Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Wiarton are lower than in 62% of Canadian towns
Unemployment in Wiarton stood at 9.3% on census day 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Workers in Wiarton spend 28.3 minutes on the way to work on average, and 8.1% need an hour or more. At the 2021 census, Wiarton sat at the middle of Canadian towns on work: 73% of 15-to-64s had a job.
Where Wiarton stands out on work
Work near the middle
With 73% 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 ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $71,700 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Wiarton earns C− for jobs and income
Better than 22% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #636 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.
$71,700 a year: the median household in Wiarton
Set beside Ontario’s towns, where the median is $91,600, Wiarton sits 22% below. 6 of the 7 other places of 2,500+ in the Bruce census division have a higher median. Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
More of Wiarton’s workers leave each day than arrive
It sends out some 2 workers for every one it takes in. Of those who commute, 45% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
55% of Wiarton’s residents in work leave it to work; Owen Sound takes the most
- Georgian Bluffs290
- Owen Sound120
- Northern Bruce Peninsula115
- Chesley90
- Port Elgin35
- Chatsworth15
- Saugeen 2910
- Grey Highlands10
- Meaford10
In the other direction the biggest source is Georgian Bluffs, with 290.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
In and out of work in Wiarton
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Bruce census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 52% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 47% were working. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 54% in October 2026. 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.
Leaving the car at home: 5.8% of commuters in Wiarton
Nearly everyone drives: 93% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Home was the workplace for 18%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 0.5% of commuters, against 3.5% 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).
Time on the road to work from Wiarton
Within a quarter-hour: 30% of commuters, much as in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 26.1 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.
21% more people are on EI in the Bruce census division than in 2019
At its peak, in February 2021, 3,510 people were on EI, 2.4 times the 2019 average. Roughly 4.1 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 3%.
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). Figures for EI beneficiaries are published for the Bruce census division as a whole, not for Wiarton alone.
How walkable Wiarton is: B
Better than 58% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #632 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Ranked on jobs and income, Wiarton is 538th among 644 Canadian towns of 6,900 to 13,200
| # | 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 River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Wellesley Ontario | 12,413 | 84% | 3.9% | $119K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Alta Vista Ontario | 8,387 | 78% | 8.3% | $138K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | West Perth Ontario | 10,080 | 88% | 5% | $92K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 536 | Arnprior Ontario | 11,459 | 72% | 9.4% | $76K | C− |
| 537 | Tay Ontario | 11,968 | 69% | 11% | $82K | C− |
| 538 | South Bruce Peninsula Ontario | 9,799 | 73% | 9.3% | $72K | C− |
| 539 | Saint-Roch Quebec | 8,381 | 72% | 8.4% | $48K | C− |
| 540 | Port Credit Ontario | 7,606 | 71% | 14% | $77K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 644 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Wiarton, and others among Ontario’s towns.
Around Wiarton: jobs, pay and the commute
Distances here run 16–27 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Wiarton.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiarton | 73% | 9.3% | $72K | 28.3 min | C− | B |
| Georgian Bluffs 16.2 km | 76% | 8.7% | $95K | 24.9 min | B+ | C− |
| Owen Sound 22.7 km | 69% | 11% | $63K | 19 min | C | A |
| Port Elgin 26.9 km | 73% | 8% | $103K | 22.5 min | A− | 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 Wiarton, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- 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. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- 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 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- 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 Wiarton as part of South Bruce Peninsula, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Wiarton
Where do people in Wiarton work?
Only 45% work in Wiarton itself; the rest go first to Owen Sound (415) and Georgian Bluffs (290).
How many jobs are there in Wiarton?
The 2021 census counted about 1,775 people working in Wiarton: 0.8 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 341 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Wiarton?
The 2021 census found 9.3% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula economic region, is 3.8% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Wiarton?
The census puts Wiarton at $71,700 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Wiarton get to work?
By car: 93% of commuters, 0.5% take public transit, 5% walk and 0.3% cycle; on census day 18% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Wiarton?
28.3 minutes is the average trip, with 30% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 8.1% taking 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).