Photo: William Booth · Public domainHousehold incomes in Shelburne are lower than in 97% of Canadian towns
In Shelburne, 70% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Most commutes from Shelburne take well under an hour: the average is 15.7 minutes, and 3.4% take 60 minutes or longer. The 2021 census put unemployment in Shelburne at 14%, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
Where Shelburne stands out on 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 8.9%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
At $53,200 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
A local job centre
With 620 jobs based in Shelburne and 440 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 15.7 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 3.4% last an hour or longer. 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.
Shelburne grades C for jobs and income
Better than 29% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
How many in Shelburne were working in 2021
An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 47% of residents 15 and over were in work. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 48% of the wider area’s adults in work. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 54% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. 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.
Household income in Shelburne: $53,200 at the median
Shelburne’s median is 23% below the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns ($69,150). The year is 2020: emergency benefits like CERB count in these incomes, and they raised the bottom of the range.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Workers pour into Shelburne: 35% more on a working day
About 2 people arrive to work in Shelburne for each resident who goes out.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Time on the road to work from Shelburne
Timed exactly, the average is 13.3 minutes (Statistics Canada). 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.
395 people come into Shelburne to work, most from Shelburne (Nova Scotia part) and Barrington
- Shelburne (Nova Scotia part)305
- Barrington50
- Lockeport25
- Argyle10
- Shelburne (Nova Scotia part)150
- Barrington35
- Lockeport15
- Bridgewater10
64% of the people who work in Shelburne live outside it, 305 of them in Shelburne (Nova Scotia part), 4 km away. Going the other way, Shelburne (Nova Scotia part) is the biggest single destination (150).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
9.5% of commuters in Shelburne walk, cycle or take transit
Fewer drive than in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns: 87% against 92%. Only 12% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% 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 Shelburne census division run 6% above their 2019 level
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 4%. July 2021 was the busiest month, with 2,950 people on EI, 2 times 2019’s average. Roughly 25.6 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI.
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 Shelburne 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).
Shelburne grades B for walkability
Better than 65% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How the places next to Shelburne compare on work
The nearest places to Shelburne with figures are 4–47 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelburne | 70% | 14% | $53K | 15.7 min | C | B |
| Shelburne 3.7 km | 68% | 11% | $62K | 21.1 min | C− | D |
| Barrington 38.8 km | 74% | 12% | $68K | 19.5 min | B− | C− |
| Argyle 47 km | 72% | 12% | $71K | 20.2 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 Shelburne, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- 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.
- Where people commute. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- 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. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- In work. People in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64 (2021 Census). The census doesn’t cross work with age below the municipality, so this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood has; retirees don’t weigh on it.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Shelburne
What is the average household income in Shelburne?
At $53,200 before tax in 2020, the median household in Shelburne compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Shelburne get to work?
87% of commuters go by car, 9.5% walk. On census day 12% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Shelburne?
On average 15.7 minutes; 70% take under 15 minutes and 3.4% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Shelburne work?
Most stay: 51% work in Shelburne. The rest go first to Shelburne (Nova Scotia part) (150) and Barrington (35).
How many jobs are there in Shelburne?
About 620 people had their usual place of work in Shelburne at the 2021 census, 1.4 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 110 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Shelburne?
The 2021 census found 14% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Southern economic region, is 8.9% (October 2026).
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).