Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Households in Saint John have lower incomes than those in 83% of Canadian towns
69% of people aged 15 to 64 in Saint John had a job at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. Getting to work from Saint John takes 17.5 minutes on average, an hour or more for 2%. Saint John had an unemployment rate of 11% at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
Where Saint John stands out on work
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $62,800 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
A local job centre
34,620 people work in Saint John and 21,990 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 17.5 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 2% 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.
Jobs and income in Saint John earn C
Better than 33% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #44 of 60 in New Brunswick.
Its strongest measure is trip times; 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.
$62,800 a year: the median household in Saint John
Saint John’s median is 14% below the middle of New Brunswick’s towns ($73,200). Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
On a working day Saint John gains 46% in workers
For every resident who leaves Saint John for work, about 7 people come in. The job is inside the municipality for 91% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
How long the commute from Saint John takes
The middle of New Brunswick’s towns averages 20.8 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 51% of commuters, against 44% in the middle of New Brunswick’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 15.3 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.
14,587 people come into Saint John to work, most from Quispamsis and Rothesay
- Quispamsis4,115
- Rothesay2,460
- Grand Bay-Westfield1,230
- Simonds940
- Hampton625
- Hampton575
- Kingston565
- Cape Breton490
- Westfield445
- Saint Martins260
- Rothesay395
- Quispamsis380
- Musquash320
- Grand Bay-Westfield180
- Fredericton65
- Hampton60
- Blacks Harbour55
- Saint George45
- St. George45
- Sussex45
Of everyone working in Saint John, 42% come in from elsewhere; 4,115 make the 17 km trip from Quispamsis. Outbound, Rothesay takes the most: 395 people.
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 Saint John
A smaller share in work than in 75% of Canadian towns.
Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 61%. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 54% were working. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 59% in work in October 2026. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from 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.
12% of commuters from Saint John go without a car
Fewer drive than in the middle of New Brunswick’s towns: 86% against 95%. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 18% against 21%. In the middle of New Brunswick’s towns hardly anyone takes transit to work; here, 4.8% do.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Saint John census division run 6% above their 2019 level
That is about 5.4 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 4%. The count topped out in February 2021 at 6,290 people, 2.6 times the 2019 average.
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 Saint John 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).
Saint John earns A for walkability
Better than 87% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #6 of 60 in New Brunswick.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Saint John ranks: 38th of 45 Canadian towns of 55,600 to 107,200
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Langford British Columbia | 59,664 | 81% | 6.2% | $93K | A |
| 2 | St. Albert Alberta | 74,621 | 77% | 9.1% | $118K | A |
| 3 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 97,845 | 79% | 7.3% | $123K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Fredericton New Brunswick | 74,655 | 77% | 8.6% | $73K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Moncton New Brunswick | 102,378 | 74% | 9.1% | $68K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 36 | Brossard Quebec | 97,597 | 74% | 9.5% | $84K | C+ |
| 37 | New Westminster British Columbia | 92,124 | 77% | 8.3% | $82K | C+ |
| 38 | Saint John New Brunswick | 79,371 | 69% | 11% | $63K | C |
| 39 | Peterborough Ontario | 97,834 | 66% | 15% | $72K | C |
| 40 | Norfolk County Ontario | 75,618 | 71% | 10% | $82K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 45 | Chomedey Quebec | 81,813 | 69% | 12% | $66K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Saint John, and others among New Brunswick’s towns.
How Saint John compares with the places nearby
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint John | 69% | 11% | $63K | 17.5 min | C | A |
| Grand Bay-Westfield 12.2 km | 78% | 6.3% | $98K | 25.5 min | A− | C |
| Rothesay 13.1 km | 77% | 8.7% | $100K | 20.3 min | A | B− |
| Westfield 15.1 km | 73% | 9.1% | $83K | 36.5 min | C− | D |
| Quispamsis 17.3 km | 78% | 7.2% | $113K | 22.4 min | A | C |
| Simonds 18.2 km | 69% | 11% | $80K | 29.4 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 John, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- 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.
- 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. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- 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. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- 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 Saint John
How long is the commute from Saint John?
17.5 minutes is the average trip, with 51% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 2% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Saint John work?
91% work in Saint John itself; of those who leave, the most go to Rothesay (395), then Quispamsis (380).
How many jobs are there in Saint John?
The 2021 census counted about 34,620 people working in Saint John: 1.6 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 2,523 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Saint John?
At the 2021 census 11% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Saint John metro area, gives 5.7% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Saint John?
At $62,800 before tax in 2020, the median household in Saint John compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Saint John get to work?
By car: 86% of commuters, 4.8% take public transit, 7.1% walk and 0.3% cycle; on census day 18% of those in work worked from home.
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).