Photo: TheWxResearcher · CC0A smaller share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Windsor than in 97% of Canadian towns
Before tax, the typical household in Windsor brought in $70,200 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. For 2.5% of commuters in Windsor, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 20.3 minutes. Windsor had an unemployment rate of 19% at the 2021 census, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Where Windsor stands out on work
Fewer people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 58% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 46%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 7.5% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 19%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $70,200 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
More jobs than the typical town
65,680 people work in Windsor and 58,660 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 20.3 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 2.5% 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.
How Windsor will be graded on jobs and income
Against Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more, the grade will weigh four census measures: the 15-to-64 employment share, median household income, the unemployment rate and the average commute.
58% of working-age people in Windsor have jobs
Of the 23 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Essex census division, 9 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
In October 2026, 59% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 56% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Counting retirees, 46% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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.
What households in Windsor earn
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 78% of Canadian towns.
17 of the 23 other places of 2,500+ in the Essex census division have a higher median. That puts Windsor 23% below the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. 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 a working day Windsor gains 10% in workers
Of those who commute, 73% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Time on the road to work from Windsor
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 18 minutes. In the middle of Ontario’s towns, the average commute is 28.6 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 40%, 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.
22,917 people come into Windsor to work, most from LaSalle and Lakeshore
- LaSalle5,755
- Lakeshore5,190
- Tecumseh3,745
- Amherstburg3,075
- Essex2,170
- Kingsville1,295
- Chatham615
- Leamington515
- Toronto70
- Sarnia45
- Tecumseh5,335
- Lakeshore4,120
- LaSalle1,640
- Leamington1,255
- Kingsville920
- Amherstburg765
- Essex730
- Chatham350
- Toronto160
- London70
Of everyone working in Windsor, 35% come in from elsewhere; 5,755 make the 9 km trip from LaSalle. Of residents who leave for work, most head to Tecumseh (5,335).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
From $37K to $116K: household incomes within Windsor
Median household income in each of Windsor’s 16 neighbourhoods: the highest is 3.1 times the lowest. The share of 15-to-64s in work runs from 45% in City Centre to 67% in South Walkerville.
| Neighbourhood | People | Household income | In work, 15–64 | Average trip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside | 21,828 | $73,700 | 64% | 19.9 min |
| Forest Glade | 21,328 | $75,500 | 56% | 19.2 min |
| East Windsor | 20,876 | $64,100 | 57% | 19.6 min |
| Roseland | 20,587 | $115,500 | 62% | 18.4 min |
| Walkerville | 19,541 | $59,900 | 54% | 20.4 min |
| South Windsor | 15,896 | $106,000 | 65% | 15.9 min |
| East Riverside | 15,758 | $96,400 | 64% | 20.8 min |
| Sandwich | 14,110 | $57,100 | 54% | 22 min |
| River West | 13,940 | $50,500 | 54% | 25.2 min |
| South Cameron | 11,804 | $93,300 | 53% | 19.1 min |
| Fontainebleau | 11,567 | $70,400 | 58% | 18.1 min |
| South Central | 10,392 | $53,500 | 54% | 19.6 min |
| City Centre | 10,269 | $37,400 | 45% | 20.3 min |
| Devonshire | 9,852 | $88,800 | 60% | 18.3 min |
| South Walkerville | 6,129 | $86,100 | 67% | 16.5 min |
| Remington Park | 5,783 | $76,000 | 55% | 15 min |
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: each neighbourhood summed from its dissemination areas; incomes are 2020’s.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 7.4% of Windsor’s commuters
The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 17% against 21%. Transit takes 3.5% of commuters, close to 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).
EI claims in the Essex census division run 37% above their 2019 level
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.5 receive EI. In April 2021 it reached 30,890, the most in the series and 4.1 times the 2019 average.
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 Windsor alone, so this card uses the figure for the Essex census division.
Work next door to Windsor
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windsor | 58% | 19% | $70K | 20.3 min | — | — |
| South Walkerville 0.6 km | 67% | 18% | $86K | 16.5 min | B | A− |
| Remington Park 1.3 km | 55% | 22% | $76K | 15 min | C+ | B− |
| Fontainebleau 2.6 km | 58% | 21% | $70K | 18.1 min | C | B |
| Walkerville 2.7 km | 54% | 20% | $60K | 20.4 min | D | A |
| East Windsor 2.7 km | 57% | 21% | $64K | 19.6 min | C− | B+ |
| South Central 3 km | 54% | 20% | $54K | 19.6 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 Windsor, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed average.
- 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. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not 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.
- 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 Windsor
How many jobs are there in Windsor?
Some 65,680 people worked in Windsor at the 2021 census: 1.1 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 6,293 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Windsor?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 19% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Windsor metro area at 7.5% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Windsor?
Before tax, half the households in Windsor had more than $70,200 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Windsor get to work?
Driving takes 91% of commuters to work, 3.5% take public transit, 3.1% walk and 0.8% cycle, and on census day 17% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Windsor?
About 20.3 minutes on average, with 40% under a quarter-hour and 2.5% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Windsor work?
73% work in Windsor itself; of those who leave, the most go to Tecumseh (5,335), then Lakeshore (4,120).
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). 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).