What share of adults in Cambridge work?

66.0% of people aged 15 and over in Cambridge were in the labour force in May 2021 and 58.4% were employed, a participation rate joint 20th highest of 69 Canadian cities and metropolitan areas on this site (Canada: 63.7% and 57.1%).

Economy, jobs and prices in Cambridge, Canada: official figures

The median total income of households in Cambridge was C$93,000 in 2020, as reported in the 2021 Census, joint 19th highest of 69 Canadian cities and metropolitan areas on this site; the median for Canada was C$84,000.

Median household income (2020)

C$93,000

2020

Unemployment rate (Census, May 2021)

11.5%

2021

What is the median after-tax household income in Cambridge?

After income taxes, the median household in Cambridge had C$82,000 in 2020 (joint 18th highest of 69 Canadian cities and metropolitan areas on this site; Canada: C$73,000).

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

What is the median salary in Cambridge?

People in Cambridge who worked full-year, full-time in 2020 had median employment income of C$62,800, joint 34th lowest of 69 Canadian cities and metropolitan areas on this site (Canada: C$63,600).

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

What was the unemployment rate in Cambridge at the 2021 Census?

At the 2021 Census, taken in May 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate in Cambridge was 11.5%, joint 26th highest of 69 Canadian cities and metropolitan areas on this site, above the national 10.3%; 8,550 people aged 15 and over were looking for work.

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

What industries do people in Cambridge work in?

In 2021, 10.0% of the labour force in Cambridge worked in health care and social assistance, 11.5% in retail trade, 18.6% in manufacturing and 6.7% in professional, scientific and technical services (Canada: 12.7%, 11.1%, 8.0% and 8.1%).

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

How do people in Cambridge get to work?

Of employed residents of Cambridge commuting to a usual or no fixed workplace in May 2021, 92.3% went by car, truck or van, 3.3% by public transit and 2.4% on foot; 21.4% of all employed residents worked at home (Canada: 7.7% by transit, 24.3% at home).

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

What is the unemployment rate in Cambridge now?

In the three months July to September 2026, the Labour Force Survey put the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo census metropolitan area, which includes Cambridge, at 7.7%, 4th highest of 41 metropolitan areas in the survey, against 7.3% a year earlier and 6.5% for Canada; 64.8% of people aged 15 and over were employed.

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

How much is a house worth in Cambridge?

Owners in Cambridge valued their homes at a median C$650,000 in 2021, 32nd highest of 69 Canadian cities and metropolitan areas on this site (Canada: C$472,000); median monthly shelter costs for owned dwellings were C$1,620 and 67.3% of owner households had a mortgage.

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

How much is rent in Cambridge?

Renter households in Cambridge paid median monthly shelter costs of C$1,220 in 2021, 34th highest of 69 Canadian cities and metropolitan areas on this site (Canada: C$1,070); 31.1% of households rented their home (Canada: 33.1%).

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

How Cambridge compares with other cities in Canada

Median total household income, 2020 (2021 Census) (2020)

Cambridge ranks 20 of 69, highest first.

Rank	City	Median total household income, 2020 (2021 Census)
17	Terrebonne	C$95,000
18	Waterloo	C$94,000
19	Barrie	C$93,000
20	Cambridge	C$93,000
21	Guelph	C$93,000
22	Saanich	C$93,000
23	Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo	C$92,000

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

Median employment income of full-year, full-time workers, 2020 (2021 Census) (2020)

Cambridge ranks 36 of 69, highest first.

Rank	City	Median employment income of full-year, full-time workers, 2020 (2021 Census)
33	Barrie	C$63,200
34	Red Deer	C$63,200
35	Oshawa	C$62,800
36	Cambridge	C$62,800
37	Halifax	C$62,400
38	Lévis V	C$62,400
39	Lethbridge	C$62,400

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

Unemployment rate, census reference week of May 2021 (2021)

Cambridge ranks 26 of 69, highest first.

Rank	City	Unemployment rate, census reference week of May 2021
23	Waterloo	12.0%
24	Belleville	11.9%
25	Oakville	11.7%
26	Cambridge	11.5%
27	St. John's	11.5%
28	Halifax	11.4%
29	Milton	11.4%

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

Labour force participation rate, May 2021 (2021 Census) (2021)

Cambridge ranks 22 of 69, highest first.

Rank	City	Labour force participation rate, May 2021 (2021 Census)
19	Barrie	66.4%
20	Montréal	66.0%
21	Ottawa - Gatineau	66.0%
22	Cambridge	66.0%
23	Ottawa	65.9%
24	Vaughan	65.9%
25	Surrey	65.8%

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

Median value of owned dwellings, 2021 Census (2021)

Cambridge ranks 32 of 69, highest first.

Rank	City	Median value of owned dwellings, 2021 Census
29	Oshawa	C$695,000
30	Barrie	C$695,000
31	Kitchener	C$680,000
32	Cambridge	C$650,000
33	Ottawa	C$624,000
34	Nanaimo	C$600,000
35	St. Catharines-Niagara	C$552,000

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

Median monthly shelter costs for rented dwellings, 2021 Census (2021)

Cambridge ranks 34 of 69, highest first.

Rank	City	Median monthly shelter costs for rented dwellings, 2021 Census
31	Kingston	C$1,250
32	Nanaimo	C$1,250
33	Ottawa - Gatineau	C$1,230
34	Cambridge	C$1,220
35	Abbotsford	C$1,190
36	Abbotsford-Mission	C$1,180
37	Kamloops	C$1,180

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

More on Cambridge: overview · education and schools · poverty and living standards · all cities in Canada

Sources

Statistics Canada: Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population (98-316-X2021001): census subdivisions, selected characteristics (Census Profile SDMX API extract, dataflow DF_CSD, gender total, counts and rates), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 46d086943a5e…)
Statistics Canada: Table 14-10-0459-01: Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area, three-month moving average, seasonally adjusted (Web Data Service extract: unemployment and employment rates, latest 13 months; request saved as lfs-14100459-cma.request.json, geography names in lfs-14100459-metadata.json), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 5f4399c9fdfa…)

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