Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Working-age people in Walkerton have jobs more often than in 70% of Canadian towns
Most commutes from Walkerton take well under an hour: the average is 23 minutes, and 5.5% take 60 minutes or longer. The median household in Walkerton had $83,000 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Walkerton had an unemployment rate of 6.4% at the 2021 census, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Where Walkerton stands out on work
More people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 79% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 58%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 6.4% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 3.8% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 23 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 5.5% 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, Walkerton grades A−
Better than 77% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #104 of 866 in Ontario.
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.
In Walkerton, 79% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Bruce census division, 5 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
62% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 58% of residents 15 and over were in work. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 54% in October 2026. 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.
At 23 minutes, commutes from Walkerton are shorter than in the middle of Canadian towns
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 20.7 minutes. In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 45%, more than the 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.
The commute in and out of Walkerton balances out
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
55% of Walkerton’s residents in work leave it to work; Hanover takes the most
- Mildmay450
- Hanover285
- Durham280
- Chesley115
- Kincardine105
- Chatsworth70
- Huron-Kinloss65
- Port Elgin50
- Palmerston35
- Howick25
- Hanover660
- Kincardine440
- Chesley125
- Mildmay90
- Palmerston55
- Dundalk45
- Wingham40
- Durham40
- Port Elgin30
- Owen Sound30
Coming the other way, Mildmay sends the most (450).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Household income in Walkerton
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 62% of Canadian towns.
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 or more in the Bruce census division, 4 have a higher median. Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Walkerton sits 9% below. Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up 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).
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 3.5% of Walkerton’s commuters
The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters. Only 18% worked at home on census day, against 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).
21% more people are on EI in the Bruce census division than in 2019
February 2021 was the busiest month, with 3,510 people on EI, 2.4 times 2019’s average. That works out to around 4.1 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 3%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Bruce 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 Walkerton on foot earns C+
Better than 40% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #734 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Walkerton is 142nd of 649 Canadian towns of 7,600 to 14,600
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Glebe-Dows Lake Ontario | 13,436 | 80% | 9.4% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Wellesley Ontario | 12,413 | 84% | 3.9% | $119K | A+ |
| 14 | Perth East Ontario | 13,423 | 86% | 3.9% | $96K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 140 | Lloydminster (Part) Saskatchewan | 13,137 | 72% | 13% | $87K | A− |
| 141 | Centrepointe - Briargreen Ontario | 9,259 | 73% | 12% | $122K | A− |
| 142 | Brockton Ontario | 10,811 | 79% | 6.4% | $83K | A− |
| 143 | Cardinal Creek Ontario | 11,676 | 78% | 8.6% | $137K | A− |
| 144 | Pont-Rouge Quebec | 11,339 | 82% | 3.9% | $87K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 649 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Walkerton, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Neighbouring places to Walkerton, compared
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walkerton | 79% | 6.4% | $83K | 23 min | A− | C+ |
| Mildmay 9.1 km | 82% | 6.1% | $88K | 26.3 min | A− | C+ |
| Hanover 9.6 km | 73% | 9.5% | $69K | 21.4 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 Walkerton, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless 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. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- 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.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Walkerton as part of Brockton, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Walkerton
What is the unemployment rate in Walkerton?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula economic region at 3.8%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 6.4%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Walkerton?
At $83,000 before tax in 2020, the median household in Walkerton compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Walkerton get to work?
Driving takes 95% of commuters to work, 3.5% walk, and on census day 18% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Walkerton?
About 23 minutes on average, with 45% under a quarter-hour and 5.5% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Walkerton work?
Only 45% work in Walkerton itself; the rest go first to Hanover (660) and Kincardine (440).
How many jobs are there in Walkerton?
Some 2,995 people worked in Walkerton at the 2021 census: 1 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 398 businesses with employees in June 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).