Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Most of Cornwall works elsewhere: the town has 0.3 jobs for each resident in work
80% of people aged 15 to 64 in Cornwall had a job at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. In 2020, a household at the middle of Cornwall had $85,700 before tax, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. When the 2021 census was taken, 7.8% of people in Cornwall who wanted a job had none, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
The work numbers behind Cornwall
More people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 80% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 64% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 19.7 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 2.4% last an hour or longer. 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Cornwall: A
Better than 93% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #4 of 12 on Prince Edward Island.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, household income.
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 Cornwall were working in 2021
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Queens census division, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Working or looking, 69% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 64% were working. 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.
Shorter than the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Cornwall average 19.7 minutes
An hour or more: 2.4% of commuters, close to the middle of Prince Edward Island’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 16.8 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Prince Edward Island’s towns averages 23.3 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 39%, close to the middle of Prince Edward Island’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.
On a working day, Cornwall loses more workers than it gains
Each person commuting in is matched by about 4 residents going out. 14% 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.
86% of Cornwall’s residents in work leave it to work; Charlottetown takes the most
- Charlottetown185
- West River100
- Stratford35
- Kingston25
- Crapaud, Part 120
- North Shore20
- Warren Grove20
- New Glasgow15
- Clyde River15
- St. Peters10
- Charlottetown1,710
- Stratford55
- Summerside40
- Miltonvale Park35
- Borden-Carleton35
- Three Rivers30
- Brackley30
- New Glasgow20
- Crapaud15
- Kensington, Part 115
Of those coming in, Charlottetown supplies the most: 185.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Earnings at home in Cornwall: households
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 67% of Canadian towns.
That puts Cornwall 5% above the median of Prince Edward Island’s towns, $82,000. Of the 7 other places of 2,500 or more in the Queens census division, 3 have a higher median. 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).
Without a car, 2.4% of Cornwall’s commuters get to work
Nearly everyone drives: 94% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Home was the workplace for 15%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 1%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Queens census division run 12% above their 2019 level
Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 3%. In March 2021 it reached 7,760, the most in the series and 2.1 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 5.4 are on EI.
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). Behind EI beneficiaries sits data gathered across the Queens census division, with Cornwall one part of it.
Walking in Cornwall earns C
Better than 27% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #5 of 12 on Prince Edward Island.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 693 Canadian towns of 5,500 to 10,700, Cornwall comes 51st on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 49 | Fall River Nova Scotia | 9,214 | 78% | 8.1% | $135K | A |
| 50 | Civic Hospital Ontario | 6,091 | 74% | 9.5% | $121K | A |
| 51 | Cornwall Prince Edward Island | 7,920 | 80% | 7.8% | $86K | A |
| 52 | Rosewood Saskatchewan | 8,427 | 78% | 7.2% | $101K | A |
| 53 | Melfort Saskatchewan | 6,028 | 83% | 6.3% | $72K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 356 | New Glasgow Prince Edward Island | 5,502 | 76% | 12% | $81K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 630 | Three Rivers Prince Edward Island | 9,322 | 68% | 12% | $64K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 693 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Cornwall, and others among Prince Edward Island’s towns.
How Cornwall compares with the places nearby
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornwall | 80% | 7.8% | $86K | 19.7 min | A | C |
| Charlottetown 5.4 km | 75% | 9.7% | $66K | 15.6 min | B | A |
| Stratford 8.3 km | 79% | 8% | $91K | 19.5 min | A+ | C |
| Kingston 8.8 km | 90% | 5.8% | $107K | 24.4 min | A+ | D− |
| Miltonvale Park 9.3 km | 72% | 11% | $81K | 20.4 min | B | D− |
| West River 9.9 km | 82% | 7.3% | $94K | 26.3 min | A− | C− |
| Crossroads 13.5 km | 82% | 7.8% | $98K | 23.4 min | A | D |
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 Cornwall, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- Trip times. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s average.
- 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 Cornwall
What is the unemployment rate in Cornwall?
7.8% of the labour force was unemployed on census day in May 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Cornwall?
Before tax, half the households in Cornwall had more than $85,700 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Cornwall get to work?
94% of commuters drive, 1% take public transit and 1.4% walk; 15% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Cornwall?
The average commute is 19.7 minutes; 39% of trips take under 15 minutes and 2.4% an hour or more.
Where do people in Cornwall work?
14% work in Cornwall itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Charlottetown (1,710), then Stratford (55).
How many jobs are there in Cornwall?
The 2021 census found about 835 people with their usual workplace in Cornwall, or 0.3 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 169 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, 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).