Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainHarrietsfield has higher household incomes than 82% of Canadian towns
Unemployment in Harrietsfield stood at 11% on census day 2021, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns. A typical one-way commute from Harrietsfield lasts 27.9 minutes, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. Harrietsfield counted 71% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns.
The short version on work in Harrietsfield
Work near the middle
The 2021 census found 71% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 56%. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
11% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 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 Harrietsfield earn C+
Better than 42% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #26 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.
Who in Harrietsfield has a job
Of the 35 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Halifax census division, 14 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 63% of residents that age. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 56%. In October 2026, 65% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at 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.
Harrietsfield households: $96,200 a year at the median
Set beside Nova Scotia’s towns, where the median is $69,150, Harrietsfield sits 39% above. 14 of the 35 other places of 2,500+ in the Halifax census division 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).
1.8% of commuters in Harrietsfield walk, cycle or take transit
The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters. 24% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 0.6% of commuters, against 3.5% 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).
EI claims in the Halifax census division run 18% above their 2019 level
May 2021 was the busiest month, with 26,240 people on EI, 2.9 times 2019’s average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 3.7 are on 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. 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).
Harrietsfield on foot: a C− grade
Better than 18% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #74 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Harrietsfield is 414th of 696 Canadian towns of 4,800 to 9,200 people for 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 River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 113 | Hubley Nova Scotia | 6,337 | 79% | 7.4% | $112K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 123 | Upper Tantallon Nova Scotia | 5,248 | 80% | 8.6% | $129K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 217 | Beaver Bank Nova Scotia | 9,157 | 75% | 8.9% | $108K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 412 | Kentville Nova Scotia | 7,589 | 72% | 9.4% | $68K | C+ |
| 413 | Metchosin British Columbia | 5,207 | 74% | 5.5% | $105K | C+ |
| 414 | Harrietsfield Nova Scotia | 6,786 | 71% | 11% | $96K | C+ |
| 415 | Ogden Alberta | 8,484 | 70% | 14% | $78K | C+ |
| 416 | Fisher Heights Ontario | 6,451 | 70% | 12% | $87K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 696 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Harrietsfield, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
How Harrietsfield compares with the places nearby
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrietsfield | 71% | 11% | $96K | 27.9 min | C+ | C− |
| Hatchet Lake 9.5 km | 74% | 9.5% | $93K | 29.6 min | C+ | C− |
| South End 9.6 km | 66% | 14% | $77K | 23.3 min | C | A |
| Westmount 11.1 km | 73% | 13% | $77K | 20.5 min | B | A+ |
| Schmidtville 12.2 km | 67% | 17% | $56K | 21.2 min | C− | A+ |
| Mount Royale 12.8 km | 72% | 11% | $73K | 21.3 min | B− | A− |
| North End 13.3 km | 70% | 14% | $67K | 21.3 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 Harrietsfield, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not 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.
- Unemployment. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- 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. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- 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. The census reaches a neighbourhood only through its dissemination areas, and Harrietsfield’s figures add those up. Halifax’s page has the commuting flows, which exist only for the whole municipality.
Questions about work in Harrietsfield
What is the unemployment rate in Harrietsfield?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Halifax metro area at 5.4%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 11%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Harrietsfield?
The median household in Harrietsfield had $96,200 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Harrietsfield get to work?
Driving takes 95% of commuters to work, 0.6% take public transit and 1.2% walk, and on census day 24% of those in work were at home.
How many jobs are there in Harrietsfield?
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).