If the unending daily ribbon of red brake lights on the highway wasn't enough of a clue, the latest census numbers provide confirmation.

Hamilton's transformation into a city of commuters continues at an alarming clip.

One of every three Hamilton workers now commute to jobs outside the city. For men, the rate is nearly 40 per cent.

Both rates are significantly higher than the rest of the province. About one in four Ontario workers commute to jobs in another city, and for men in Ontario, the rate is 29 per cent.

A decade ago, the number of Hamilton workers commuting to jobs outside the city was 30 per cent overall and 35 per cent for men.

"This reflects people coming to Hamilton for cheap housing and yet still maintaining economic links outside Hamilton," said Wayne Lewchuk, a McMaster University labour studies professor.

"We've all heard stories of people who abandon the Toronto real estate market for Hamilton, but they don't necessarily abandon their Toronto jobs."

The census data certainly shows Hamilton has become a popular living destination for migrants from elsewhere in Ontario.

Within the past year, 15,315 people moved to Hamilton from elsewhere in Ontario, a jump of 22 per cent from a decade ago. In the past five years, more than 46,000 people have moved to Hamilton from elsewhere in the province.

Overall, nearly 22,000 people moved to Hamilton from elsewhere within the past year, including nearly 4,700 people from outside Canada. That's an increase of 33 per cent from a decade ago.

For six of 10 Hamilton workers, the one-way commute time to work takes less than half an hour. Conversely, for more than 28,000 unfortunate souls in Hamilton — about one in eight workers — their one-way commute time is more than an hour.

The Hamilton census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has the sixth-longest average commute time in Canada — 28.4 minutes each way.

That's behind Toronto (34 minutes), Oshawa (33.5), Barrie (30.7), Montreal (30) and Vancouver (29.7).

Nearly 10 per cent of Hamilton workers say they're regularly on their way to work between 5 and 6 a.m.

Compared to the rest of the province, Hamilton has higher rates of people who drive to work and lower rates of people using public transit to get to work.

About 76 per cent of Hamilton workers drive themselves to work, compared to 72 per cent in Ontario. Just over 10 per cent of Hamilton workers take public transit to work, compared to 15 per cent across Ontario.

The proportion of Hamilton workers who drive to work has increased slightly over the past decade. In 2006, just under 75 per cent of the city's workers drove themselves to work.

Lewchuk said the numbers suggest that public transit in Hamilton is "not particularly convenient."

Less than 1 per cent of Hamilton workers — a little more than 2,200 people — bike to work, and about 5 per cent walk, about the same proportion as the rest of the province.

2016 CENSUS: QUICK FACTS

Education

62 per cent of people in Hamilton between the ages of 25 and 64 have some type of post-secondary degree. That's below the rate for the rest of Ontario, which stands at 65 per cent.

There's a noticeable difference between men and women in Hamilton. Almost 65 per cent of Hamilton women between 25 and 64 have some type of post-secondary degree, compared to less than 59 per cent of men.

The rates of post-secondary education in Hamilton have been rising since 2006. In 2006, 58 per cent of people between 25 and 64 had some type of post-secondary degree. For women, the rate has jumped from 58 per cent in 2006 to 65 per cent.

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People in Hamilton are lagging significantly behind the rest of the province when it comes to university degrees. Just 25 per cent of people in Hamilton between the ages of 25 and 64 have a university degree, compared to 32 per cent for the rest of Ontario. For men, the rate is just over 22 per cent in Hamilton compared to 30 per cent for the rest of the province.

More women than men in Hamilton have college diplomas, university bachelor's degrees and master's degrees, while men in Hamilton have more doctorate degrees.

Hamilton also lags behind the rest of the province when it comes to people who obtained their post-secondary qualifications from outside Canada. Less than 15 per cent of people in Hamilton with post-secondary degrees obtained them outside Canada, compared to 21 per cent for the rest of Ontario. In 2006, the rate of foreign-acquired degrees in Hamilton was more than 17 per cent.

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Labour

The hemorrhaging of jobs from manufacturing industries in Hamilton continues at a steady pace. In 2006, just over 16 per cent of Hamilton workers were employed in manufacturing. By 2016, the proportion had dropped to 12 per cent. That's still above the proportion for the rest of Ontario, which stood at a little more than 9 per cent in 2016.

In 2006, nearly a quarter of Hamilton male workers were employed in manufacturing. That rate has dropped to less than 18 per cent in 2016.

About 13 per cent of Hamilton workers are now employed in the health care and social assistance sector, compared to just over 10 per cent for the rest of Ontario.

14 per cent of Hamilton workers are employed in business, finance and administration, and 12 per cent are employed in the retail sector.

Hamilton's unemployment rate in 2016 was 7 per cent, below Ontario's rate of 7.4 per cent. The city's unemployment rate was 6.5 per cent in 2006.

There's a notable difference in unemployment rates between men and women in Hamilton. The rate for men was 7.5 per cent in 2016 compared to 6.5 per cent for women.

Fewer workers in Hamilton work from home compared to the rest of Ontario. About 6 per cent of workers in the city work from home, compared to 7.3 per cent across Ontario.

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