Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0The share of 15-to-64s with a job in St. Thomas trails that of 76% of Canadian towns
Before tax, the typical household in St. Thomas brought in $75,000 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. From St. Thomas, the drive or ride to work averages 20.9 minutes, with 3.2% going an hour or longer. Census day 2021 found 11% of St. Thomas’ labour force without a job, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
The work numbers behind St. Thomas
More jobs than the typical town
With 13,425 jobs based in St. Thomas and 13,200 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 20.9 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 3.2% 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 St. Thomas: graded C+
Better than 41% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #397 of 866 in Ontario.
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.
As many come into St. Thomas to work as leave
13,200 residents of St. Thomas had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 13,425 people had theirs in St. Thomas, wherever they lived.
The job is inside the municipality for 55% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
How long the commute from St. Thomas takes
Timed exactly, the average is 18.9 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 50% 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.
6,112 people come into St. Thomas to work, most from London and Central Elgin
- London2,265
- Central Elgin1,500
- Southwold580
- Malahide365
- Aylmer305
- Bayham140
- Dutton130
- West Lorne85
- Strathroy85
- Dorchester80
- London3,695
- Central Elgin620
- Southwold310
- Aylmer240
- Woodstock165
- Tillsonburg115
- Malahide105
- Strathroy65
- Dorchester55
- Middlesex Centre50
46% of the people who work in St. Thomas live outside it, 2,265 of them in London, 25 km away. London is where the largest group of commuters out goes, 3,695 of them.
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 St. Thomas work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
How many in St. Thomas have a job: 69% of 15-to-64s
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Elgin census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 57% in work in October 2026. 59% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 52% were working. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from 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.
How St. Thomas’ household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 55% of Canadian towns.
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 or more in the Elgin census division, 6 have a higher median. Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, St. Thomas sits 18% below. 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).
5.4% of commuters from St. Thomas go without a car
Few ride transit: 0.4%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. Nearly everyone drives: 93% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Home was the workplace for 17%, under the 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).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
EI claims in the Elgin census division run 31% above their 2019 level
Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 5%. The highest month was February 2021: 4,960 people, 2.7 times the 2019 level. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.7 are on EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: the Elgin 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).
St. Thomas earns B+ for walkability
Better than 69% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #566 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 96 Canadian towns of 34,600 to 66,700, St. Thomas comes 52nd on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dieppe New Brunswick | 35,986 | 79% | 6.7% | $87K | A |
| 2 | Neufchatel Est—Lebourgneuf Quebec | 37,164 | 83% | 6.2% | $83K | A |
| 3 | Boucherville Quebec | 41,910 | 82% | 5.2% | $111K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | LaSalle Ontario | 36,452 | 69% | 13% | $119K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Stratford Ontario | 36,097 | 76% | 11% | $77K | B+ |
| 17 | Brant Ontario | 45,565 | 78% | 8.8% | $107K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 50 | Bois-Francs Quebec | 35,858 | 73% | 9.3% | $92K | C+ |
| 51 | North Bay Ontario | 62,062 | 67% | 12% | $72K | C+ |
| 52 | St. Thomas Ontario | 49,388 | 69% | 11% | $75K | C+ |
| 53 | Vellore Ontario | 39,490 | 70% | 13% | $136K | C+ |
| 54 | Meadowvale Ontario | 37,821 | 72% | 13% | $110K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 96 | Cecil-P.-Newman Quebec | 34,965 | 69% | 12% | $64K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of St. Thomas, and others among Ontario’s towns.
How St. Thomas compares with the places nearby
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Thomas | 69% | 11% | $75K | 20.9 min | C+ | B+ |
| Central Elgin 2 km | 77% | 9.4% | $103K | 24.9 min | A− | C− |
| Southwold 12.6 km | 78% | 12% | $105K | 23.6 min | A | C− |
| Aylmer 15.3 km | 72% | 9.8% | $74K | 23.5 min | C+ | A− |
| Malahide 16.5 km | 78% | 7.7% | $95K | 26.1 min | B+ | C− |
| Lambeth 17.8 km | 78% | 11% | $123K | 24.2 min | A | B− |
| White Oaks 18.5 km | 59% | 16% | $73K | 22.1 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 St. Thomas, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about work in St. Thomas
How many jobs are there in St. Thomas?
About 13,425 people had their usual place of work in St. Thomas at the 2021 census, 1 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 1,029 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in St. Thomas?
Two figures answer it: 11% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 8.1% for the London metro area in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in St. Thomas?
The median household in St. Thomas had $75,000 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in St. Thomas get to work?
93% of commuters go by car, 0.4% take public transit, 4.2% walk and 0.8% cycle. On census day 17% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from St. Thomas?
On average 20.9 minutes; 50% take under 15 minutes and 3.2% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in St. Thomas work?
Most stay: 55% work in St. Thomas. The rest go first to London (3,695) and Central Elgin (620).
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).