Photo: Gabriel Picard · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Miramichi earn less than those in 75% of Canadian towns
In May 2021, unemployment in Miramichi reached 11%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. For 2.7% of commuters in Miramichi, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 16.8 minutes. 72% of people aged 15 to 64 in Miramichi had a job at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Work in Miramichi: the figures worth knowing
Lower incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $66,200 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
A local job centre
7,690 people work in Miramichi and 5,480 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 16.8 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 2.7% take an hour or more. 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 Miramichi: C+
Better than 45% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #29 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.
Household income in Miramichi: $66,200 at the median
Miramichi’s median is 10% below the middle of New Brunswick’s towns ($73,200). The year is 2020: emergency benefits like CERB count in these incomes, and they raised the bottom of the range.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Miramichi fills up on a working day: 34% more workers
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 3 to 1 in Miramichi. Of those who commute, 83% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Time on the road to work from Miramichi
In the middle of New Brunswick’s towns, the average commute is 20.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 60%, more than the 44% in the middle of New Brunswick’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 14.9 minutes.
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.
3,153 people come into Miramichi to work, most from Northesk and Glenelg
- Blackville155
- Hardwicke90
- Dieppe55
- Northesk50
- New Maryland45
- Chatham35
- Eel Ground 235
- Moncton25
- Glenelg25
- Derby25
Of everyone working in Miramichi, 41% come in from elsewhere; 505 make the 24 km trip from Northesk. Outbound, Blackville takes the most: 155 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Work and the working-age population of Miramichi
A smaller share in work than in 66% of Canadian towns.
In October 2026, 48% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 57%. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 51%. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at 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: 4.5% of commuters in Miramichi
The car is the way to work for 94% of commuters. Home was the workplace for 14%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 0.5% of commuters, against 3.5% 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).
10% fewer people are on EI in the Northumberland census division than in 2019
That works out to around 11.2 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. In February 2021 it reached 7,050, the most in the series and 1.6 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 Northumberland 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).
How walkable Miramichi is: B−
Better than 48% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #20 of 60 in New Brunswick.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
221st of 470: where Miramichi ranks among Canadian towns of 13,600 to 26,200
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Quispamsis New Brunswick | 20,240 | 78% | 7.2% | $113K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 45 | Riverview New Brunswick | 22,614 | 79% | 7.8% | $80K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 219 | Thornlea Ontario | 20,872 | 75% | 11% | $97K | B− |
| 220 | Grandview British Columbia | 16,947 | 72% | 8.7% | $108K | C+ |
| 221 | Miramichi New Brunswick | 19,402 | 72% | 11% | $66K | C+ |
| 222 | Sheldon Ontario | 25,488 | 70% | 12% | $104K | C+ |
| 223 | Matane Quebec | 14,180 | 74% | 7.7% | $56K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 238 | Edmundston New Brunswick | 18,174 | 72% | 7.9% | $59K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 470 | Oakridge Ontario | 13,913 | 51% | 21% | $60K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Miramichi, and others among New Brunswick’s towns.
Jobs near Miramichi: the places around it
Distances here run 13–26 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Miramichi.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miramichi | 72% | 11% | $66K | 16.8 min | C+ | B− |
| Newcastle 13 km | 52% | 22% | $69K | 23.6 min | D | D |
| Glenelg 20.4 km | 71% | 11% | $68K | 22.7 min | C | D |
| Nelson 20.5 km | 76% | 14% | $71K | 26.7 min | C | D− |
| Northesk 23.9 km | 68% | 13% | $73K | 25.7 min | C− | D |
| Southesk 25.8 km | 72% | 14% | $71K | 28.2 min | C− | C− |
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 Miramichi, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- 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. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed average.
- Where people commute. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
Questions about work in Miramichi
How do people in Miramichi get to work?
By car: 94% of commuters, 0.5% take public transit, 3.5% walk and 0.5% cycle; on census day 14% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Miramichi?
16.8 minutes is the average trip, with 60% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 2.7% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Miramichi work?
Most stay: 83% work in Miramichi. The rest go first to Blackville (155) and Hardwicke (90).
How many jobs are there in Miramichi?
The 2021 census counted about 7,690 people working in Miramichi: 1.4 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 657 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Miramichi?
The census put unemployment at 11% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Campbellton-Miramichi economic region at 9.6%.
What is the average household income in Miramichi?
Before tax, half the households in Miramichi had more than $66,200 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
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).