Photo: A Disappearing Act · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Fairview earn less than those in 82% of Canadian towns
Workers in Fairview spend 21 minutes on the way to work on average (26 in the middle of Canadian towns). 16% of its commuters take public transit. In Fairview, 69% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Fairview at work: what stands out
More unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 5.4% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 13%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $63,100 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 21 minutes; the middle of Canadian towns is 26. Getting to work ↓
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 Fairview earn C−
Better than 25% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #52 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 Fairview
Of the 35 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Halifax census division, 7 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Working or looking, 67% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 65% in work in October 2026. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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.
Household income in Fairview: $63,100 at the median
Set beside Nova Scotia’s towns, where the median is $69,150, Fairview sits 9% below. Of the 35 other places of 2,500 or more in the Halifax census division, 32 have a higher median. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
21% of commuters in Fairview walk, cycle or take transit
77% drive to work, fewer than 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 residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
18% more people are on EI in the Halifax census division than in 2019
That is about 3.7 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 3%. At its peak, in May 2021, 26,240 people were on EI, 2.9 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the Halifax census division, not by town. 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 Fairview on foot earns A+
Better than 97% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #6 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Fairview ranks: 401st of 545 Canadian towns of 11,400 to 22,000
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 64 | Cole Harbour Nova Scotia | 21,627 | 77% | 9.9% | $103K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 128 | Hammonds Plains Nova Scotia | 13,844 | 75% | 8.2% | $135K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 139 | Middle Sackville Nova Scotia | 14,898 | 75% | 7.4% | $104K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 399 | Southgate Ontario | 11,599 | 73% | 7.8% | $86K | C− |
| 400 | Sainte-Adèle Quebec | 15,216 | 78% | 9% | $69K | C− |
| 401 | Fairview Nova Scotia | 16,296 | 69% | 13% | $63K | C− |
| 402 | A-B-C-D-Section (bramalea) Ontario | 16,400 | 65% | 15% | $95K | C− |
| 403 | Vinegar Hill Ontario | 19,543 | 63% | 15% | $114K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 545 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Fairview, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
Around Fairview: jobs, pay and the commute
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairview | 69% | 13% | $63K | 21 min | C− | A+ |
| Mount Royale 1.5 km | 72% | 11% | $73K | 21.3 min | B− | A− |
| Windsor Park 1.9 km | 70% | 13% | $70K | 20.1 min | C+ | A+ |
| Westmount 2.6 km | 73% | 13% | $77K | 20.5 min | B | A+ |
| Clayton Park West 3.2 km | 73% | 12% | $74K | 23.5 min | C+ | A+ |
| North End 3.4 km | 70% | 14% | $67K | 21.3 min | C | A+ |
| Schmidtville 4.9 km | 67% | 17% | $56K | 21.2 min | C− | A+ |
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 Fairview, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- 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 census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- Employment Insurance. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- 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.
- 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. The census reaches a neighbourhood only through its dissemination areas, and Fairview’s figures add those up. Halifax’s page has the commuting flows, which exist only for the whole municipality.
Questions about work in Fairview
How many jobs are there in Fairview?
Statistics Canada counts jobs for whole municipalities only; Halifax has the total and the commuting flows.
What is the unemployment rate in Fairview?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Halifax metro area at 5.4%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 13%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Fairview?
Fairview’s middle household had $63,100 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Fairview get to work?
Driving takes 77% of commuters to work, 16% take public transit, 5.3% walk and 0.3% cycle, and on census day 28% of those in work were at home.
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).