Photo: Squelle · Public domainWith 0.3 jobs for each resident in work, most of Pennfield commutes out
Median household income in Pennfield was $69,300 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. At the 2021 census, 68% of Pennfield’s 15-to-64s were in work; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. The average trip to work from Pennfield is 26.5 minutes; 7% of commuters spend an hour or more getting there.
The work figures that set Pennfield apart
Fewer people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 68% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 51% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
At $69,300 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.
Pennfield earns D for jobs and income
Better than 15% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
In and out of work in Pennfield
None of the 3 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Charlotte census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 59% in work in October 2026. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 58% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Counting retirees, 51% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
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.
How Pennfield’s household incomes compare
2 of the 3 other places of 2,500+ in the Charlotte census division have a higher median. That puts Pennfield 5% below the median of New Brunswick’s towns, $73,200. In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Each working day, more people leave Pennfield for work than come in
For every person who comes in to work, about 5 residents travel out. 7.8% 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.
92% of Pennfield’s residents in work leave it to work; St. George takes the most
- Saint George25
- Blacks Harbour20
- Musquash15
- St. George15
- Saint John10
- West Isles10
- Saint Patrick10
- St. George160
- Saint George120
- Blacks Harbour115
- Saint John105
- St. Stephen25
- Musquash20
- West Isles20
- Saint Andrews10
Coming the other way, Saint George sends the most (25).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 2.4% of Pennfield’s commuters
Nearly everyone drives: 98% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 10% against 21%. Few ride transit: 1.2%, 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).
Commuting times in Pennfield
Only 34% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 44% in the middle of New Brunswick’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 26.2 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of New Brunswick’s towns averages 20.8 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.
In the Charlotte census division, 17% fewer people receive EI than in 2019
February 2021 was the busiest month, with 2,730 people on EI, 1.8 times 2019’s average. That is about 7.6 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Charlotte 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).
Pennfield on foot: a D grade
Better than 9% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Pennfield and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennfield | 68% | 12% | $69K | 26.5 min | D | D |
| St. George 9 km | 76% | 13% | $68K | 20.6 min | B− | B+ |
| Saint George 9.8 km | 71% | 13% | $77K | 24.6 min | C | 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 Pennfield, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Where people commute. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- 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. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- 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. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- 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.
- 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 Pennfield
How many jobs are there in Pennfield?
The 2021 census found about 155 people with their usual workplace in Pennfield, or 0.3 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 51 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Pennfield?
Two figures answer it: 12% 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 Pennfield?
The census puts Pennfield at $69,300 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Pennfield get to work?
98% of commuters drive, 1.2% take public transit and 1.2% walk; 10% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Pennfield?
The average commute is 26.5 minutes; 34% of trips take under 15 minutes and 7% an hour or more.
Where do people in Pennfield work?
7.8% work in Pennfield itself. Of those who leave, the most go to St. George (160), then Saint George (120).
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).