Photo: Verne Equinox · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Petitcodiac are lower than in 72% of Canadian towns
When the 2021 census was taken, 11% of people in Petitcodiac who wanted a job had none, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. Getting to work from Petitcodiac takes 27.2 minutes on average, an hour or more for 2.8%. In Petitcodiac, 74% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%.
The short version on work in Petitcodiac
Work near the middle
In work at the 2021 census: 74% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 50% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $67,500 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs and income in Petitcodiac earn C−
Better than 21% 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.
Half the households in Petitcodiac had more than $67,500 in 2020
10 of the 11 other places of 2,500+ in the Westmorland census division have a higher median. The middle of New Brunswick’s towns is $73,200, and Petitcodiac is 8% below it. Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
More go out than come in: the working day in Petitcodiac
The job is inside the municipality for 23% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
77% of Petitcodiac’s residents in work leave it to work; Moncton takes the most
In the other direction the biggest source is Salisbury, with 95.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
In and out of work in Petitcodiac
Of the 11 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Westmorland census division, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
57% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Counting retirees, 50% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 59% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. 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.
Petitcodiac gets to work without a car for 4.7% of commuters
Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 93% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
The length of the trip to work in Petitcodiac
Timed exactly, the average is 23.6 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of New Brunswick’s towns, the average commute is 20.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 29%, fewer 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.
29% more people are on EI in the Westmorland census division than in 2019
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 4%. The count topped out in February 2021 at 13,960 people, 2.4 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 6.3 receive EI.
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). Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for Petitcodiac alone, so this card uses the figure for the Westmorland census division.
Getting around Petitcodiac on foot earns B+
Better than 68% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
The work picture around Petitcodiac
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petitcodiac | 74% | 11% | $68K | 27.2 min | C− | B+ |
| Salisbury 7.6 km | 71% | 8.5% | $71K | 25.5 min | C− | D |
| Elgin 13.7 km | 61% | 14% | $57K | 37.4 min | D− | D− |
| Salisbury 13.8 km | 79% | 11% | $72K | 24.3 min | B− | B+ |
| Havelock 17 km | 66% | 10% | $66K | 30.3 min | D | 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 Petitcodiac, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- 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. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- 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. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in Petitcodiac
What is the unemployment rate in Petitcodiac?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 11% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Moncton-Richibucto economic region at 7.1% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Petitcodiac?
The census puts Petitcodiac at $67,500 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Petitcodiac get to work?
93% of commuters drive, 4.7% walk; 11% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Petitcodiac?
The average commute is 27.2 minutes; 29% of trips take under 15 minutes and 2.8% an hour or more.
Where do people in Petitcodiac work?
Only 23% work in Petitcodiac itself; the rest go first to Moncton (170) and Salisbury (30).
How many jobs are there in Petitcodiac?
The 2021 census found about 320 people with their usual workplace in Petitcodiac, or 0.8 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 56 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
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).