Photo: Citobun · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in North End are lower than in 75% of Canadian towns
The 2021 census found 70% of working-age people in North End employed, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. Public transit carries 16% of its commuters. On average, people in North End spend 21.3 minutes getting to work, next to 26 for the middle of Canadian towns.
The work numbers behind North End
More unemployment than most towns
14% 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 ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
At $66,600 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 21.3 minutes; the middle of Canadian towns is 26. Getting to work ↓
Many work from home
On census day, 36% of those in work were working at home; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. 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.
On jobs and income, North End grades C
Better than 31% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #39 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.
Who in North End has a job
Of the 35 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Halifax census division, 12 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting those looking for work too, 72% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 65% 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.
The median household in North End had $66,600 in 2020
Against the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns ($69,150), North End’s median is 4% below. Of the 35 other places of 2,500 or more in the Halifax census division, 30 have a higher median. CERB and the other emergency payments of 2020 are counted in these incomes, which lifted the lower ones 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).
Leaving the car at home: 51% of commuters in North End
Cycling to work barely figures in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns; here, 3% cycle. 46% drive to work, fewer than the 92% in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns. 36% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% 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).
In the Halifax census division, 18% more people receive EI than in 2019
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 3%. May 2021 was the busiest month, with 26,240 people on EI, 2.9 times 2019’s average. That is about 3.7 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100). For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of the Halifax census division, North End included.
North End on foot: a A+ grade
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #1 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 463 Canadian towns of 13,800 to 26,600, North End comes 287th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 47 | Cole Harbour Nova Scotia | 21,627 | 77% | 9.9% | $103K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 103 | Hammonds Plains Nova Scotia | 13,844 | 75% | 8.2% | $135K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 112 | Middle Sackville Nova Scotia | 14,898 | 75% | 7.4% | $104K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 285 | White Rock British Columbia | 25,057 | 78% | 8% | $73K | C |
| 286 | Mount Pleasant Village Ontario | 19,719 | 69% | 11% | $129K | C |
| 287 | North End Nova Scotia | 19,733 | 70% | 14% | $67K | C |
| 288 | Vieux-Limoilou Quebec | 14,347 | 76% | 8.6% | $52K | C |
| 289 | Hamilton Road Ontario | 15,283 | 67% | 12% | $71K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 463 | Oakridge Ontario | 13,913 | 51% | 21% | $60K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of North End, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
Work next door to North End
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North End | 70% | 14% | $67K | 21.3 min | C | A+ |
| Windsor Park 1.7 km | 70% | 13% | $70K | 20.1 min | C+ | A+ |
| Schmidtville 1.8 km | 67% | 17% | $56K | 21.2 min | C− | A+ |
| Austinville 2.8 km | 70% | 13% | $60K | 20.2 min | C− | A+ |
| Westmount 2.8 km | 73% | 13% | $77K | 20.5 min | B | A+ |
| Fairview 3.4 km | 69% | 13% | $63K | 21 min | C− | A+ |
| Manor Park 3.7 km | 69% | 14% | $69K | 20.8 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 North End, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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 surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- In work. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- Unemployment. The share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- 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.
- 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. Commuting flows and Statistics Canada’s timed averages stop at the municipality, so Halifax’s page carries them; North End’s own figures sum its dissemination areas.
Questions about work in North End
What is the unemployment rate in North End?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 14% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Halifax metro area at 5.4% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in North End?
The median household in North End had $66,600 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in North End get to work?
46% of commuters drive, 16% take public transit, 31% walk and 3% cycle; 36% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How many jobs are there in North End?
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).