Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domainWorking-age people in Welland are less likely to have a job than in 85% of Canadian towns
Unemployment in Welland stood at 15% on census day 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. The census counted 11,565 people working in Welland and 15,310 residents commuting to a fixed workplace. In 2020, a household at the middle of Welland had $71,900 before tax, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns.
What the numbers say about work in Welland
Fewer people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 65% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 48% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
15% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 7.1% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household had $71,900 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
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 Welland: C−
Better than 20% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #647 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.
How many in Welland have a job: 65% of 15-to-64s
Of the 11 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Niagara census division, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
57% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Counting retirees, 48% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 55% 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.
Earnings at home in Welland: households
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 61% of Canadian towns.
10 of the 11 other places of 2,500+ in the Niagara census division have a higher median. Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Welland sits 22% below. Pandemic benefits paid in 2020 lifted the incomes at the bottom, and they are counted here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
More go out than come in: the working day in Welland
For every person who comes in to work, about 2 residents travel out. 43% 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.
57% of Welland’s residents in work leave it to work; St. Catharines takes the most
- St. Catharines945
- Niagara Falls855
- Port Colborne755
- Pelham740
- Fort Erie440
- Thorold420
- Wainfleet245
- Caledonia140
- Hamilton90
- Smithville70
- St. Catharines2,440
- Niagara Falls1,435
- Pelham700
- Port Colborne685
- Hamilton635
- Thorold590
- Niagara-on-the-Lake380
- Fort Erie350
- Beamsville335
- Caledonia200
In the other direction the biggest source is St. Catharines, with 945.
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 Welland work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Without a car, 5.6% of Welland’s commuters get to work
Few ride transit: 1.6%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 92% of commuters. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 17% against 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.
At 24.5 minutes, commutes from Welland are close to the middle of Canadian towns
Trips under 15 minutes: 35%, more than the 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Ontario’s towns: 5.9% take an hour or more, against 7.9%. Timed exactly, the average is 22.4 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes.
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.
EI claims in the Niagara census division run 37% above their 2019 level
In February 2021 it reached 35,740, the most in the series and 4.3 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.3 are on EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 1%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Niagara 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).
Welland grades A− for walkability
Better than 78% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #516 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Welland is 52nd of 58 Canadian towns of 46,500 to 89,700 people for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Langford British Columbia | 59,664 | 81% | 6.2% | $93K | A |
| 2 | St. Albert Alberta | 74,621 | 77% | 9.1% | $118K | A |
| 3 | Grande Prairie Alberta | 71,160 | 73% | 12% | $103K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Halton Hills Ontario | 68,265 | 76% | 9.7% | $127K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Woodstock Ontario | 55,572 | 72% | 12% | $82K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 26 | Sarnia Ontario | 80,539 | 66% | 13% | $78K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 50 | Cornwall Ontario | 54,346 | 63% | 12% | $60K | C− |
| 51 | Shawinigan Quebec | 51,739 | 71% | 7.5% | $54K | C− |
| 52 | Welland Ontario | 66,480 | 65% | 15% | $72K | C− |
| 53 | Saint-Jérôme Quebec | 85,160 | 75% | 7.1% | $63K | C− |
| 54 | Kawartha Lakes Ontario | 85,351 | 70% | 11% | $82K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 58 | Sault-Saint-Louis Quebec | 47,270 | 73% | 10% | $66K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Welland, and others among Ontario’s towns.
The places around Welland, side by side
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welland | 65% | 15% | $72K | 24.5 min | C− | A− |
| Pelham 6.6 km | 76% | 8.6% | $110K | 25 min | A− | C+ |
| Port Colborne 11.3 km | 66% | 13% | $70K | 25.4 min | C− | B |
| Thorold 13.2 km | 64% | 15% | $83K | 25.6 min | C | B |
| Wainfleet 14.3 km | 74% | 9.2% | $96K | 29.9 min | B− | D |
| Niagara Falls 16.7 km | 60% | 23% | $75K | 22 min | C | B+ |
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 Welland, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Trip times. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. 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. 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. 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. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Welland
Where do people in Welland work?
43% work in Welland itself. Of those who leave, the most go to St. Catharines (2,440), then Niagara Falls (1,435).
How many jobs are there in Welland?
The 2021 census found about 11,565 people with their usual workplace in Welland, or 0.8 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 1,256 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Welland?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the St. Catharines-Niagara metro area at 7.1%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 15%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Welland?
The census puts Welland at $71,900 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Welland get to work?
92% of commuters drive, 1.6% take public transit, 3.3% walk and 0.7% cycle; 17% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Welland?
The average commute is 24.5 minutes; 35% of trips take under 15 minutes and 5.9% an hour or more.
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).