Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Where Fredericton earns its living
Of everyone in Fredericton working or looking for work in May 2021, 8.6% were unemployed; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. Getting to work from Fredericton takes 16.8 minutes on average, an hour or more for 2.3%. 32,320 people have their usual place of work in Fredericton, against 21,885 residents who travel to a job.
Jobs and income in Fredericton: what the figures say
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $73,000 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
A local job centre
With 32,320 jobs based in Fredericton and 21,885 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 16.8 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 2.3% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Fredericton: A−
Better than 75% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #13 of 60 in New Brunswick.
Its strongest measure is trip times; 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.
Median household income in Fredericton: $73,000 in 2020
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 59% of Canadian towns.
Every other place of 2,500 or more in the York census division has a higher median. Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
A working day adds 36% to the people at work in Fredericton
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 4 to 1 in Fredericton. 86% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Time on the road to work from Fredericton
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 14.9 minutes. The middle of New Brunswick’s towns averages 20.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 55%, more 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
13,543 people come into Fredericton to work, most from Douglas and Lincoln
- Douglas1,530
- Lincoln1,500
- Saint Marys1,375
- Starlight Village1,250
- New Maryland1,010
- New Maryland720
- Oromocto655
- Kingsclear640
- Bright600
- Maugerville470
- Oromocto1,030
- Starlight Village495
- Lincoln210
- Saint Marys160
- Burton145
- New Maryland85
- Kingsclear70
- Bright70
- Douglas70
- Saint John55
42% of the people who work in Fredericton live outside it, 1,530 of them in Douglas, 14 km away. Going the other way, Oromocto is the biggest single destination (1,030).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Fredericton work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Work for 77% of 15-to-64s in Fredericton
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the York census division, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 61% of residents 15 and over were in work. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 62% in work in October 2026. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 66% of residents 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.
Leaving the car at home: 13% of commuters in Fredericton
22% worked at home on census day, about the same as in the middle of Canadian towns. In the middle of New Brunswick’s towns hardly anyone takes transit to work; here, 3.7% do. The car takes 85% of commuters here, under the 95% in the middle of New Brunswick’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
24% more people are on EI in the York census division than in 2019
Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 6%. The count topped out in February 2021 at 6,620 people, 2.5 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.7 are on EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Data for EI beneficiaries covers the York 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).
On getting around on foot, Fredericton grades A
Better than 88% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #4 of 60 in New Brunswick.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
7th of 45: where Fredericton ranks among Canadian towns of 52,300 to 100,800
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Langford British Columbia | 59,664 | 81% | 6.2% | $93K | A |
| 2 | St. Albert Alberta | 74,621 | 77% | 9.1% | $118K | A |
| 3 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 97,845 | 79% | 7.3% | $123K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Prince George British Columbia | 85,944 | 73% | 9.4% | $88K | A− |
| 6 | Brandon Manitoba | 59,444 | 76% | 7.5% | $76K | A− |
| 7 | Fredericton New Brunswick | 74,655 | 77% | 8.6% | $73K | A− |
| 8 | Blainville Quebec | 61,739 | 80% | 5.6% | $105K | B+ |
| 9 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 66,624 | 80% | 7.5% | $86K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 35 | Saint John New Brunswick | 79,371 | 69% | 11% | $63K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 45 | Chomedey Quebec | 81,813 | 69% | 12% | $66K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Fredericton, and others among New Brunswick’s towns.
Work in the places around Fredericton
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fredericton | 77% | 8.6% | $73K | 16.8 min | A− | A |
| Devon 30 2.5 km | 50% | 11% | $61K | 14.4 min | C− | A |
| New Maryland 7.6 km | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | 17.7 min | A+ | C− |
| Starlight Village 11.2 km | 78% | 7.2% | $107K | 20.1 min | A+ | C− |
| Maugerville 11.5 km | 81% | 7.1% | $87K | 23.2 min | A | D |
| Saint Marys 13.3 km | 75% | 7% | $92K | 23.1 min | B+ | D |
| Lincoln 13.6 km | 75% | 6.5% | $86K | 21.3 min | B+ | D |
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 Fredericton, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around 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. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- 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.
- 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 Fredericton
What is the average household income in Fredericton?
The census puts Fredericton at $73,000 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Fredericton get to work?
By car: 85% of commuters, 3.7% take public transit, 7.8% walk and 1.4% cycle; on census day 22% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Fredericton?
16.8 minutes is the average trip, with 55% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 2.3% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Fredericton work?
Most stay: 86% work in Fredericton. The rest go first to Oromocto (1,030) and Starlight Village (495).
How many jobs are there in Fredericton?
The 2021 census counted about 32,320 people working in Fredericton: 1.5 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 2,591 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Fredericton?
The 2021 census found 8.6% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Fredericton metro area, is 6.5% (October 2026).
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).