Photo: Mario Hains · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Windsor earn less than those in 84% of Canadian towns
Windsor counted 79% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. 2,845 people have their usual place of work in Windsor, against 1,875 residents who travel to a job. Census day 2021 found 6.2% of Windsor’s labour force without a job, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
The work numbers behind Windsor
More people in work than most towns
The 2021 census found 79% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 60%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
6.2% 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 3.7% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $62,200 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
A local job centre
2,845 people work in Windsor and 1,875 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 21 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 3.2% 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, Windsor grades B−
Better than 52% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #263 of 507 in Quebec.
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.
Who in Windsor has a job
Of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Le Val-Saint-François census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 63%. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 60% of residents 15 and over were in work. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 58% in work in October 2026. 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.
Household income in Windsor: $62,200 at the median
Against the middle of Quebec’s towns ($74,100), Windsor’s median is 16% below. 3 of the 4 other places of 2,500+ in the Le Val-Saint-François census division have a higher median. 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).
On a working day Windsor gains 46% in workers
Each resident commuting out of Windsor is matched by about 2 coming in. Of those who commute, 41% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Windsor has a quicker trip to work than the middle of Canadian towns: 21 minutes
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 18.4 minutes. In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 40%, more than the 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Quebec’s towns: 3.2% take an hour or more, against 5.3%.
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.
2,071 people come into Windsor to work, most from Sherbrooke and Val-Joli
The main destination the other way is Sherbrooke, with 700.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Without a car, 7.3% of Windsor’s commuters get to work
Home was the workplace for 9.5%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. More people walk to work here than in the middle of Quebec’s towns: 6.8% against 4.2%. The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Le Val-Saint-François census division run 20% above their 2019 level
The count topped out in January 2021 at 1,560 people, 2.8 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 3.4 are on EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 15%.
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). Windsor doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Le Val-Saint-François census division.
Windsor earns A− for walkability
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 3,800 to 7,200, Windsor ranks 327th of 683 for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 2 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | Neepawa Manitoba | 6,328 | 85% | 2.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | Shannon Quebec | 7,088 | 81% | 3.7% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 25 | Saint-Antonin Quebec | 4,633 | 85% | 3.9% | $76K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 32 | Saint-Henri Quebec | 6,048 | 91% | 3.8% | $87K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 325 | Devon Alberta | 6,965 | 74% | 9.6% | $95K | B− |
| 326 | Claresholm Alberta | 4,242 | 73% | 10% | $66K | B− |
| 327 | Windsor Quebec | 5,368 | 79% | 6.2% | $62K | B− |
| 328 | Fort Macleod Alberta | 3,945 | 70% | 6.3% | $75K | B− |
| 329 | Baturyn Alberta | 4,796 | 70% | 15% | $96K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 683 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Windsor, and others among Quebec’s towns.
The places around Windsor, side by side
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windsor | 79% | 6.2% | $62K | 21 min | B− | A− |
| Val-Joli 4.3 km | 85% | 2.7% | $80K | 22.5 min | A | C |
| Saint-François-Xavier-de-Brompton 5 km | 87% | 2.2% | $79K | 23.5 min | A | C− |
| Saint-Claude 7.2 km | 77% | 6.6% | $82K | 30 min | C+ | C− |
| Melbourne 14.3 km | 76% | 3.8% | $81K | 25.9 min | B− | D |
| Saint-Denis-de-Brompton 14.6 km | 82% | 4.1% | $100K | 25.4 min | A | D |
| Richmond 14.7 km | 78% | 4.8% | $52K | 22 min | C | 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. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- Where people commute. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- 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 long is the commute from Windsor?
About 21 minutes on average, with 40% under a quarter-hour and 3.2% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Windsor work?
Only 41% work in Windsor itself; the rest go first to Sherbrooke (700) and Richmond (75).
How many jobs are there in Windsor?
Some 2,845 people worked in Windsor at the 2021 census: 1.5 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 169 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Windsor?
The census put unemployment at 6.2% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Estrie economic region at 3.7%.
What is the average household income in Windsor?
Windsor’s middle household had $62,200 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Windsor get to work?
Driving takes 91% of commuters to work, 6.8% walk and 0.5% cycle, and on census day 9.5% of those in work were at home.
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).