Photo: Not specified · Public domainSaint James has fewer jobs than residents in work: 0.1 for each
In 2020, a household at the middle of Saint James had $61,200 before tax, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. When the 2021 census was taken, 14% of people in Saint James who wanted a job had none, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. From Saint James, the drive or ride to work averages 28.1 minutes, with 7% going an hour or longer.
The work figures that set Saint James apart
More unemployment than most towns
14% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 6% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $61,200 in 2020, against $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.
Jobs and income in Saint James earn C−
Better than 16% 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.
In Saint James, 75% of the working-age population has a job
Of the 3 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Charlotte census division, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 53%: many residents are past working age. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 59% in work in October 2026. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 61%. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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.
Household income in Saint James
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 86% of Canadian towns.
The middle of New Brunswick’s towns is $73,200, and Saint James is 16% below it. 2 of the 3 other places of 2,500+ in the Charlotte census division have a higher median. Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
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 Saint James for work than come in
About 35 residents leave for work for each person who comes in. 2.7% 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.
97% of Saint James’ residents in work leave it to work; St. Stephen takes the most
- St. Stephen230
- Saint Stephen60
- Saint Andrews30
- Saint David15
- Saint Croix10
In the other direction the biggest source is Saint Stephen, with 10.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Leaving the car at home: 0% of commuters in Saint James
The car is the way to work for 100% of commuters. Home was the workplace for 10%, under the 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).
Commuting times in Saint James
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 24.4 minutes. In the middle of New Brunswick’s towns, the average commute is 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.
EI claims in the Charlotte census division run 17% below their 2019 level
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%. In February 2021 it reached 2,730, the most in the series and 1.8 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 7.6 are on EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of 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).
On getting around on foot, Saint James grades D−
Better than 2% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Neighbouring places to Saint James, compared
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint James | 75% | 14% | $61K | 28.1 min | C− | D− |
| Saint David 9.9 km | 67% | 10% | $67K | 21 min | C | D |
| Saint Stephen 9.9 km | 67% | 10% | $66K | 21.2 min | C− | D |
| St. Stephen 14.7 km | 72% | 9.6% | $56K | 15.2 min | C+ | A− |
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 James, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- Unemployment. The share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- 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.
- Employment Insurance. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
Questions about work in Saint James
What is the unemployment rate in Saint James?
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 14%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Saint James?
The median household in Saint James had $61,200 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Saint James get to work?
Driving takes 100% of commuters to work, and on census day 10% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Saint James?
About 28.1 minutes on average, with 14% under a quarter-hour and 7% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Saint James work?
Only 2.7% work in Saint James itself; the rest go first to St. Stephen (230) and Saint Stephen (60).
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) · 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).