Photo: Not specified · Public domainThe share of 15-to-64s with a job in Saint David trails that of 81% of Canadian towns
Median household income in Saint David was $67,300 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. 200 people have their usual place of work in Saint David, against 345 residents who travel to a job. The 2021 census put unemployment in Saint David at 10%, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Saint David at work: what stands out
Fewer people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 67% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 48%. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $67,300 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 21 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 5.8% 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 Saint David: C
Better than 27% 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.
Work for 67% of 15-to-64s in Saint David
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.
A more recent figure, for the wider area: 59% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 53% of residents that age. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 48%. 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.
How Saint David’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 73% of Canadian towns.
The middle of New Brunswick’s towns is $73,200, and Saint David is 8% below it. 2 of the 3 other places of 2,500+ in the Charlotte census division have a higher median. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes that year.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
A shorter commute than the middle of Canadian towns: 21 minutes from Saint David
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 19.1 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 45%, more than the 44% in the middle of New Brunswick’s towns. An hour or more: 5.8% of commuters, above the 2.7% 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.
More of Saint David’s workers leave each day than arrive
About 2 residents leave for work for each person who comes in. Of those who commute, 13% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
87% of Saint David’s residents in work leave it to work; St. Stephen takes the most
- St. Stephen70
- Saint Stephen35
- Saint James15
- Saint John10
- Saint Croix10
- Dumbarton10
- St. Stephen175
- Saint Stephen40
- Saint Andrews25
- Saint Andrews15
- Saint John10
- Campobello Island10
- St. George10
- Saint Croix10
Coming the other way, St. Stephen sends the most (70).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Saint David gets to work without a car for 1.9% 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 96% of commuters. Home was the workplace for 12%, under the 21% 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).
17% fewer people are on EI in the Charlotte census division than in 2019
The count topped out in February 2021 at 2,730 people, 1.8 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 7.6 receive EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 5%.
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 Saint David alone, so this card uses the figure for the Charlotte census division.
Everyday places on foot in Saint David: D
Better than 7% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Jobs and income in the places around Saint David
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint David | 67% | 10% | $67K | 21 min | C | D |
| Saint Stephen 5 km | 67% | 10% | $66K | 21.2 min | C− | D |
| St. Stephen 7.3 km | 72% | 9.6% | $56K | 15.2 min | C+ | A− |
| Saint James 9.9 km | 75% | 14% | $61K | 28.1 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 Saint David, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Trip times. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- Where people commute. Only people with a usual place of work are in it: those who work from home or have no fixed site are not. Home and work are both counted by municipality.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not 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. 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. 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.
- 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 Saint David
What is the average household income in Saint David?
The census puts Saint David at $67,300 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Saint David get to work?
By car: 96% of commuters, 1.9% walk; on census day 12% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Saint David?
21 minutes is the average trip, with 45% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 5.8% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Saint David work?
Only 13% work in Saint David itself; the rest go first to St. Stephen (175) and Saint Stephen (40).
How many jobs are there in Saint David?
The 2021 census counted about 200 people working in Saint David: 0.6 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 44 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Saint David?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Saint John-St. Stephen economic region at 6%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 10%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
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).