Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainGaetz Brook has higher household incomes than 61% of Canadian towns
Workers in Gaetz Brook spend 31.6 minutes on the way to work on average (26 in the middle of Canadian towns). 73% of people aged 15 to 64 in Gaetz Brook had a job at the 2021 census, right at the middle of Canadian towns. Out of work in May 2021: 11% of Gaetz Brook’s labour force, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Gaetz Brook: what the figures say
Work near the middle
In work at the 2021 census: 73% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 55% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 31.6 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Gaetz Brook: C−
Better than 24% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #54 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.
2.4% of commuters from Gaetz Brook go without a car
Only 19% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 1.8%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. Nearly everyone drives: 95% of commuters go by car, truck or van.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How many in Gaetz Brook were working in 2021
Of the 35 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Halifax census division, 16 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 65% of the wider area’s adults in work. Working or looking, 62% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 55% were working. 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.
Half the households in Gaetz Brook had more than $82,000 in 2020
That puts Gaetz Brook 19% above the median of Nova Scotia’s towns, $69,150. Of the 35 other places of 2,500 or more in the Halifax census division, 21 have a higher median. Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
18% more people are on EI in the Halifax census division than in 2019
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%. May 2021 was the busiest month, with 26,240 people on EI, 2.9 times 2019’s average.
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).
Gaetz Brook grades D for walkability
Better than 10% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #82 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Ranked on jobs and income, Gaetz Brook is 565th among 736 Canadian towns of 3,100 to 6,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 142 | Upper Tantallon Nova Scotia | 5,248 | 80% | 8.6% | $129K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 215 | Lawrencetown Nova Scotia | 3,509 | 75% | 7% | $110K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 245 | Westphal Nova Scotia | 4,201 | 70% | 10% | $109K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 563 | Meadowgreen Saskatchewan | 3,782 | 64% | 9.5% | $64K | C− |
| 564 | Belmont Alberta | 5,299 | 65% | 14% | $88K | C− |
| 565 | Gaetz Brook Nova Scotia | 4,473 | 73% | 11% | $82K | C− |
| 566 | Jasper Park Alberta | 3,219 | 70% | 15% | $71K | C− |
| 567 | Royal Gardens Alberta | 3,392 | 69% | 15% | $82K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 736 | Saint-Alexis-des-Monts Quebec | 3,190 | 61% | 11% | $50K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Gaetz Brook, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
Gaetz Brook and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaetz Brook | 73% | 11% | $82K | 31.6 min | C− | D |
| East Lawrencetown 8.8 km | 79% | 8.3% | $108K | 33.4 min | B | D |
| Lake Echo 8.9 km | 74% | 12% | $93K | 30.7 min | C+ | C− |
| Musquodoboit Harbour 9.8 km | 70% | 13% | $82K | 37.5 min | D | C+ |
| East Preston 13.6 km | 61% | 14% | $75K | 25.6 min | C− | C |
| Lawrencetown 13.7 km | 75% | 7% | $110K | 26.6 min | B+ | D |
| Westphal 18.1 km | 70% | 10% | $109K | 23.6 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 Gaetz Brook, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Trip times. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s average.
- 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. 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.
- 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. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Household income. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- 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.
- Neighbourhood figures. Gaetz Brook’s census figures are summed from its dissemination areas. Commuting flows and Statistics Canada’s timed averages are published only for the whole municipality, so they are on Halifax’s page.
Questions about work in Gaetz Brook
What is the average household income in Gaetz Brook?
Before tax, half the households in Gaetz Brook had more than $82,000 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Gaetz Brook get to work?
95% of commuters drive, 1.8% take public transit and 0.6% walk; 19% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How many jobs are there in Gaetz Brook?
Jobs and commuting flows exist only for Halifax as a whole, and its page carries them.
What is the unemployment rate in Gaetz Brook?
Two figures answer it: 11% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 5.4% for the Halifax metro area in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
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).