Photo: Paulo O · Public domainHousehold incomes in Westphal are higher than in 92% of Canadian towns
Residents of Westphal take 23.6 minutes to reach work on average; the middle of Canadian towns is 26. 70% of people aged 15 to 64 in Westphal had a job at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. 10% of the labour force in Westphal was out of work at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
Jobs and income in Westphal: what the figures say
Work near the middle
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 70% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 58%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $108,600 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.
Jobs and income in Westphal earn B
Better than 64% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #14 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 Westphal had $108,600
Of the 35 other places of 2,500 or more in the Halifax census division, 6 have a higher median. Set beside Nova Scotia’s towns, where the median is $69,150, Westphal sits 57% above. Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for 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).
In Westphal, 70% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 35 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Halifax census division, 8 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Working or looking, 65% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. In October 2026, 65% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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.
Leaving the car at home: 5.6% of commuters in Westphal
The middle of Nova Scotia’s towns has 0.7% on transit; here it is 4.4%. The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters. Working at home: 21%, close to 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
Roughly 3.7 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 3%. The count topped out in May 2021 at 26,240 people, 2.9 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of 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).
Westphal on foot: a B− grade
Better than 48% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #37 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 2,900 to 5,700, Westphal ranks 267th of 766 for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| 2 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 3 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 156 | Upper Tantallon Nova Scotia | 5,248 | 80% | 8.6% | $129K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 234 | Lawrencetown Nova Scotia | 3,509 | 75% | 7% | $110K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 265 | Normandin Quebec | 3,065 | 82% | 6.1% | $67K | B |
| 266 | Cookshire-Eaton Quebec | 5,491 | 83% | 5.9% | $70K | B |
| 267 | Westphal Nova Scotia | 4,201 | 70% | 10% | $109K | B |
| 268 | Queenswood - Chatelaine Ontario | 4,537 | 73% | 9.8% | $102K | B |
| 269 | Westdale Manitoba | 5,339 | 76% | 7.5% | $99K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 299 | East Lawrencetown Nova Scotia | 4,020 | 79% | 8.3% | $108K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 766 | Division No. 1, Subdivision E Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,978 | 57% | 22% | $60K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Westphal, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
Next to Westphal: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westphal | 70% | 10% | $109K | 23.6 min | B | B− |
| Cole Harbour 3.4 km | 77% | 9.9% | $103K | 23.7 min | A− | B+ |
| Woodlawn 3.6 km | 70% | 11% | $95K | 21.7 min | B+ | A− |
| Portland Estates 4.5 km | 77% | 8.9% | $87K | 20.3 min | A | B+ |
| East Preston 4.6 km | 61% | 14% | $75K | 25.6 min | C− | C |
| Manor Park 5.8 km | 69% | 14% | $69K | 20.8 min | C | A+ |
| Lawrencetown 6 km | 75% | 7% | $110K | 26.6 min | B+ | D |
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 Westphal, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Trip times. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed average.
- 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. 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. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
- Neighbourhood figures. Everything here sums the dissemination areas inside Westphal’s lines, since the census has no neighbourhood profile; where people commute is on Halifax’s page.
Questions about work in Westphal
How many jobs are there in Westphal?
Jobs are counted by municipality, not neighbourhood: the page for Halifax has the jobs based there and where its commuters go.
What is the unemployment rate in Westphal?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Halifax metro area at 5.4%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 10%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Westphal?
The median household in Westphal had $108,600 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Westphal get to work?
Driving takes 91% of commuters to work, 4.4% take public transit, 0.6% walk and 0.6% cycle, and on census day 21% of those in work were at home.
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).