Photo: Ann Baekken · CC BY 2.0Households in Millbrook 27 earn less than those in 97% of Canadian towns
Commutes from Millbrook 27 average 21.3 minutes, and 16% take an hour or more. 45% of people aged 15 to 64 in Millbrook 27 had a job at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. When the 2021 census was taken, 14% of people in Millbrook 27 who wanted a job had none, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Where Millbrook 27 stands out on work
Fewer people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 45% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 41%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 14% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 6.8%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $53,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 21.3 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 16% take an hour or more. The trip to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Millbrook 27 earns D for jobs and income
Better than 9% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is trip times; 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.
In Millbrook 27, 45% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
None of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Colchester census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 48% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 56% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from 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.
$53,900 a year: the median household in Millbrook 27
Every other place of 2,500 or more in the Colchester census division has a higher median. Millbrook 27’s median is 22% below the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns ($69,150). Pandemic benefits paid in 2020 lifted the incomes at the bottom, and they are counted here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
The length of the trip to work in Millbrook 27
Trips under 15 minutes: 68%, more than the 46% in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 21 minutes. The middle of Nova Scotia’s towns averages 23 minutes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting duration in five bands; our average uses each band’s middle (75 minutes for an hour or more), so it runs about two minutes above Statistics Canada’s own.
4.5% of commuters from Millbrook 27 go without a car
Home was the workplace for 17%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 93% 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).
12% more people are on EI in the Colchester census division than in 2019
Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 1%. In May 2021 it reached 3,670, the most in the series and 2.2 times the 2019 average. That is about 5.3 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. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Colchester 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).
Walkability in Millbrook 27: graded B−
Better than 53% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Next to Millbrook 27: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millbrook 27 | 45% | 14% | $54K | 21.3 min | D | B− |
| Truro 3.7 km | 66% | 16% | $55K | 17.9 min | C− | A |
| Colchester County, Subdivision C 6.5 km | 71% | 11% | $74K | 25.3 min | C | C− |
| Colchester County, Subdivision B 13.2 km | 73% | 11% | $70K | 23.4 min | C+ | C |
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 Millbrook 27, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- Trip times. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- 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.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- 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.
- A First Nations reserve. Millbrook 27’s figures are its own, though Statistics Canada rounds or suppresses some for small communities. A reserve has no overall grade and sits in no ranked list.
Questions about work in Millbrook 27
What is the unemployment rate in Millbrook 27?
At the 2021 census 14% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the North Shore economic region, gives 6.8% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Millbrook 27?
At $53,900 before tax in 2020, the median household in Millbrook 27 compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Millbrook 27 get to work?
By car: 93% of commuters, 4.5% walk; on census day 17% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Millbrook 27?
21.3 minutes is the average trip, with 68% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 16% taking an hour or more.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, tables 98-10-0458 and 98-10-0459 (commuting) · 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).