Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis · CC BY-SA 2.0Household incomes in Timberlea top those of 93% of Canadian towns
The 2021 census found 75% of working-age people in Timberlea employed, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. Home was the workplace for 29% of its workers in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 21%. 8.4% of the labour force in Timberlea was out of work at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
The work figures that set Timberlea apart
Work near the middle
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 75% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 66%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $110,100 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
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 Timberlea: A−
Better than 82% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #6 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
Before tax, the median household in Timberlea had $110,100
The middle of Nova Scotia’s towns is $69,150, and Timberlea is 59% above it. 4 of the 35 other places of 2,500+ in the Halifax census division have a higher median. In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
How many in Timberlea were working in 2021
Of the 35 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Halifax census division, 28 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
A more recent figure, for the wider area: 65% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 72%. May 2021, when the census was taken, was a pandemic spring; unemployment has come down since, as the Labour Force Survey records.
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.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 6.7% of Timberlea’s commuters
The middle of Nova Scotia’s towns has 0.7% on transit; here it is 3.9%. Nearly everyone drives: 90% 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).
In the Halifax census division, 18% more people receive EI than in 2019
For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 3.7 are on EI. Compared with a year earlier, 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.
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). Timberlea doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Halifax census division.
How walkable Timberlea is: B
Better than 62% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #30 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Timberlea next to Canadian towns of 7,700 to 14,900: 110th of 661 on 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 Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 43 | Fall River Nova Scotia | 9,214 | 78% | 8.1% | $135K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 89 | Portland Estates Nova Scotia | 10,164 | 77% | 8.9% | $87K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 106 | Antigonish County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 9,682 | 78% | 9.1% | $82K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 108 | Charlesbourg Quebec | 9,660 | 80% | 5.3% | $77K | A− |
| 109 | Taber Alberta | 10,175 | 74% | 6.5% | $82K | A− |
| 110 | Timberlea Nova Scotia | 11,014 | 75% | 8.4% | $110K | A− |
| 111 | Cypress County Alberta | 7,855 | 77% | 6.8% | $101K | A− |
| 112 | Coaldale Alberta | 9,644 | 76% | 7.9% | $91K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 661 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Timberlea, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
Next to Timberlea: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timberlea | 75% | 8.4% | $110K | 23.6 min | A− | B |
| Clayton Park West 5.6 km | 73% | 12% | $74K | 23.5 min | C+ | A+ |
| Mount Royale 6.5 km | 72% | 11% | $73K | 21.3 min | B− | A− |
| Fairview 7.8 km | 69% | 13% | $63K | 21 min | C− | A+ |
| Bedford 8.1 km | 74% | 11% | $98K | 22.3 min | A− | A− |
| Westmount 9.3 km | 73% | 13% | $77K | 20.5 min | B | A+ |
| Windsor Park 9.7 km | 70% | 13% | $70K | 20.1 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 Timberlea, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- 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 census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed average.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
- Neighbourhood figures. Everything here sums the dissemination areas inside Timberlea’s lines, since the census has no neighbourhood profile; where people commute is on Halifax’s page.
Questions about work in Timberlea
How do people in Timberlea get to work?
Driving takes 90% of commuters to work, 3.9% take public transit, 2.6% walk and 0.2% cycle, and on census day 29% of those in work were at home.
How many jobs are there in Timberlea?
Jobs and commuting flows exist only for Halifax as a whole, and its page carries them.
What is the unemployment rate in Timberlea?
Two figures answer it: 8.4% 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.
What is the average household income in Timberlea?
The census puts Timberlea at $110,100 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
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).