Photo: Raymond Leung from Toronto, Canada · CC BY 2.0Working-age people in The Archipelago have jobs more often than in 79% of Canadian towns
8.2% of the labour force in The Archipelago was out of work at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. 190 people have their usual place of work in The Archipelago, against 270 residents who travel to a job. The median household in The Archipelago had $83,800 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
What the numbers say about work in The Archipelago
More people in work than most towns
With 81% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, it has 47% of all adults employed. In work ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 22.7 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 2.8% take an hour or more. 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, The Archipelago grades A
Better than 85% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
81% of working-age people in The Archipelago have jobs
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Parry Sound census division, 6 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 56% in October 2026. The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 51% of residents that age. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 47%: 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.
The Archipelago has a quicker trip to work than the middle of Canadian towns: 22.7 minutes
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 19.6 minutes. In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 38%, more than the 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 2.8% take an hour or more, against 7.9%.
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.
On a working day, The Archipelago loses more workers than it gains
It sends out some 2 workers for every one it takes in. 45% 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.
55% of The Archipelago’s residents in work leave it to work; Parry Sound takes the most
- Seguin15
- Hamilton10
- Carling10
- Shawanaga 1710
- Parry Sound, Unorganized, Centre Part10
Coming the other way, Seguin sends the most (15).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How The Archipelago’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 64% of Canadian towns.
Against the middle of Ontario’s towns ($91,600), The Archipelago’s median is 9% below. 3 of the 7 other places of 2,500+ in the Parry Sound census division have 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).
Leaving the car at home: 17% of commuters in The Archipelago
21% worked at home on census day, about the same as in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. 58% drive to work, fewer than the 88% in the middle of Ontario’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
About as many people are on EI in the Parry Sound census division as in 2019
The count topped out in February 2021 at 3,090 people, 2.1 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4 are on EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 5%.
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 The Archipelago alone, so this card uses the figure for the Parry Sound census division.
Getting around The Archipelago on foot earns B
Better than 58% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Around The Archipelago: jobs, pay and the commute
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Archipelago | 81% | 8.2% | $84K | 22.7 min | A | B |
| Parry Sound 5.8 km | 72% | 9.5% | $63K | 17.4 min | C+ | A+ |
| McDougall 17 km | 82% | 9.6% | $93K | 20.7 min | A+ | D |
| Carling 18.4 km | 74% | 7.1% | $85K | 28.6 min | C+ | 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 The Archipelago, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- 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. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- 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.
- 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 The Archipelago
What is the average household income in The Archipelago?
The Archipelago’s middle household had $83,800 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in The Archipelago get to work?
By car: 58% of commuters, 17% walk; on census day 21% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from The Archipelago?
22.7 minutes is the average trip, with 38% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 2.8% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in The Archipelago work?
Only 45% work in The Archipelago itself; the rest go first to Parry Sound (70) and Muskoka Lakes (15).
How many jobs are there in The Archipelago?
The 2021 census counted about 190 people working in The Archipelago: 0.7 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 32 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in The Archipelago?
The census put unemployment at 8.2% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Northeast economic region at 6%.
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).