Photo: Ann Baekken · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Stellarton are lower than in 87% of Canadian towns
14% of the labour force in Stellarton was out of work at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. Commutes from Stellarton average 16.5 minutes, and 4.1% take an hour or more. The 2021 census found 67% of working-age people in Stellarton employed, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%.
The work figures that set Stellarton apart
Fewer people in work than most towns
Counting everyone 15 and over, 50% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 67%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 14% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 6.8% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household had $60,500 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
A local job centre
1,635 people work in Stellarton and 1,275 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 16.5 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 4.1% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Stellarton: C
Better than 29% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #45 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
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 Stellarton were working in 2021
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Pictou census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 56% in October 2026. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 58% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Counting retirees, 50% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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.
Median household income in Stellarton: $60,500 in 2020
The middle of Nova Scotia’s towns is $69,150, and Stellarton is 13% below it. 4 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Pictou census division have a higher median. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Stellarton fills up on a working day: 24% more workers
Of those who commute, 30% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Commuting times in Stellarton
Trips under 15 minutes: 66%, more than the 46% in the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 14.7 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Nova Scotia’s towns, the average commute is 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.
1,250 people come into Stellarton to work, most from New Glasgow and Pictou County, Subdivision C
- New Glasgow430
- Pictou County, Subdivision B230
- Pictou County, Subdivision C70
- Westville30
- Truro25
- Sheet Harbour 36 (IRI)20
- Colchester County, Subdivision B20
- Antigonish20
- Halifax15
- Pictou County, Subdivision A15
Of everyone working in Stellarton, 76% come in from elsewhere; 310 make the 4 km trip from New Glasgow. Of residents who leave for work, most head to New Glasgow (430).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
4.4% of commuters in Stellarton walk, cycle or take transit
Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 94% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Pictou census division run 3% below their 2019 level
August 2021 was the busiest month, with 3,910 people on EI, 2.1 times 2019’s average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 6.7 are on EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 2%.
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). Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for Stellarton alone, so this card uses the figure for the Pictou census division.
Walkability in Stellarton: graded B+
Better than 71% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #25 of 88 in Nova Scotia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 724 Canadian towns of 3,000 to 5,700, Stellarton comes 514th on 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 145 | Upper Tantallon Nova Scotia | 5,248 | 80% | 8.6% | $129K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 217 | Lawrencetown Nova Scotia | 3,509 | 75% | 7% | $110K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 248 | Westphal Nova Scotia | 4,201 | 70% | 10% | $109K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 512 | Normand Park Manitoba | 5,299 | 71% | 9% | $78K | C |
| 513 | Creditview Ontario | 5,598 | 69% | 12% | $121K | C |
| 514 | Stellarton Nova Scotia | 4,251 | 67% | 14% | $61K | C |
| 515 | Countryside Ontario | 5,595 | 67% | 13% | $118K | C |
| 516 | Sunalta Alberta | 4,151 | 76% | 14% | $68K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 724 | Saint-Alexis-des-Monts Quebec | 3,190 | 61% | 11% | $50K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Stellarton, and others among Nova Scotia’s towns.
How the places next to Stellarton compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stellarton | 67% | 14% | $61K | 16.5 min | C | B+ |
| New Glasgow 3.7 km | 67% | 12% | $58K | 16.6 min | C | A− |
| Westville 4.2 km | 62% | 18% | $61K | 16.8 min | C− | B |
| Trenton 6.4 km | 63% | 16% | $60K | 17.7 min | C− | B− |
| Pictou County, Subdivision B 6.9 km | 68% | 12% | $70K | 22.4 min | C | D |
| Pictou County, Subdivision C 7.9 km | 67% | 14% | $72K | 23.9 min | C− | C− |
| Pictou 13.6 km | 60% | 14% | $56K | 19.2 min | D | B+ |
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 Stellarton, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- 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. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Trip times. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- 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. 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. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
Questions about work in Stellarton
What is the unemployment rate in Stellarton?
The census put unemployment at 14% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the North Shore economic region at 6.8%.
What is the average household income in Stellarton?
Stellarton’s middle household had $60,500 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Stellarton get to work?
94% of commuters go by car, 4.4% walk. On census day 14% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Stellarton?
On average 16.5 minutes; 66% take under 15 minutes and 4.1% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Stellarton work?
Only 30% work in Stellarton itself; the rest go first to New Glasgow (430) and Pictou County, Subdivision B (230).
How many jobs are there in Stellarton?
About 1,635 people had their usual place of work in Stellarton at the 2021 census, 1.3 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 139 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
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).