Photo: Dillan Payne · CC BY-SA 4.0Working-age people in Clairlea-Birchmount are less likely to have a job than in 90% of Canadian towns
A typical one-way commute from Clairlea-Birchmount lasts 36.9 minutes, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. Public transit carries 33% of its commuters. The median household in Clairlea-Birchmount had $91,600 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
Where Clairlea-Birchmount stands out on work
Fewer people in work than most towns
Counting everyone 15 and over, 53% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 63%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 15% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 7.1%. Unemployment ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 36.9 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. Getting 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, Clairlea-Birchmount grades D
Better than 14% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #696 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.
In Clairlea-Birchmount, 63% of the working-age population has a job
Of the 157 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Toronto census division, 44 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 62% in October 2026. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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.
Without a car, 37% of Clairlea-Birchmount’s commuters get to work
The car takes 60% of commuters here, under the 88% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Home was the workplace for 29%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%.
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.
Earnings at home in Clairlea-Birchmount: households
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 77% of Canadian towns.
56 of the 157 other places of 2,500+ in the Toronto census division have a higher median. Pandemic support paid in 2020, CERB first among it, is part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
EI claims in the Toronto census division run 43% above their 2019 level
February 2021 was the busiest month, with 165,520 people on EI, 4 times 2019’s average. That works out to around 3.5 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 1%.
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). Clairlea-Birchmount doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Toronto census division.
How walkable Clairlea-Birchmount is: A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #165 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 315 Canadian towns of 19,400 to 37,400, Clairlea-Birchmount comes 243rd on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Whitehorse Yukon | 34,129 | 82% | 5.6% | $112K | A+ |
| 3 | Arcola East Saskatchewan | 33,823 | 79% | 7.7% | $123K | A+ |
| 4 | Woolwich Ontario | 31,382 | 82% | 6.2% | $115K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | Wilmot Ontario | 22,890 | 81% | 6.8% | $115K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Middlesex Centre Ontario | 21,689 | 79% | 7.7% | $125K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 241 | Huron Heights Ontario | 20,890 | 63% | 14% | $69K | C− |
| 242 | Port Colborne Ontario | 21,921 | 66% | 13% | $70K | C− |
| 243 | Clairlea-Birchmount Ontario | 27,690 | 63% | 15% | $92K | D |
| 244 | Walkerville Ontario | 19,541 | 54% | 20% | $60K | D |
| 245 | Oakwood Village Ontario | 20,830 | 71% | 13% | $80K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 315 | Parc-Extension Quebec | 29,066 | 61% | 16% | $48K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Clairlea-Birchmount, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Work next door to Clairlea-Birchmount
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clairlea-Birchmount | 63% | 15% | $92K | 36.9 min | D | A+ |
| Oakridge 1.8 km | 51% | 21% | $60K | 39.3 min | D− | A+ |
| Kennedy Park 2 km | 57% | 18% | $71K | 39.7 min | D− | A+ |
| Birchcliffe-Cliffside 2.1 km | 67% | 15% | $94K | 33.9 min | C− | A+ |
| Ionview 2.2 km | 62% | 16% | $77K | 38.9 min | D | A+ |
| O'Connor-Parkview 2.3 km | 62% | 17% | $79K | 35.5 min | D | A+ |
| Taylor-Massey 2.5 km | 60% | 19% | $69K | 39.7 min | D− | 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 Clairlea-Birchmount, 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.
- 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. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- In work. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- Unemployment. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
- Household income. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- 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.
- Neighbourhood figures. We add up Clairlea-Birchmount’s dissemination areas for its census figures. Flows between places and timed averages exist only for the whole municipality: see Toronto’s page.
Questions about work in Clairlea-Birchmount
How do people in Clairlea-Birchmount get to work?
60% of commuters go by car, 33% take public transit, 3.4% walk and 0.2% cycle. On census day 29% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How many jobs are there in Clairlea-Birchmount?
Statistics Canada counts jobs for whole municipalities only; Toronto has the total and the commuting flows.
What is the unemployment rate in Clairlea-Birchmount?
Two figures answer it: 15% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 7.1% for the Toronto metro area in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Clairlea-Birchmount?
The census puts Clairlea-Birchmount at $91,600 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · 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).