Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Moncton’s household incomes are lower than in 72% of Canadian towns
Jobs were held by 74% of people aged 15 to 64 in Moncton in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. From Moncton, the drive or ride to work averages 16.6 minutes, with 2.1% going an hour or longer. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 9.1% of Moncton’s labour force, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
The work numbers behind Moncton
Lower incomes than most towns
At $67,800 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
A local job centre
With 38,660 jobs based in Moncton and 26,360 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 16.6 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 2.1% 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.
Moncton grades B for jobs and income
Better than 56% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #22 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.
Half the households in Moncton had more than $67,800 in 2020
That puts Moncton 7% below the median of New Brunswick’s towns, $73,200. 9 of the 10 other places of 2,500+ in the Westmorland census division have a higher median. 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).
On a working day Moncton gains 36% in workers
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 3 to 1 in Moncton. 77% 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.
Commuting times in Moncton
In the middle of New Brunswick’s towns, the average commute is 20.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 56%, more than the 44% in the middle of New Brunswick’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 14.7 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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.
18,416 people come into Moncton to work, most from Dieppe and Riverview
- Dieppe4,560
- Riverview3,825
- Moncton (New Brunswick part)2,530
- Coverdale875
- Memramcook755
- Shediac610
- Shediac525
- Beaubassin East / Beaubassin-est480
- Dundas460
- Salisbury385
- Dieppe3,455
- Riverview825
- Moncton (New Brunswick part)355
- Shediac255
- Shediac145
- Dorchester115
- Sackville85
- Salisbury85
- Memramcook55
- Dundas45
48% of the people who work in Moncton live outside it, 4,560 of them in Dieppe, 8 km away. Dieppe is where the largest group of commuters out goes, 3,455 of them.
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 Moncton
Of the 10 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Westmorland census division, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting retirees, 59% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 61% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 65%. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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: 12% of commuters in Moncton
Transit barely figures in the middle of New Brunswick’s towns; here, 3.5% take it to work. The car takes 86% of commuters here, under the 95% in the middle of New Brunswick’s towns. 21% worked at home on census day, about the same as 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).
EI claims in the Westmorland census division run 29% above their 2019 level
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 4%. The count topped out in February 2021 at 13,960 people, 2.4 times the 2019 average. That works out to around 6.3 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100). Moncton doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Westmorland census division.
Moncton grades A for walkability
Better than 89% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #3 of 60 in New Brunswick.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Moncton places 17th of 42 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 71,700 to 138,200
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saanich British Columbia | 126,011 | 77% | 6.8% | $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 |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Fredericton New Brunswick | 74,655 | 77% | 8.6% | $73K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 15 | Terrebonne Quebec | 126,872 | 80% | 5.9% | $95K | B |
| 16 | Drummondville Quebec | 85,560 | 78% | 5.6% | $61K | B |
| 17 | Moncton New Brunswick | 102,378 | 74% | 9.1% | $68K | B |
| 18 | Granby Quebec | 72,180 | 78% | 5.6% | $63K | B− |
| 19 | Repentigny Quebec | 91,290 | 80% | 5.9% | $91K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 34 | Saint John New Brunswick | 79,371 | 69% | 11% | $63K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 42 | Chomedey Quebec | 81,813 | 69% | 12% | $66K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Moncton, and others among New Brunswick’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Moncton
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moncton | 74% | 9.1% | $68K | 16.6 min | B | A |
| Riverview 5.9 km | 79% | 7.8% | $80K | 18.9 min | A | B+ |
| Moncton 8.1 km | 80% | 7.2% | $91K | 22 min | A | D |
| Dieppe 8.2 km | 79% | 6.7% | $87K | 18 min | A | B− |
| Coverdale 12.8 km | 74% | 7.6% | $88K | 25.4 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 Moncton, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- In work. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- Unemployment. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- 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. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Moncton
How long is the commute from Moncton?
The average commute is 16.6 minutes; 56% of trips take under 15 minutes and 2.1% an hour or more.
Where do people in Moncton work?
77% work in Moncton itself; of those who leave, the most go to Dieppe (3,455), then Riverview (825).
How many jobs are there in Moncton?
The 2021 census found about 38,660 people with their usual workplace in Moncton, or 1.5 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 3,167 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Moncton?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 9.1% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Moncton metro area at 7.2% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Moncton?
Before tax, half the households in Moncton had more than $67,800 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Moncton get to work?
86% of commuters drive, 3.5% take public transit, 7.5% walk and 0.8% cycle; 21% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
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).