Photo: SimonP at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Springhill have lower incomes than those in 93% of Canadian towns
Springhill is the usual workplace of 1,340 people, and 1,800 of its own residents commute to a job. 56% of people aged 15 to 64 in Springhill had a job at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Out of work in May 2021: 15% of Springhill’s labour force, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What stands out about work in Springhill
Fewer people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 56% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 42%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 15% 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
Half the households here had more than $57,200 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 23 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 5.5% 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.
On jobs and income, Springhill grades D
Better than 8% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #78 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
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.
Who in Springhill has a job
None of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Cumberland census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 42%: many residents are past working age. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 50% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. 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.
Springhill households: $57,200 a year at the median
2 of the 4 other places of 2,500+ in the Cumberland census division have a higher median. That puts Springhill 17% below the median of Nova Scotia’s towns, $69,150. Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
23 minutes from Springhill to work, under the middle of Canadian towns
Long trips, an hour or more, are about as common as in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns: 5.5%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 20.7 minutes. Only 42% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 46% in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns.
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.
Springhill is quieter on a working day than at night
Each person commuting in is matched by about 2 residents going out. 42% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
58% of Springhill’s residents in work leave it to work; Amherst takes the most
Of those coming in, Amherst supplies the most: 145.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Without a car, 4.1% of Springhill’s commuters get to work
The car is the way to work for 94% of commuters. Only 11% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the Cumberland census division, 12% more people receive EI than in 2019
At its peak, in March 2021, 2,200 people were on EI, 2.1 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 5.4 receive EI. Set against the same month a year before, 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. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Cumberland 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).
On getting around on foot, Springhill grades B−
Better than 46% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #38 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Canadian towns of 4,900 to 9,500, and where Springhill sits
| # | 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 River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 51 | Fall River Nova Scotia | 9,214 | 78% | 8.1% | $135K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 123 | Hubley Nova Scotia | 6,337 | 79% | 7.4% | $112K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 133 | Upper Tantallon Nova Scotia | 5,248 | 80% | 8.6% | $129K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 672 | Algoma, Unorganized, North Part Ontario | 7,008 | 62% | 16% | $76K | D |
| 673 | Strathcona Ontario | 9,348 | 68% | 14% | $63K | D |
| 674 | Cumberland County, Subdivision B Nova Scotia | 7,015 | 56% | 15% | $57K | D |
| 675 | Evansdale Alberta | 5,602 | 50% | 21% | $69K | D |
| 676 | Queen Mary Park Alberta | 7,958 | 67% | 18% | $56K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 712 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Springhill, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
Next to Springhill: how nearby places compare
The nearest places to Springhill with figures are 22–24 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springhill | 56% | 15% | $57K | 23 min | D | B− |
| Oxford 22.4 km | 55% | 18% | $59K | 19.2 min | C− | A− |
| Cumberland County, Subdivision C 23.4 km | 69% | 12% | $69K | 22 min | C | C− |
| Amherst 23.8 km | 65% | 12% | $56K | 16.3 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 Springhill, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- Where people commute. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- Employment Insurance. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- In work. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- 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.
- 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.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Springhill as part of Cumberland County, Subdivision B, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Springhill
How do people in Springhill get to work?
Driving takes 94% of commuters to work, 4.1% walk, and on census day 11% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Springhill?
About 23 minutes on average, with 42% under a quarter-hour and 5.5% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Springhill work?
Only 42% work in Springhill itself; the rest go first to Amherst (490) and Oxford (140).
How many jobs are there in Springhill?
Some 1,340 people worked in Springhill at the 2021 census: 0.7 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 143 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Springhill?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the North Shore economic region at 6.8%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 15%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Springhill?
The median household in Springhill had $57,200 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
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).