Shelburne’s residents in work leave it to work; Brampton takes the most
- Dundalk185
- Melancthon170
- Orangeville165
- Amaranth100
- Grey Highlands75
- Mono60
- Alliston60
- Mulmur50
- Grand Valley40
- Brampton20
- Brampton415
- Orangeville405
- Mississauga270
- Alliston215
- Toronto155
- Bolton125
- Mono110
- Vaughan85
- Amaranth40
- Mulmur40
Dundalk sends the largest group the other way, 185 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
In and out of work in Shelburne
None of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Dufferin census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 63% of residents 15 and over were in work. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 64% in October 2026. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 70%. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
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: 4.2% of Shelburne’s commuters
Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 14% against 21%. Transit takes 0.5% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 95% of commuters go by car, truck or van.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the Dufferin census division, 25% more people receive EI than in 2019
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%. In April 2021 it reached 3,740, the most in the series and 3 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.4 receive 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). Figures for EI beneficiaries are published for the Dufferin census division as a whole, not for Shelburne alone.
Walkability in Shelburne: graded B+
Better than 71% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #555 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Shelburne next to Canadian towns of 7,500 to 14,500: 432nd of 654 on 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 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 430 | Parry Sound Ontario | 7,584 | 72% | 9.5% | $63K | C+ |
| 431 | Cathedraltown Ontario | 11,029 | 71% | 9.9% | $124K | C+ |
| 432 | Shelburne Ontario | 10,767 | 75% | 10% | $99K | C+ |
| 433 | Professors Lake Ontario | 10,335 | 71% | 13% | $114K | C+ |
| 434 | Saint-Hippolyte Quebec | 12,550 | 78% | 7.2% | $84K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 654 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Shelburne, and others among Ontario’s towns.
The places around Shelburne, side by side
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelburne | 75% | 10% | $99K | 39.6 min | C+ | B+ |
| Melancthon 10.2 km | 78% | 7.8% | $100K | 35 min | B− | C+ |
| Amaranth 10.4 km | 78% | 9% | $128K | 38.8 min | B | D |
| Mulmur 16.3 km | 76% | 9.9% | $117K | 44.5 min | B− | C− |
| Mono 17.1 km | 78% | 10% | $140K | 35.7 min | B | 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 Shelburne, 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. 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. 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. 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 Shelburne
How do people in Shelburne get to work?
By car: 95% of commuters, 0.5% take public transit and 3.7% walk; on census day 14% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Shelburne?
39.6 minutes is the average trip, with 24% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 28% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Shelburne work?
28% work in Shelburne itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Brampton (415), then Orangeville (405).
How many jobs are there in Shelburne?
The 2021 census counted about 1,930 people working in Shelburne: 0.6 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 239 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Shelburne?
The 2021 census found 10% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie economic region, is 6.5% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Shelburne?
Before tax, half the households in Shelburne had more than $99,300 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
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).