Photo: Verne Equinox · CC BY 3.0Cardwell has 0.4 jobs for every resident in work, so most commute out
Getting to work from Cardwell takes 29.3 minutes on average, an hour or more for 11%. The median household in Cardwell had $63,000 before tax in 2020, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. 71% of people aged 15 to 64 in Cardwell had a job at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%.
Cardwell at work: what stands out
Less unemployment than most towns
7.3% 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 6% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $63,000 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 29.3 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 11% last an hour or longer. 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.
Jobs and income in Cardwell earn D
Better than 8% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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 Cardwell has a job
Of the 9 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Kings census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 52% of residents 15 and over were in work. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 59% of the wider area’s adults in work. Counting those looking for work too, 56% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from home.
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.
What households in Cardwell earn
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 82% of Canadian towns.
8 of the 9 other places of 2,500+ in the Kings census division have a higher median. Against the middle of New Brunswick’s towns ($73,200), Cardwell’s median is 14% below. Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Time on the road to work from Cardwell
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 25.8 minutes. The middle of New Brunswick’s towns averages 20.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 28%, fewer than the 44% in the middle of New Brunswick’s towns.
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.
Each working day, more people leave Cardwell for work than come in
About 3 residents leave for work for each person who comes in.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
89% of Cardwell’s residents in work leave it to work; Sussex takes the most
- Sussex180
- Moncton60
- Saint John30
- Petitcodiac20
- Studholm15
- Hammond10
- Sussex Corner10
- Salisbury10
Of those coming in, Sussex supplies the most: 40.
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, 3.6% of Cardwell’s commuters get to work
Transit takes 1.8% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 96% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Only 13% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
3% more people are on EI in the Kings census division than in 2019
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 5 receive EI. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 1%. At its peak, in February 2021, 4,910 people were on EI, 2.4 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Data for EI beneficiaries covers the Kings census division. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
The walkability of Cardwell: C−
Better than 18% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
The work picture around Cardwell
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardwell | 71% | 7.3% | $63K | 29.3 min | D | C− |
| Sussex Corner 14.8 km | 76% | 6.8% | $65K | 18.2 min | B− | C |
| Studholm 15.2 km | 73% | 9% | $73K | 24 min | C+ | D |
| Sussex 15.5 km | 68% | 11% | $55K | 18.3 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 Cardwell, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s average.
- Where people commute. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- Employment Insurance. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t 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. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Cardwell
How long is the commute from Cardwell?
About 29.3 minutes on average, with 28% under a quarter-hour and 11% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Cardwell work?
11% work in Cardwell itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Sussex (180), then Moncton (60).
How many jobs are there in Cardwell?
In June 2026, 40 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Cardwell?
Two figures answer it: 7.3% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6% for the Saint John-St. Stephen economic region in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Cardwell?
Before tax, half the households in Cardwell had more than $63,000 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Cardwell get to work?
Driving takes 96% of commuters to work, 1.8% take public transit and 1.8% walk, and on census day 13% 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).