Photo: ProjectHorizons · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Eastern Passage have higher incomes than those in 78% of Canadian towns
68% of people aged 15 to 64 in Eastern Passage had a job at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Census day 2021 found 8.6% of Eastern Passage’s labour force without a job; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. At 24.4 minutes on average, the trip to work from Eastern Passage compares with 26 in the middle of Canadian towns.
The work figures that set Eastern Passage apart
Work near the middle
In work at the 2021 census: 68% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 59% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
Census day in 2021 put 8.6% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 5.4% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs and income in Eastern Passage earn B−
Better than 47% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #20 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
Who in Eastern Passage has a job
Of the 35 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Halifax census division, 5 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 65% in work in October 2026. Counting those looking for work too, 65% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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.
Eastern Passage households: $92,300 a year at the median
That puts Eastern Passage 33% above the median of Nova Scotia’s towns, $69,150. 18 of the 35 other places of 2,500+ in the Halifax census division have 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).
6.6% of commuters in Eastern Passage walk, cycle or take transit
By transit: 4.8% of commuters, well above the 0.7% in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns. Nearly everyone drives: 91% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 17% against 21%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Halifax census division run 18% above their 2019 level
The count topped out in May 2021 at 26,240 people, 2.9 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 3.7 are on 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. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of 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).
The Walkability grade for Eastern Passage: B+
Better than 67% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #28 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Eastern Passage next to Canadian towns of 7,500 to 14,500: 347th of 654 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 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 43 | Fall River Nova Scotia | 9,214 | 78% | 8.1% | $135K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 91 | Portland Estates Nova Scotia | 10,164 | 77% | 8.9% | $87K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 108 | Antigonish County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 9,682 | 78% | 9.1% | $82K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 345 | Palmerston-Little Italy Ontario | 13,171 | 77% | 11% | $90K | B− |
| 346 | Forest Hill North Ontario | 12,432 | 78% | 12% | $92K | B− |
| 347 | Eastern Passage Nova Scotia | 10,745 | 68% | 8.6% | $92K | B− |
| 348 | Whitehaven - Woodpark - Glabar Park Ontario | 11,111 | 73% | 10% | $84K | B− |
| 349 | Wild Rose Alberta | 8,534 | 68% | 13% | $120K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 654 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Eastern Passage, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
Work in the places around Eastern Passage
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Passage | 68% | 8.6% | $92K | 24.4 min | B− | B+ |
| Cole Harbour 5.5 km | 77% | 9.9% | $103K | 23.7 min | A− | B+ |
| Portland Estates 6.1 km | 77% | 8.9% | $87K | 20.3 min | A | B+ |
| Manor Park 8.3 km | 69% | 14% | $69K | 20.8 min | C | A+ |
| Schmidtville 8.4 km | 67% | 17% | $56K | 21.2 min | C− | A+ |
| Westphal 8.9 km | 70% | 10% | $109K | 23.6 min | B | B− |
| Lawrencetown 9.3 km | 75% | 7% | $110K | 26.6 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 Eastern Passage, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. People in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64 (2021 Census). The census doesn’t cross work with age below the municipality, so this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood has; retirees don’t weigh on it.
- 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. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed average.
- Employment Insurance. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- 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. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
- Neighbourhood figures. Everything here sums the dissemination areas inside Eastern Passage’s lines, since the census has no neighbourhood profile; where people commute is on Halifax’s page.
Questions about work in Eastern Passage
What is the unemployment rate in Eastern Passage?
At the 2021 census 8.6% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Halifax metro area, gives 5.4% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Eastern Passage?
The census puts Eastern Passage at $92,300 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Eastern Passage get to work?
91% of commuters drive, 4.8% take public transit, 1.6% walk and 0.2% cycle; 17% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How many jobs are there in Eastern Passage?
Statistics Canada counts jobs for whole municipalities only; Halifax has the total and the commuting flows.
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).