Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainHouseholds in Nelson earn less than those in 64% of Canadian towns
Unemployment in Nelson stood at 14% on census day 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. Most commutes from Nelson take well under an hour: the average is 26.7 minutes, and 8.8% take 60 minutes or longer. 76% of people aged 15 to 64 in Nelson had a job at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%.
Where Nelson stands out on work
More unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 14% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 9.6% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
At $71,000 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
On jobs and income, Nelson grades C
Better than 31% 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 Nelson has a job
A larger share in work than in 53% of Canadian towns.
Counting those looking for work too, 65% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 56%. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 48% in work in October 2026. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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 earned in Nelson: $71,000 in 2020
Nelson’s median is 3% below the middle of New Brunswick’s towns ($73,200). That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
100% of Nelson’s residents in work leave it to work; Miramichi takes the most
No other place sends enough people to work in Nelson to be counted.
- Miramichi250
- Blackville15
- Bathurst15
- Dieppe10
- Carleton10
- Chatham10
- Doaktown10
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 0% of Nelson’s commuters
The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters. Only 12% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
Time on the road to work from Nelson
In the middle of New Brunswick’s towns, the average commute is 20.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 20%, fewer than the 44% in the middle of New Brunswick’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 25.1 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.
10% fewer people are on EI in the Northumberland census division than in 2019
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 11.2 receive EI. At its peak, in February 2021, 7,050 people were on EI, 1.6 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: 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).
Walking in Nelson earns D−
Better than 2% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Nelson compares with the places nearby
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson | 76% | 14% | $71K | 26.7 min | C | D− |
| Southesk 10.9 km | 72% | 14% | $71K | 28.2 min | C− | C− |
| Northesk 14.8 km | 68% | 13% | $73K | 25.7 min | C− | D |
| Blackville 15.4 km | 41% | 35% | $60K | 30.1 min | D− | D |
| Rogersville 18.3 km | 43% | 32% | $58K | 29.4 min | D− | 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 Nelson, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- 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. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- 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.
- 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. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
Questions about work in Nelson
What is the unemployment rate in Nelson?
The census put unemployment at 14% 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 Nelson?
The median household in Nelson had $71,000 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Nelson get to work?
95% of commuters drive; 12% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Nelson?
The average commute is 26.7 minutes; 20% of trips take under 15 minutes and 8.8% an hour or more.
Where do people in Nelson work?
Only 0% work in Nelson itself; the rest go first to Miramichi (250) and Blackville (15).
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).