Photo: Gordon Leggett · CC BY-SA 4.0The share of 15-to-64s with a job in Gjoa Haven trails that of 98% of Canadian towns
When the 2021 census was taken, 21% of people in Gjoa Haven who wanted a job had none, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. Commutes from Gjoa Haven average 9 minutes, and 0% take an hour or more. The median household in Gjoa Haven had $103,100 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
What the numbers say about work in Gjoa Haven
Fewer people in work than most towns
Counting everyone 15 and over, 44% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 47%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
Unemployment stood at 21% on census day in 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household had $103,100 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 9 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 0% 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.
Jobs and income in Gjoa Haven earn A−
Better than 76% 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.
47% of working-age people in Gjoa Haven have jobs
The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 55%. 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.
Earnings at home in Gjoa Haven: households
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 88% of Canadian towns.
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).
At 9 minutes, commutes from Gjoa Haven are shorter than in the middle of Canadian towns
Timed exactly, the average is 7 minutes (Statistics Canada). A quarter-hour or less for 90% of commuters, against 36% in the middle of Canadian 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.
A commuter town: Gjoa Haven sends out more workers than it takes in
Each person commuting in is matched by about 3 residents going out. Of those who commute, 76% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
24% of Gjoa Haven’s residents in work leave it to work; Kugluktuk takes the most
Kugaaruk sends the largest group the other way, 15 people.
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, 56% of Gjoa Haven’s commuters get to work
Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. Fewer drive than in the middle of Canadian towns: 29% against 89%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Kitikmeot census division run 7% above their 2019 level
At its peak, in July 2021, 350 people were on EI, 2.1 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Not measured by town: EI beneficiaries (the Kitikmeot 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).
The walkability of Gjoa Haven: A+
Better than 96% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Work in the places around Gjoa Haven
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gjoa Haven | 47% | 21% | $103K | 9 min | A− | A+ |
| Taloyoak 137 km | 36% | 12% | $92K | 8.3 min | B+ | — |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come. The nearest place to Gjoa Haven with figures is 137 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Gjoa Haven, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not 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. The share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- 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 Gjoa Haven
What is the unemployment rate in Gjoa Haven?
The 2021 census found 21% of those working or looking without a job; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
What is the average household income in Gjoa Haven?
At $103,100 before tax in 2020, the median household in Gjoa Haven compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Gjoa Haven get to work?
29% of commuters go by car, 56% walk. On census day 0% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Gjoa Haven?
On average 9 minutes; 90% take under 15 minutes and 0% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Gjoa Haven work?
Most stay: 76% work in Gjoa Haven. The rest go first to Kugluktuk (15) and Prince George (10).
How many jobs are there in Gjoa Haven?
About 210 people had their usual place of work in Gjoa Haven at the 2021 census, 0.8 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 14 businesses with employees in June 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, 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).