ExecutivePulse
Official Canadian Data

Windsor-Sarnia, Ontario

Economic region · Population 745,975
15 Sources Updated July 13, 2026
745,975
Population
$80,459
Median Income (CAD)
$84,000 national
7.7%
Unemployment
$1,197B
Provincial GDP (CAD)
354,400
Total Employment
27%
Bachelor's+
25% national

Demographics & Population

Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population

Household Income

Source: Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population
Median Household Income
$80,459
Poverty Rate (LIM-AT)
12.7%
Low Income Measure, after tax · Ontario 2024 · Canada: 12.5%
Median Income Comparison (CAD)
Windsor-Sarnia$80,459
National$84,000

Community Snapshot

Source: Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population
745,975
Population
281,689
Total Dwellings
Total Employment
354,400
Unemployment Rate StatCan LFS 2024 annual
7.7% +1.4 pts YoY
Industry Sectors
10
Age Distribution
0-14: 14.7% (109,718 residents) 15-54: 51.3% (383,057 residents) 55-64 (near retirement): 12.8% (95,373 residents) 65+: 21.2% (157,827 residents) 40.7 Avg Age
0-14: 109,718
15-54: 383,057
55-64: 95,373
65+: 157,827
Visible Minority Composition
Arab 4.1%
South Asian 3.7%
Black 3.2%
Chinese 1.5%
Latin American 1.2%
Southeast Asian 0.9%
Not a visible minority(complement) 82.6%
"Visible minority" is a Statistics Canada classification defined by the Employment Equity Act and refers to "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." "Not a visible minority" is the complement to the total visible minority population. Top 6 groups shown; smaller groups are included in totals but not charted.
Indigenous Identity
3.5% identify as Indigenous
First Nations 1.9%
Métis 1.4%
Indigenous responses, n.i.e. 0.1%
Multiple Indigenous responses 0.1%
Indigenous identity per Statistics Canada Census 2021 (Table 98-10-0293): First Nations (North American Indian), Métis, and Inuk (Inuit), plus multiple and other Indigenous responses. Counts use census random rounding, so categories may not sum exactly to the total.
Windsor-Sarnia's median household income sits 4% below the Canadian national median across 745,975 residents with a senior-skewed age structure (65+: 21.2%, 0-14: 14.7%).
Source: Statistics Canada 2021 Census of Population via CensusMapper.ca
Key Takeaways
  • Income near the national median: Median household income tracks the Canadian median, indicating a broad-based consumer market.
  • Aging population: Seniors (65+) outnumber youth (0-14); succession and senior-services demand.

Educational Attainment

Source: Statistics Canada · Table 37-10-0130 · Ontario province-wide (ages 25-64)
94%
High School+
Canada: 93%
+1.0 pts
27%
Bachelor's+
Canada: 25%
+2.0 pts
16%
Graduate+
Canada: 14%
+2.0 pts

Economy & Industry

Statistics Canada · Labour Force Survey · Provincial GDP

$1,197B
Provincial Gross Domestic Product (CAD)
Source: Statistics Canada · Provincial Economic Accounts
354,400
Total Employment
$80,459
Median Income
354,400
Total Employment
Source: StatCan Labour Force Survey
$80,459
Median Income (CAD)
Source: Statistics Canada · 2021 Census

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Statistics Canada · Labour Force Survey
Top industries by employment in Windsor-Sarnia.
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top Sectors
1Manufacturing
64,000 20.9%
2Health care and social assistance
50,200 16.4%
3Wholesale and retail trade
48,700 15.9%
4Construction
26,800 8.7%
5Educational services
26,500 8.6%
6Accommodation and food services
23,200 7.6%
7Professional, scientific and technical services
21,200 6.9%
8Transportation and warehousing
16,400 5.3%
9Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing
16,200 5.3%
10Public administration
13,500 4.4%
Seeing a change here?

EP customers get year-over-year deltas, WARN-equivalent layoff alerts, and federal/provincial filings for every sector tracked above, surfaced as proactive alerts, not after-the-fact news.

Get Deeper Trends
Track industry shifts with AI

ExecutivePulse monitors labour market changes, investment announcements, and industry trends for your top employers.

Learn More
Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 64,000 workers (20.9% of the tracked sectors).
  • Diversified base: Top 5 sectors are Manufacturing, Health care and social assistance, Wholesale and retail trade, Construction, and Educational services.
Source: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey.

Windsor-Sarnia's Top Sectors by Workforce Share

Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of the top sectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey · NAICS supersectors

Housing & Rental Market

Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0133 (Rents) - Table 34-10-0127 (Vacancy) - Reference year 2025

Note: figures are single-year vintages. StatCan and CMHC do not publish ACS-style rolling 5-year housing averages, the long-form Census of Population every 5 years (2016, 2021) plays the equivalent precision role.

CMHC Average Rents by Bedroom

21.5%
Annual Rent (2BR) as % of Median Household Income - Affordable
30% threshold = "cost-burdened" (CMHC / HUD convention). Computed from $1,439 average 2BR rent × 12 / $80,459 household income.
Bachelor
$1,036/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,210/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,439/mo
3+ Bedroom
$1,412/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,011/mo), rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Note: CMHC Rental Market Survey figures cover the metropolitan area (CMA/CA) within this economic region, not the full region. CMHC surveys urban centres only.

Vacancy & Housing Stock

Source: Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0127 · CMHC Rental Market Survey
3.6%
CMHC Vacancy Rate (apartment structures of 6+ units)
Near the 3% balanced-market benchmark.
Total Dwellings
281,689
Avg 2BR Rent
$1,439/mo
Vacancy Rate
3.6%
Key Takeaways
  • Affordable rental market: Annual 2BR rent eats 21.5% of median household income, well below the 30% cost-burdened threshold; supports talent attraction.
Source: CMHC RMS rent data and StatCan median household income.

Industry Concentration

Location Quotient: industries where Windsor-Sarnia over- or under-indexes vs. the Canadian national average

Economic-region employment basis: NAICS supersector Location Quotients from Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey (Table 14-10-0466), computed vs. the national employment share. The spider chart plots 9 broad supersectors for cross-region comparability; the ranked list shows every concentrated sector, including resource industries not among the chart's fixed axes.

Concentrated Industries
Source: Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0466 · NAICS supersector employment (Labour Force Survey), LQ computed vs. the national employment share.
Manufacturing
4.98x
64,000

Attraction Opportunities - Below Average Industries

LQ < 0.5, below-average representation vs. national. Source: Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0466 (NAICS supersector employment)
0.4x
Public administration
13,500 employed
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Manufacturing concentrates at 4.98x the national norm, signature-sector territory.
  • Attraction whitespace: 1 sector registers LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment.
Source: StatCan Labour Force Survey (Table 14-10-0466), NAICS supersector employment.

Workforce & Labour

Labour force composition from Statistics Canada population estimates and employment data

Source: StatCan Table 17-10-0137
478,430
Working Age (15-64)
Employment rate: 74% of working-age population (15-64) 74% Employment Rate

Labour Summary

Source: StatCan LFS + Population Estimates
Total Employment
354,400
Working Age Pop
478,430
Youth (0-14)
109,718
Seniors (65+)
157,827

Dependency & Aging

Source: StatCan population estimates
21%
Seniors (65+) Share
Senior population exceeds youth, aging workforce risk. Succession planning and talent attraction recommended.
Youth / Senior Ratio
70:100

Aging Workforce

Source: StatCan 17-10-0150 · Population estimates by economic region, age
19.9%
55-64 of working-age (15-64)

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0416 NOC 2021 broad categories (2025 - province-level)
Management / Professional
59.9%
Sales & Service
21%
Trades / Transport
13.4%
Natural Resources
1.1%
Manufacturing
4.5%
Bars scaled 2x for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 8,227,000 employed workers across Ontario. Economic Region-level occupation data is not published by StatCan; this provincial breakdown is the closest available proxy.

Commute

Source: StatCan 2021 Census Table 98-10-0457
Mean Commute 4.7 min below national avg
19.0 min

Work From Home

Source: StatCan 2021 Census Table 98-10-0455
Worked At Home vs 24.3% national
16.4%
Census 2021 long-form: percent of employed labour force aged 15+ whose place of work is "at home".

Local Institutions

Source: Statistics Canada · Table 37-10-0277 · Postsecondary Enrolments
Named post-secondary institutions
Total students enrolled in the 2023/2024 academic year (StatCan Table 37-10-0277).
University of Windsor · Windsor 17,994students
Enrolment figures from Statistics Canada Table 37-10-0277 (2023/2024 academic year). Coverage limited to institutions in the ExecutivePulse crosswalk; smaller community colleges may not be listed.
Key Takeaways
  • Working-age base: 478,430 residents aged 15-64 (64.1% of population) form the labour pool.
  • Employment rate: 74% of working-age residents are employed (354,400 workers).
  • Succession risk: Seniors (65+) outnumber youth (0-14); plan for retirements alongside attraction strategy.
Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 + Labour Force Survey.

AI Insights

AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 15 Canadian data sources

Sample AI Insight

Windsor-Sarnia's industrial base is anchored by Manufacturing with 64,000 workers, followed by Health care and social assistance and Wholesale and retail trade. The region skews older: seniors outnumber youth, which has implications for succession planning and workforce transition strategy.

Illustrative example

Take it further

AI Insights: Built into ExecutivePulse. Continuous analysis tied to your own pipeline: industry-shift signals, prospect matches, retention prompts.

Managed Services: Prefer to hand it off? Our team delivers the analysis and consulting for you.

Schedule a Demo
Available as premium offerings.

Data Sources

All data from official Canadian government APIs. Updated from official Canadian government data.

Statistics Canada Census 20212021
StatCan Labour Force Survey2025
StatCan LFS Unemployment Rate (14-10-0393)2024
StatCan GDP Tables2024
CMHC Rental Market2025
CensusMapper.ca2021
StatCan Education (37-10-0130)2025
StatCan Population (17-10-0150)2025
StatCan Postsecondary Enrolments (37-10-0277)2024
StatCan Top Occupations (14-10-0416)2025
StatCan Commute (98-10-0457/0458)2021
StatCan Place of Work (98-10-0455/0456)2021
StatCan Low Income (11-10-0135)2024
StatCan Visible Minority (98-10-0352)2021
StatCan Indigenous Identity (98-10-0293)2021

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for Windsor-Sarnia, Ontario, from Statistics Canada.

What is the population of Windsor-Sarnia, Ontario?

745,975 (Statistics Canada, Population Estimates, Table 17-10-0150).

What is the median household income in Windsor-Sarnia, Ontario?

$80,459 (Statistics Canada, Census 2021).

What is the unemployment rate in Windsor-Sarnia, Ontario?

7.7% (Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0393).