Photo: Scott Davis · CC BY 2.5Wakefield has a larger share of its working-age people in jobs than 81% of Canadian towns
Commutes from Wakefield average 18.8 minutes, and 3% take an hour or more. In 2020, a household at the middle of Wakefield had $70,800 before tax; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. The 2021 census put unemployment in Wakefield at 7.3%, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
What the numbers say about work in Wakefield
More people in work than most towns
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 81% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 62%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 7.3% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 6.1%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household had $70,800 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
A local job centre
With 1,190 jobs based in Wakefield and 915 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 18.8 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 3% last an hour or longer. 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.
On jobs and income, Wakefield grades A−
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.
Who in Wakefield has a job
Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 67%. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 62% of residents 15 and over were in work. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 56% in work in October 2026. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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 Wakefield’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 64% of Canadian towns.
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).
Workers pour into Wakefield: 25% more on a working day
Of those who commute, 28% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
The length of the trip to work in Wakefield
Timed exactly, the average is 16.5 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of New Brunswick’s towns averages 20.8 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 47% of commuters, against 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.
937 people come into Wakefield to work, most from Woodstock and Woodstock
- Woodstock345
- Hartland145
- Florenceville-Bristol50
- Woodstock35
- Northampton15
- Centreville15
- Canterbury10
- Brighton10
- Simonds10
- Peel10
79% of the people who work in Wakefield live outside it, 220 of them in Woodstock, 12 km away. Of residents who leave for work, most head to Woodstock (345).
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: 4.2% of commuters in Wakefield
Home was the workplace for 14%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 93% of commuters go by car, truck or van.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the Carleton census division, 12% more people receive EI than in 2019
For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 6.2 are on EI. The highest month was March 2021: 2,150 people, 2.2 times the 2019 level.
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). Wakefield doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Carleton census division.
How walkable Wakefield is: C−
Better than 23% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #33 of 60 in New Brunswick.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Ranked on jobs and income, Wakefield is 113th among 497 Canadian towns of 2,500 to 3,700
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 50 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 3,198 | 79% | 4.9% | $105K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 66 | Grand Manan New Brunswick | 2,648 | 78% | 12% | $77K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 111 | Deer Run Alberta | 3,652 | 77% | 12% | $105K | A− |
| 112 | Compton Quebec | 3,351 | 86% | 4.6% | $75K | A− |
| 113 | Wakefield New Brunswick | 2,749 | 81% | 7.3% | $71K | A− |
| 114 | La Ronge Saskatchewan | 2,668 | 67% | 12% | $95K | A− |
| 115 | Waskaganish Quebec | 2,726 | 53% | 11% | $115K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 154 | Kingsclear New Brunswick | 3,158 | 75% | 6.5% | $106K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 497 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Wakefield, and others among New Brunswick’s towns.
How Wakefield compares with the places nearby
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield | 81% | 7.3% | $71K | 18.8 min | A− | C− |
| Hartland 7.8 km | 78% | 3.4% | $68K | 21.4 min | B | B− |
| Wilmot 10.5 km | 72% | 16% | $67K | 21.8 min | C | D |
| Woodstock 12.4 km | 74% | 9.2% | $60K | 16.7 min | C+ | B |
| Brighton 14.8 km | 74% | 9.8% | $62K | 24.9 min | C− | D |
| Woodstock 15.7 km | 79% | 7.7% | $81K | 17.6 min | A | D |
| Peel 17 km | 64% | 8.3% | $67K | 21.9 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 Wakefield, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed average.
- 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. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Wakefield
What is the average household income in Wakefield?
The median household in Wakefield had $70,800 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Wakefield get to work?
93% of commuters drive, 4.2% walk; 14% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Wakefield?
The average commute is 18.8 minutes; 47% of trips take under 15 minutes and 3% an hour or more.
Where do people in Wakefield work?
28% work in Wakefield itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Woodstock (345), then Hartland (145).
How many jobs are there in Wakefield?
The 2021 census found about 1,190 people with their usual workplace in Wakefield, or 1.3 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 108 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Wakefield?
Two figures answer it: 7.3% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6.1% for the Edmundston-Woodstock economic region in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
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).