Photo: United Kingdom Hydrographic Office · Public domainHousehold incomes in Harbour Grace trail those of 92% of Canadian towns
When the 2021 census was taken, 20% of people in Harbour Grace who wanted a job had none, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Harbour Grace is the usual workplace of 350 people, and 645 of its own residents commute to a job. 58% of people aged 15 to 64 in Harbour Grace had a job at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Harbour Grace at work: what stands out
Fewer people in work than most towns
Counting everyone 15 and over, 39% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 58%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 6.6% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 20%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
At $58,000 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $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.
Harbour Grace earns D for jobs and income
Better than 8% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #28 of 32 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
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.
Who in Harbour Grace has a job
Of the 13 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 1, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 39% were working. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 59% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 48%. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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.
Half the households in Harbour Grace had more than $58,000 in 2020
Of the 13 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 1, 12 have a higher median. Harbour Grace’s median is 9% below the middle of Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns ($63,700). CERB and the other emergency payments of 2020 are counted in these incomes, which lifted the lower ones 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).
More workers leave Harbour Grace each day than arrive
Each person commuting in is matched by about 3 residents going out. 26% 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.
74% of Harbour Grace’s residents in work leave it to work; Carbonear takes the most
- Carbonear45
- Bay Roberts40
- Upper Island Cove25
- Victoria20
- Spaniard's Bay15
- Division No. 1, Subd. H10
- Division No. 1, Subd. I10
- Carbonear295
- Bay Roberts55
- St. John's45
- Long Harbour-Mount Arlington Heights20
- Old Perlican15
- Paradise10
- Mount Pearl10
- Fort McMurray10
Of those coming in, Carbonear supplies the most: 45.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Harbour Grace gets to work without a car for 5% of commuters
Few ride transit: 2.2%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters. Only 7.3% worked at home on census day, against 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).
At 23.4 minutes, commutes from Harbour Grace are shorter than in the middle of Canadian towns
In the middle of Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns, the average commute is 19 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 49%, fewer than the 56% in the middle of Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns. 13% spend an hour or longer getting to work; the middle of Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns has 4.6%. Timed exactly, the average is 21 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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.
In Census Division No. 1, 4% fewer people receive EI than in 2019
Harbour Grace doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from Census Division No. 1.
In February 2021 it reached 31,470, the most in the series and 2.2 times the 2019 average. That works out to around 7.3 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 11%.
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).
Harbour Grace on foot: a C grade
Better than 28% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #29 of 32 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Where Harbour Grace sits among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 3,900
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 15 | Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,601 | 78% | 9.5% | $130K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 382 | Channel-Port aux Basques Newfoundland and Labrador | 3,379 | 61% | 17% | $63K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 413 | Holyrood Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,749 | 67% | 12% | $89K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 504 | Greater Madawaska Ontario | 3,234 | 66% | 10% | $81K | D |
| 505 | Electoral Area C, Strathcona British Columbia | 2,981 | 71% | 8.6% | $60K | D |
| 506 | Harbour Grace Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,872 | 58% | 20% | $58K | D |
| 507 | Alpine Place Manitoba | 3,721 | 71% | 14% | $43K | D |
| 508 | Meaghers Grant Nova Scotia | 3,430 | 73% | 11% | $66K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 553 | 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 Harbour Grace, and others among Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns.
Work in and around Harbour Grace
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harbour Grace | 58% | 20% | $58K | 23.4 min | D | C |
| Upper Island Cove 4.1 km | 53% | 24% | $67K | 31.3 min | D− | C+ |
| Carbonear 5.6 km | 56% | 20% | $58K | 21.1 min | D | B |
| Spaniard's Bay 8.5 km | 53% | 20% | $64K | 28.4 min | D− | C |
| Victoria 9.1 km | 52% | 19% | $60K | 26.6 min | D− | B− |
| Bay Roberts 11.3 km | 63% | 14% | $72K | 25.3 min | C− | B− |
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 Harbour Grace, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- 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.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Harbour Grace
How do people in Harbour Grace get to work?
91% of commuters go by car, 2.2% take public transit and 2.8% walk. On census day 7.3% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Harbour Grace?
On average 23.4 minutes; 49% take under 15 minutes and 13% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Harbour Grace work?
26% work in Harbour Grace itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Carbonear (295), then Bay Roberts (55).
How many jobs are there in Harbour Grace?
About 350 people had their usual place of work in Harbour Grace at the 2021 census, 0.5 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 80 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Harbour Grace?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Avalon Peninsula economic region at 6.6%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 20%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Harbour Grace?
The median household in Harbour Grace had $58,000 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 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).