What share of adults in Kitchener work?

66.8% of people aged 15 and over in Kitchener were in the labour force in May 2021 and 59.4% were employed, a participation rate joint 14th highest of 69 Canadian cities and metropolitan areas on this site (Canada: 63.7% and 57.1%).

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

The median total income of households in Kitchener was C$87,000 in 2020, as reported in the 2021 Census, 30th highest of 69 Canadian cities and metropolitan areas on this site; the median for Canada was C$84,000.

Median household income (2020)

C$87,000

2020

Unemployment rate (Census, May 2021)

11.0%

2021

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

After income taxes, the median household in Kitchener had C$76,500 in 2020 (joint 29th 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 Kitchener?

People in Kitchener who worked full-year, full-time in 2020 had median employment income of C$62,000, joint 28th 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 Kitchener at the 2021 Census?

At the 2021 Census, taken in May 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate in Kitchener was 11.0%, 31st highest of 69 Canadian cities and metropolitan areas on this site, above the national 10.3%; 15,375 people aged 15 and over were looking for work.

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

What industries do people in Kitchener work in?

In 2021, 10.7% of the labour force in Kitchener worked in health care and social assistance, 10.2% in retail trade, 16.1% in manufacturing and 9.1% 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 Kitchener get to work?

Of employed residents of Kitchener commuting to a usual or no fixed workplace in May 2021, 88.5% went by car, truck or van, 5.7% by public transit and 3.2% on foot; 27.3% 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 Kitchener 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 Kitchener, 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 Kitchener?

Owners in Kitchener valued their homes at a median C$680,000 in 2021, 31st highest of 69 Canadian cities and metropolitan areas on this site (Canada: C$472,000); median monthly shelter costs for owned dwellings were C$1,550 and 65.0% of owner households had a mortgage.

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

How much is rent in Kitchener?

Renter households in Kitchener paid median monthly shelter costs of C$1,300 in 2021, joint 25th highest of 69 Canadian cities and metropolitan areas on this site (Canada: C$1,070); 40.3% of households rented their home (Canada: 33.1%).

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

How Kitchener compares with other cities in Canada

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

Kitchener ranks 30 of 69, highest first.

Rank	City	Median total household income, 2020 (2021 Census)
27	Abbotsford	C$90,000
28	Regina	C$88,000
29	Kamloops	C$88,000
30	Kitchener	C$87,000
31	Hamilton	C$86,000
32	Oshawa	C$86,000
33	Laval	C$85,000

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

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

Kitchener ranks 41 of 69, highest first.

Rank	City	Median employment income of full-year, full-time workers, 2020 (2021 Census)
38	Lévis V	C$62,400
39	Lethbridge	C$62,400
40	Victoria	C$62,400
41	Kitchener	C$62,000
42	Terrebonne	C$62,000
43	Richmond	C$61,600
44	Kelowna	C$60,800

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

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

Kitchener ranks 31 of 69, highest first.

Rank	City	Unemployment rate, census reference week of May 2021
28	Halifax	11.4%
29	Milton	11.4%
30	Thunder Bay	11.2%
31	Kitchener	11.0%
32	Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo	10.9%
33	Saint John	10.9%
34	Richmond	10.8%

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

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

Kitchener ranks 15 of 69, highest first.

Rank	City	Labour force participation rate, May 2021 (2021 Census)
12	Red Deer	67.0%
13	Ajax	66.9%
14	Brampton	66.8%
15	Kitchener	66.8%
16	Langley	66.7%
17	Gatineau	66.6%
18	Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo	66.4%

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

Median value of owned dwellings, 2021 Census (2021)

Kitchener ranks 31 of 69, highest first.

Rank	City	Median value of owned dwellings, 2021 Census
28	Guelph	C$700,000
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

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

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

Kitchener ranks 27 of 69, highest first.

Rank	City	Median monthly shelter costs for rented dwellings, 2021 Census
24	Guelph	C$1,350
25	Surrey	C$1,300
26	Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo	C$1,300
27	Kitchener	C$1,300
28	Oshawa	C$1,300
29	Victoria	C$1,300
30	Edmonton	C$1,250

Source: Statistics Canada · saved copy

More on Kitchener: 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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