Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainHouseholds in Dutch Settlement have higher incomes than those in 89% of Canadian towns
At 26.9 minutes on average, the trip to work from Dutch Settlement compares with 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. With 73% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, Dutch Settlement matches the middle of Canadian towns. Census day 2021 found 9% of Dutch Settlement’s labour force without a job, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Dutch Settlement: what the figures say
Work near the middle
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 73% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 59%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $103,800 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Dutch Settlement earns B for jobs and income
Better than 57% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #17 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
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.
Dutch Settlement households: $103,800 a year at the median
Dutch Settlement’s median is 50% above the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns ($69,150). 9 of the 35 other places of 2,500+ in the Halifax census division have a higher median. The year is 2020: emergency benefits like CERB count in these incomes, and they raised the bottom of the range.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
In and out of work in Dutch Settlement
Of the 35 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Halifax census division, 19 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 65% in October 2026. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 65%. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 59%: many residents are past working age. 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.
Leaving the car at home: 1.2% of commuters in Dutch Settlement
Few ride transit: 0.4%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 96% of commuters. 20% worked at home on census day, about the same as 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).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
EI claims in the Halifax census division run 18% above their 2019 level
The highest month was May 2021: 26,240 people, 2.9 times the 2019 level. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.7 receive EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number 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 Halifax 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).
Getting around Dutch Settlement on foot earns C−
Better than 17% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #78 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 688 Canadian towns of 4,400 to 8,400, Dutch Settlement comes 299th on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 116 | Hubley Nova Scotia | 6,337 | 79% | 7.4% | $112K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 128 | Upper Tantallon Nova Scotia | 5,248 | 80% | 8.6% | $129K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 297 | Sutton Quebec | 4,775 | 83% | 6.6% | $66K | B |
| 298 | Lac-Brome Quebec | 6,307 | 80% | 5.5% | $75K | B |
| 299 | Dutch Settlement Nova Scotia | 6,234 | 73% | 9% | $104K | B |
| 300 | Millrise Alberta | 6,754 | 75% | 12% | $100K | B |
| 301 | Midnapore Alberta | 7,022 | 75% | 13% | $92K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 359 | Barrington Nova Scotia | 6,720 | 74% | 12% | $68K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 688 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Dutch Settlement, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
Work next door to Dutch Settlement
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch Settlement | 73% | 9% | $104K | 26.9 min | B | C− |
| Fall River 9.1 km | 78% | 8.1% | $135K | 23.9 min | A | C |
| Beaver Bank 10.6 km | 75% | 8.9% | $108K | 25.9 min | B+ | C+ |
| Enfield 15.7 km | 74% | 11% | $85K | 31.2 min | C | C |
| Lower Sackville 15.9 km | 73% | 10% | $84K | 22.4 min | B | A− |
| Middle Sackville 16.4 km | 75% | 7.4% | $104K | 25.6 min | B+ | 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 Dutch Settlement, 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. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- 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.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
- Neighbourhood figures. Commuting flows and Statistics Canada’s timed averages stop at the municipality, so Halifax’s page carries them; Dutch Settlement’s own figures sum its dissemination areas.
Questions about work in Dutch Settlement
What is the unemployment rate in Dutch Settlement?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Halifax metro area at 5.4%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 9%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Dutch Settlement?
The census puts Dutch Settlement at $103,800 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Dutch Settlement get to work?
96% of commuters drive, 0.4% take public transit and 0.8% walk; 20% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How many jobs are there in Dutch Settlement?
Jobs are counted by municipality, not neighbourhood: the page for Halifax has the jobs based there and where its commuters go.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · 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).