Photo: Azure /Mark Seymour · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Amherst are lower than in 95% of Canadian towns
Getting to work from Amherst takes 16.3 minutes on average, an hour or more for 3.3%. In Amherst, 65% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. The 2021 census put unemployment in Amherst at 12%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Amherst at work: what stands out
Fewer people in work than most towns
The 2021 census found 65% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 46%. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $55,700 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
A local job centre
With 3,990 jobs based in Amherst and 2,810 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 16.3 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 3.3% 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.
Amherst earns C− for jobs and income
Better than 23% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #57 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
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.
In and out of work in Amherst
Of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Cumberland census division, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 52%. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 46%. In October 2026, 56% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. 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.
Amherst households: $55,700 a year at the median
Of the 4 other places of 2,500 or more in the Cumberland census division, 3 have a higher median. Amherst’s median is 19% below the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns ($69,150). Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for 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).
Amherst fills up on a working day: 36% more workers
Each resident commuting out of Amherst is matched by about 3 coming in. Of those who commute, 72% 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 Amherst
The middle of Nova Scotia’s towns averages 23 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 68% of commuters, against 46% in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 14.2 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.
1,956 people come into Amherst to work, most from Cumberland County, Subdivision C and Springhill
49% of the people who work in Amherst live outside it, 735 of them in Cumberland County, Subdivision C, 9 km away. The main destination the other way is Cumberland County, Subdivision C, with 215.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
8.8% of commuters from Amherst go without a car
89% drive to work, fewer than the 92% in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns. Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% 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).
Employment Insurance in the Cumberland census division since 2019
For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 5.4 are on EI. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 3%. March 2021 was the busiest month, with 2,200 people on EI, 2.1 times 2019’s average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Cumberland 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).
Everyday places on foot in Amherst: A
Better than 87% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #15 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Amherst places 544th of 653 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 7,100 to 13,600
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 44 | Fall River Nova Scotia | 9,214 | 78% | 8.1% | $135K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 93 | Portland Estates Nova Scotia | 10,164 | 77% | 8.9% | $87K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 111 | Antigonish County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 9,682 | 78% | 9.1% | $82K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 542 | Pictou County, Subdivision C Nova Scotia | 8,847 | 67% | 14% | $72K | C− |
| 543 | Norquay Village British Columbia | 11,287 | 69% | 11% | $87K | C− |
| 544 | Amherst Nova Scotia | 10,072 | 65% | 12% | $56K | C− |
| 545 | Semiahmoo Town Centre British Columbia | 13,381 | 71% | 8.2% | $79K | C− |
| 546 | Arnprior Ontario | 11,459 | 72% | 9.4% | $76K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 653 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Amherst, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
The work picture around Amherst
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | 65% | 12% | $56K | 16.3 min | C− | A |
| Cumberland County, Subdivision C 9.1 km | 69% | 12% | $69K | 22 min | C | C− |
| Sackville 15.1 km | 69% | 12% | $68K | 17.5 min | C+ | A |
| Sackville 17.8 km | 79% | 6.3% | $71K | 23.9 min | B− | 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 Amherst, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- Trip times. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- 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. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- 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 Amherst
How do people in Amherst get to work?
Driving takes 89% of commuters to work, 8.8% walk, and on census day 12% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Amherst?
About 16.3 minutes on average, with 68% under a quarter-hour and 3.3% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Amherst work?
72% work in Amherst itself; of those who leave, the most go to Cumberland County, Subdivision C (215), then Springhill (145).
How many jobs are there in Amherst?
Some 3,990 people worked in Amherst at the 2021 census: 1.4 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 327 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Amherst?
At the 2021 census 12% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the North Shore economic region, gives 6.8% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Amherst?
Amherst’s middle household had $55,700 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
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).