Photo: South Algonquin Business Alliance · CC BY-SA 4.0A smaller share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in South Algonquin than in 95% of Canadian towns
Out of work in May 2021: 23% of South Algonquin’s labour force, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. Before tax, the typical household in South Algonquin brought in $62,800 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. For 6.3% of commuters in South Algonquin, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 23.7 minutes.
Work in South Algonquin: the figures worth knowing
Fewer people in work than most towns
The 2021 census found 57% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 37%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 23% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 6%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $62,800 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
More jobs than the typical town
245 people work in South Algonquin and 235 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
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 South Algonquin: D
Better than 10% 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.
The share of 15-to-64s in work in South Algonquin: 57%
None of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Nipissing census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 56% in work in October 2026. Counting those looking for work too, 48% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 37% 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.
How South Algonquin’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 83% of Canadian towns.
Against the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600), South Algonquin’s median is 31% below. Every other place of 2,500 or more in the Nipissing census division has a higher median. 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).
The commute in and out of South Algonquin balances out
235 residents of South Algonquin had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 245 people had theirs in South Algonquin, wherever they lived.
The job is inside the municipality for 65% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
93 people come into South Algonquin to work, most from Barry's Bay and Lake of Bays
Of everyone working in South Algonquin, 38% come in from elsewhere; 45 make the 36 km trip from Barry's Bay. Of residents who leave for work, most head to Barry's Bay (30).
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 South Algonquin work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 3.2% of South Algonquin’s commuters
The car is the way to work for 97% of commuters. Only 10% 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.
Commuting times in South Algonquin
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 20.9 minutes. In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 48% 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
About as many people are on EI in the Nipissing census division as in 2019
Roughly 4.5 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 4%. The highest month was February 2021: 5,550 people, 2.4 times the 2019 level.
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). Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for South Algonquin alone, so this card uses the figure for the Nipissing census division.
How walkable South Algonquin is: D
Better than 14% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Jobs and income in the places around South Algonquin
Distances here run 36–49 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from South Algonquin.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Algonquin | 57% | 23% | $63K | 23.7 min | D | D |
| Barry's Bay 36.4 km | 65% | 9.4% | $63K | 24.7 min | D | B− |
| Hastings Highlands 40.9 km | 64% | 15% | $69K | 28.7 min | D | C− |
| Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards 48.6 km | 66% | 14% | $64K | 31.5 min | D− | B− |
| Carlow/Mayo 49.2 km | 73% | 9.1% | $69K | 35 min | D | 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 South Algonquin, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- 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. 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. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in South Algonquin
What is the average household income in South Algonquin?
The census puts South Algonquin at $62,800 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in South Algonquin get to work?
Driving takes 97% of commuters to work, 3.2% walk, and on census day 10% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from South Algonquin?
About 23.7 minutes on average, with 48% under a quarter-hour and 6.3% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in South Algonquin work?
65% work in South Algonquin itself; of those who leave, the most go to Barry's Bay (30), then Bancroft (20).
How many jobs are there in South Algonquin?
Some 245 people worked in South Algonquin at the 2021 census: 1 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 40 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in South Algonquin?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 23% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Northeast economic region at 6% in October 2026.
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).