Photo: Larry from Charlottetown, PEI, Canada · CC BY 2.0With 0.4 jobs for each resident in work, most of Stratford commutes out
Commutes from Stratford average 19.5 minutes, and 3% take an hour or more. The median household in Stratford had $91,200 before tax in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. Of Stratford’s residents aged 15 to 64, 79% were employed when the 2021 census was taken, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Work in Stratford, in a few figures
More people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 79% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 62% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 19.5 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 3% 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, Stratford grades A+
Better than 95% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #1 of 12 on Prince Edward Island.
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.
79% of working-age people in Stratford have jobs
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Queens census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 62% were working. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 68%. 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.
The length of the trip to work in Stratford
A quarter-hour or less for 44% of commuters, against 40% in the middle of Prince Edward Island’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 17.3 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Prince Edward Island’s towns averages 23.3 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.
More workers leave Stratford each day than arrive
It sends out some 3 workers for every one it takes in. Of those who commute, 16% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
84% of Stratford’s residents in work leave it to work; Charlottetown takes the most
- Charlottetown400
- Crossroads90
- Vernon River75
- New Glasgow60
- East River, Part 155
- Cornwall55
- Three Rivers30
- Johnstons River20
- North Shore20
- West River20
Coming the other way, Charlottetown sends the most (400).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How Stratford’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 77% of Canadian towns.
Set beside Prince Edward Island’s towns, where the median is $82,000, Stratford sits 11% above. 2 of the 7 other places of 2,500+ in the Queens census division have a higher median. Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Leaving the car at home: 2.4% of commuters in Stratford
Nearly everyone drives: 96% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Only 19% worked at home on census day, against 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
March 2021 was the busiest month, with 7,760 people on EI, 2.1 times 2019’s average. Roughly 5.4 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw 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). Stratford doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Queens census division.
Everyday places on foot in Stratford: C
Better than 31% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #4 of 12 on Prince Edward Island.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Stratford ranks: 26th of 605 Canadian towns of 9,200 to 17,800
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Walsh Acres/Lakeridge/Garden Ridge Saskatchewan | 9,325 | 80% | 6.7% | $127K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Terrace British Columbia | 13,648 | 77% | 6.5% | $91K | A+ |
| 25 | Notre-Dame-des-Laurentides Quebec | 16,222 | 85% | 5.9% | $97K | A+ |
| 26 | Stratford Prince Edward Island | 13,152 | 79% | 8% | $91K | A+ |
| 27 | Prince Rupert British Columbia | 12,903 | 75% | 9.5% | $96K | A+ |
| 28 | Willowgrove Saskatchewan | 9,787 | 77% | 7% | $128K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 533 | Three Rivers Prince Edward Island | 9,322 | 68% | 12% | $64K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 605 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Stratford, and others among Prince Edward Island’s towns.
Work in the places around Stratford
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stratford | 79% | 8% | $91K | 19.5 min | A+ | C |
| Charlottetown 5.8 km | 75% | 9.7% | $66K | 15.6 min | B | A |
| Crossroads 5.9 km | 82% | 7.8% | $98K | 23.4 min | A | D |
| Cornwall 8.3 km | 80% | 7.8% | $86K | 19.7 min | A | C |
| North Shore 12.7 km | 80% | 6.5% | $97K | 22 min | A | D− |
| Miltonvale Park 15.1 km | 72% | 11% | $81K | 20.4 min | B | D− |
| West River 15.2 km | 82% | 7.3% | $94K | 26.3 min | A− | C− |
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 Stratford, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- 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. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
Questions about work in Stratford
What is the average household income in Stratford?
At $91,200 before tax in 2020, the median household in Stratford compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Stratford get to work?
96% of commuters drive, 1% take public transit, 1.1% walk and 0.3% cycle; 19% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Stratford?
The average commute is 19.5 minutes; 44% of trips take under 15 minutes and 3% an hour or more.
Where do people in Stratford work?
Only 16% work in Stratford itself; the rest go first to Charlottetown (2,615) and Three Rivers (120).
How many jobs are there in Stratford?
The 2021 census found about 1,555 people with their usual workplace in Stratford, or 0.4 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 351 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Stratford?
On census day in May 2021 unemployment stood at 8%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%.
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).