Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Witless Bay has higher household incomes than 90% of Canadian towns
The average trip to work from Witless Bay is 32.6 minutes; 7.6% of commuters spend an hour or more getting there. 73% of people aged 15 to 64 in Witless Bay had a job at the 2021 census, right at the middle of Canadian towns. Of everyone in Witless Bay working or looking for work in May 2021, 15% were unemployed, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
What sets Witless Bay apart on jobs and income
More unemployment than most towns
15% 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 6.5% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $105,800 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 32.6 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 7.6% 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 & income in Witless Bay: graded C+
Better than 38% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, trip times.
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.
How many in Witless Bay were working in 2021
Of the 14 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 1, 10 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 57% were working. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 62% in work in October 2026. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 67% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. 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.
Witless Bay households: $105,800 a year at the median
Of the 14 other places of 2,500 or more in Census Division No. 1, 4 have a higher median. Set beside Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns, where the median is $63,700, Witless Bay sits 66% above. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
The length of the trip to work in Witless Bay
In the middle of Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns, the average commute is 19 minutes. Only 23% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 56% in the middle of Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 30.9 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.
Witless Bay is quieter on a working day than at night
About 2 residents leave for work for each person who comes in. Of those who commute, 18% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
82% of Witless Bay’s residents in work leave it to work; St. John's takes the most
- St. John's235
- Mount Pearl50
- Division No. 1, Subdivision U30
- Bay Bulls20
- Long Harbour-Mount Arlington Heights10
- Happy Valley-Goose Bay10
Coming the other way, St. John's sends the most (30).
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: 2.5% of commuters in Witless Bay
Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. Only 18% 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).
In Census Division No. 1, 4% fewer people receive EI than in 2019
For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of Census Division No. 1, Witless Bay included.
In February 2021 it reached 31,470, the most in the series and 2.2 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 7.3 receive EI. 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).
Getting around Witless Bay on foot earns C
Better than 32% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Next to Witless Bay: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Witless Bay | 73% | 15% | $106K | 32.6 min | C+ | C |
| Bay Bulls 5.1 km | 66% | 14% | $101K | 28.1 min | C | B |
| Division No. 1, Subdivision U 9.8 km | 56% | 15% | $76K | 35.7 min | D− | 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 Witless Bay, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- 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. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- 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. 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. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- 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 Witless Bay
How long is the commute from Witless Bay?
32.6 minutes is the average trip, with 23% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 7.6% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Witless Bay work?
Only 18% work in Witless Bay itself; the rest go first to St. John's (235) and Mount Pearl (50).
How many jobs are there in Witless Bay?
The 2021 census counted about 310 people working in Witless Bay: 0.7 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 38 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Witless Bay?
The census put unemployment at 15% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the St. John's metro area at 6.5%.
What is the average household income in Witless Bay?
At $105,800 before tax in 2020, the median household in Witless Bay compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Witless Bay get to work?
By car: 90% of commuters, 2.5% walk; 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).