Photo: CP Hoffman from Washington, DC, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Schmidtville has lower household incomes than 95% of Canadian towns
Public transit carries 16% of its commuters. Workers in Schmidtville spend 21.2 minutes on the way to work on average (26 in the middle of Canadian towns). At the 2021 census, 67% of Schmidtville’s 15-to-64s were in work, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Schmidtville at work: what stands out
Fewer people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 67% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 60% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 17% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 5.4% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household had $55,800 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 21.2 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. Getting to work ↓
Many work from home
On census day, 39% 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.
Jobs & income in Schmidtville: graded C−
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.
A place this unusual is graded but left out of the rankings.
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.
Work and the working-age population of Schmidtville
Of the 35 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Halifax census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
71% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 65% of the wider area’s adults in work. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
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 Schmidtville had $55,800 in 2020
That puts Schmidtville 19% below the median of Nova Scotia’s towns, $69,150. Every other place of 2,500 or more in the Halifax census division has a higher median. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes 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).
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 57% of Schmidtville’s commuters
The car takes 39% of commuters here, under the 92% in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns. Working at home: 39% here, 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).
EI claims in the Halifax census division run 18% above their 2019 level
The highest month was May 2021: 26,240 people, 2.9 times the 2019 level. That works out to around 3.7 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 3%.
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). Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for Schmidtville alone, so this card uses the figure for the Halifax census division.
On getting around on foot, Schmidtville grades A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Jobs and income in the places around Schmidtville
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schmidtville | 67% | 17% | $56K | 21.2 min | C− | A+ |
| North End 1.8 km | 70% | 14% | $67K | 21.3 min | C | A+ |
| South End 2.8 km | 66% | 14% | $77K | 23.3 min | C | A |
| Westmount 3.3 km | 73% | 13% | $77K | 20.5 min | B | A+ |
| Windsor Park 3.4 km | 70% | 13% | $70K | 20.1 min | C+ | A+ |
| Manor Park 3.7 km | 69% | 14% | $69K | 20.8 min | C | A+ |
| Austinville 4 km | 70% | 13% | $60K | 20.2 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 Schmidtville, 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’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. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- 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. Schmidtville’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 Schmidtville
How do people in Schmidtville get to work?
39% of commuters drive, 16% take public transit, 41% walk and 0.5% cycle; 39% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How many jobs are there in Schmidtville?
There is no count for a neighbourhood: the jobs figure, and where commuters go, are published for Halifax as one municipality.
What is the unemployment rate in Schmidtville?
The 2021 census found 17% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Halifax metro area, is 5.4% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Schmidtville?
Before tax, half the households in Schmidtville had more than $55,800 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
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).