Photo: halifaxfman · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Cumberland County, Subdivision D trail those of 81% of Canadian towns
When the 2021 census was taken, 14% of people in Cumberland County, Subdivision D who wanted a job had none, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. In Cumberland County, Subdivision D, 68% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Getting to work from Cumberland County, Subdivision D takes 24.1 minutes on average, an hour or more for 6.2%.
What stands out about work in Cumberland County, Subdivision D
Fewer people in work than most towns
The 2021 census found 68% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 43%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 14% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 6.8% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $63,600 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
More jobs than the typical town
1,110 people work in Cumberland County, Subdivision D and 1,080 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
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 Cumberland County, Subdivision D: graded C−
Better than 15% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #69 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.
Work and the working-age population of Cumberland County, Subdivision D
Of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Cumberland census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
A more recent figure, for the wider area: 56% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 50%. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 43%. 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.
The median household in Cumberland County, Subdivision D had $63,600 in 2020
Set beside Nova Scotia’s towns, where the median is $69,150, Cumberland County, Subdivision D sits 8% below. One of the 4 other places of 2,500+ in the Cumberland census division has a higher median. 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).
About as many people come in to work in Cumberland County, Subdivision D as leave
Of those who commute, 61% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
448 people come into Cumberland County, Subdivision D to work, most from Cumberland County, Subdivision C and Colchester County, Subdivision B
Of everyone working in Cumberland County, Subdivision D, 40% come in from elsewhere; 120 make the 35 km trip from Cumberland County, Subdivision C. The main destination the other way is Oxford, with 105.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 5.9% of Cumberland County, Subdivision D’s commuters
Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The car takes 90% of commuters here, under the 92% in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How long the commute from Cumberland County, Subdivision D takes
The middle of Nova Scotia’s towns averages 23 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 41%, fewer than the 46% in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 22.2 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.
12% more people are on EI in the Cumberland census division than in 2019
In March 2021 it reached 2,200, the most in the series and 2.1 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 5.4 receive EI. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 3%.
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).
Cumberland County, Subdivision D grades B− for walkability
Better than 45% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #41 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Cumberland County, Subdivision D next to Canadian towns of 3,300 to 6,300: 621st of 716 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 2 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | Hay River Northwest Territories | 3,317 | 78% | 6.5% | $129K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 137 | Upper Tantallon Nova Scotia | 5,248 | 80% | 8.6% | $129K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 214 | Lawrencetown Nova Scotia | 3,509 | 75% | 7% | $110K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 243 | Westphal Nova Scotia | 4,201 | 70% | 10% | $109K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 619 | Balwin Alberta | 4,092 | 61% | 17% | $70K | C− |
| 620 | Rosscarrock Alberta | 3,862 | 72% | 14% | $69K | C− |
| 621 | Cumberland County, Subdivision D Nova Scotia | 4,692 | 68% | 14% | $64K | C− |
| 622 | Westdale South Ontario | 4,931 | 62% | 14% | $73K | C− |
| 623 | Centre Hastings Ontario | 5,170 | 69% | 10% | $77K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 716 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Cumberland County, Subdivision D, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
Work in the places around Cumberland County, Subdivision D
Cumberland County, Subdivision D has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 21–43 km out.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland County, Subdivision D | 68% | 14% | $64K | 24.1 min | C− | B− |
| Oxford 20.8 km | 55% | 18% | $59K | 19.2 min | C− | A− |
| Cumberland County, Subdivision C 34.6 km | 69% | 12% | $69K | 22 min | C | C− |
| Botsford 42.1 km | 55% | 19% | $58K | 31.2 min | D− | C− |
| Westmorland 42.1 km | 79% | 8.9% | $67K | 26.6 min | C+ | C |
| Springhill 43.2 km | 56% | 15% | $57K | 23 min | D | 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 Cumberland County, Subdivision D, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- 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. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- 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. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- 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 Cumberland County, Subdivision D
How many jobs are there in Cumberland County, Subdivision D?
Some 1,110 people worked in Cumberland County, Subdivision D at the 2021 census: 1 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 146 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Cumberland County, Subdivision D?
Two figures answer it: 14% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6.8% for the North Shore economic region in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Cumberland County, Subdivision D?
The census puts Cumberland County, Subdivision D at $63,600 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Cumberland County, Subdivision D get to work?
Driving takes 90% of commuters to work, 5.9% walk, and on census day 14% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Cumberland County, Subdivision D?
About 24.1 minutes on average, with 41% under a quarter-hour and 6.2% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Cumberland County, Subdivision D work?
Most stay: 61% work in Cumberland County, Subdivision D. The rest go first to Oxford (105) and Colchester County, Subdivision B (80).
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).