Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Barrington earn less than those in 71% of Canadian towns
Jobs were held by 74% of people aged 15 to 64 in Barrington in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. For 3.6% of commuters in Barrington, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 19.5 minutes. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 12% of Barrington’s labour force, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
What Barrington’s work numbers say
Lower incomes than most towns
At $68,200 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 19.5 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 3.6% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Barrington: B−
Better than 49% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #19 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.
Barrington households: $68,200 a year at the median
That puts Barrington 1% below the median 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).
Commuting times in Barrington
A quarter-hour or less for 51% of commuters, against 46% in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 17.2 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns, the average commute is 23 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.
About as many people come in to work in Barrington as leave
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
29% of Barrington’s residents in work leave it to work; Clark's Harbour takes the most
Shelburne sends the largest group the other way, 155 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How many in Barrington were working in 2021
A smaller share in work than in 54% of Canadian towns.
Counting retirees, 54% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 48% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Counting those looking for work too, 61% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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.
Walking, cycling or transit: 2.2% of Barrington’s commuters
The car is the way to work for 96% of commuters. Home was the workplace for 6.8%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Shelburne census division run 6% above their 2019 level
At its peak, in July 2021, 2,950 people were on EI, 2 times the 2019 average. That is about 25.6 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 4%.
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). For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of the Shelburne census division, Barrington included.
Barrington grades C− for walkability
Better than 18% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #76 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
368th of 708: where Barrington ranks among Canadian towns of 4,700 to 9,100
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 3 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 113 | Hubley Nova Scotia | 6,337 | 79% | 7.4% | $112K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 123 | Upper Tantallon Nova Scotia | 5,248 | 80% | 8.6% | $129K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 306 | Dutch Settlement Nova Scotia | 6,234 | 73% | 9% | $104K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 366 | Anthony Henday South East Alberta | 4,960 | 70% | 14% | $107K | B− |
| 367 | McNab/Braeside Ontario | 8,340 | 77% | 9.5% | $99K | B− |
| 368 | Barrington Nova Scotia | 6,720 | 74% | 12% | $68K | B− |
| 369 | Fitzroy Ontario | 6,400 | 77% | 9.8% | $113K | B− |
| 370 | The Ravines of Rainbow Creek Ontario | 5,333 | 73% | 10% | $118K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 708 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Barrington, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
Work in the places around Barrington
No closer places have figures: these lie 39–43 km from Barrington.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrington | 74% | 12% | $68K | 19.5 min | B− | C− |
| Shelburne 38.8 km | 70% | 14% | $53K | 15.7 min | C | B |
| Shelburne 40.9 km | 68% | 11% | $62K | 21.1 min | C− | D |
| Argyle 42.5 km | 72% | 12% | $71K | 20.2 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 Barrington, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- 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. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- 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. Only people with a usual place of work are in it: those who work from home or have no fixed site are not. Home and work are both counted by municipality.
- 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. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- 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 Barrington
What is the average household income in Barrington?
The median household in Barrington had $68,200 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Barrington get to work?
96% of commuters go by car, 2.2% walk. On census day 6.8% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Barrington?
On average 19.5 minutes; 51% take under 15 minutes and 3.6% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Barrington work?
71% work in Barrington itself; of those who leave, the most go to Clark's Harbour (220), then Shelburne (75).
How many jobs are there in Barrington?
About 1,740 people had their usual place of work in Barrington at the 2021 census, 1 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 484 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Barrington?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 12% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Southern economic region at 8.9% in 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).