Photo: Ansgar Walk · CC BY-SA 2.5Household incomes in Arviat top those of 90% of Canadian towns
The 2021 census found 43% of working-age people in Arviat employed; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. An hour or more each way is the commute for 3.6% of workers in Arviat; the average is 11.3 minutes. In May 2021, unemployment in Arviat reached 18%, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
What sets Arviat apart on jobs and income
Fewer people in work than most towns
Counting everyone 15 and over, 40% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 43%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021, 18% of those working or looking had no job; the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household had $105,800 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 11.3 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 3.6% 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.
Jobs & income in Arviat: graded A−
Better than 76% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #576 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
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.
How many in Arviat were working in 2021
Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 50%. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at 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.
A smaller share in work than in almost any Canadian town.
Before tax, the median household in Arviat had $105,800
Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Time on the road to work from Arviat
Trips under 15 minutes: 89%, more than the 36% in the middle of Canadian towns. Timed exactly, the average is 10.2 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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.
As many come into Arviat to work as leave
91% 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.
8.9% of Arviat’s residents in work leave it to work; Baker Lake takes the most
- Baker Lake20
- Kivalliq, Unorganized (NO)20
- Rankin Inlet15
In the other direction the biggest source is Val-d'Or, with 10.
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, 40% of Arviat’s commuters get to work
Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 3.4% against 21%. Few ride transit: 1.4%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. More people walk to work here than in the middle of Canadian towns: 37% against 3.4%. The car takes 37% of commuters here, under the 89% 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).
In the Kivalliq census division, 4% fewer people receive EI than in 2019
Roughly 3.4 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 12%. The count topped out in June 2021 at 510 people, 2.1 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Data for EI beneficiaries covers the Kivalliq 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).
Getting around Arviat on foot earns A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #270 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Arviat is 188th of 714 Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,500 people for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 108 | Rankin Inlet Nunavut | 3,336 | 62% | 15% | $141K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 186 | Sainte-Victoire-de-Sorel Quebec | 2,599 | 81% | 6% | $78K | A− |
| 187 | Saint-Alexandre Quebec | 2,685 | 85% | 3.7% | $90K | A− |
| 188 | Arviat Nunavut | 3,330 | 43% | 18% | $106K | A− |
| 189 | Parkland Alberta | 3,652 | 73% | 9.5% | $139K | A− |
| 190 | Coach Hill Alberta | 3,383 | 77% | 11% | $105K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 714 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Arviat, and others among Nunavut’s towns.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Arviat, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- 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.
- Where people commute. Only people with a usual place of work are in it: those who work from home or have no fixed site are not. Home and work are both counted by municipality.
- 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.
- In work. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
Questions about work in Arviat
Where do people in Arviat work?
91% work in Arviat itself; of those who leave, the most go to Baker Lake (20), then Kivalliq, Unorganized (NO) (20).
How many jobs are there in Arviat?
About 600 people had their usual place of work in Arviat at the 2021 census, 1 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 26 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Arviat?
18% of the labour force was unemployed on census day in May 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Arviat?
The median household in Arviat had $105,800 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Arviat get to work?
37% of commuters go by car, 1.4% take public transit, 37% walk and 1.4% cycle. On census day 3.4% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Arviat?
On average 11.3 minutes; 89% take under 15 minutes and 3.6% take an hour or longer.
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, 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).