Photo: Eric Marshall · CC BY 3.0Households in Smithville earn more than those in 90% of Canadian towns
76% of people aged 15 to 64 in Smithville had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. From Smithville, the drive or ride to work averages 30.6 minutes, with 8.3% going an hour or longer. 8.3% of the labour force in Smithville was out of work at the 2021 census, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
The short version on work in Smithville
Higher incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $105,600 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 30.6 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 8.3% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Smithville: B
Better than 55% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #258 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.
Smithville households: $105,600 a year at the median
One of the 11 other places of 2,500+ in the Niagara census division has a higher median. Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Smithville sits 15% above. In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Commuting times in Smithville
Timed exactly, the average is 27.4 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 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.
Smithville empties a little on a working day
About 2 residents leave for work for each person who comes in. 26% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
75% of Smithville’s residents in work leave it to work; Hamilton takes the most
- Hamilton295
- St. Catharines275
- Caledonia240
- Beamsville225
- Grimsby220
- Wainfleet165
- Welland165
- Pelham105
- Niagara Falls85
- Port Colborne80
- Hamilton1,580
- Beamsville340
- Grimsby280
- Burlington275
- St. Catharines230
- Caledonia175
- Pelham90
- Toronto85
- Mississauga80
- Oakville80
Of those coming in, Hamilton supplies the most: 295.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Work and the working-age population of Smithville
Of the 11 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Niagara census division, 9 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 60% in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 65%. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 60%: 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.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 3% of Smithville’s commuters
Few ride transit: 0.2%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters. 21% worked at home on census day, about the same as 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).
37% more people are on EI in the Niagara census division than in 2019
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 1%. In February 2021 it reached 35,740, the most in the series and 4.3 times the 2019 average. That works out to around 4.3 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: the Niagara 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).
Getting around Smithville on foot earns C+
Better than 35% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #759 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 536 Canadian towns of 11,600 to 22,400, Smithville comes 210th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Glebe-Dows Lake Ontario | 13,436 | 80% | 9.4% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Wellesley Ontario | 12,413 | 84% | 3.9% | $119K | A+ |
| 8 | Perth East Ontario | 13,423 | 86% | 3.9% | $96K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 208 | Old Hunt Club Ontario | 16,270 | 70% | 12% | $101K | B |
| 209 | Varsity Alberta | 12,605 | 70% | 13% | $91K | B |
| 210 | West Lincoln Ontario | 16,586 | 76% | 8.3% | $106K | B |
| 211 | Gaspé Quebec | 15,479 | 73% | 9.2% | $72K | B− |
| 212 | Laurentian West Ontario | 16,857 | 70% | 11% | $114K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 536 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Smithville, and others among Ontario’s towns.
The work picture around Smithville
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithville | 76% | 8.3% | $106K | 30.6 min | B | C+ |
| Grimsby 11.2 km | 76% | 10% | $104K | 28 min | B | B |
| Beamsville 13.2 km | 76% | 9.5% | $103K | 26.1 min | B+ | B |
| Fifty Point 15.6 km | 75% | 9.8% | $139K | 31.7 min | B− | B− |
| Industrial 16.3 km | 76% | 9.9% | $121K | 28.2 min | B+ | B− |
| Trillium 18.1 km | 74% | 13% | $117K | 29.1 min | B | D |
| Westmeria 18.5 km | 79% | 12% | $113K | 27 min | A− | B |
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 Smithville, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. 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.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Smithville as part of West Lincoln, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Smithville
How many jobs are there in Smithville?
The 2021 census found about 3,210 people with their usual workplace in Smithville, or 0.7 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 544 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Smithville?
The census put unemployment at 8.3% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Hamilton-Niagara Peninsula economic region at 7%.
What is the average household income in Smithville?
Smithville’s middle household had $105,600 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Smithville get to work?
95% of commuters drive, 0.2% take public transit and 2.8% walk; 21% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Smithville?
The average commute is 30.6 minutes; 24% of trips take under 15 minutes and 8.3% an hour or more.
Where do people in Smithville work?
26% work in Smithville itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Hamilton (1,580), then Beamsville (340).
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).