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New Brunswick

Population 869,682
16 Sources Updated September 02, 2026
869,682
Population
$70,000
Median Income (CAD)
$84,000 national
7.1%
Unemployment
$48.3B
Provincial GDP (CAD)
405,100
Total Employment
30%
Bachelor's+
39% national
Community Data / Canada / New Brunswick

Economic Regions

New Brunswick is divided into 5 economic regions. Click any region to explore its profile.

Demographics & Population

Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population

Household Income

Source: Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population
Median Household Income
$70,000
Poverty Rate (LIM-AT)
15.6%
Low Income Measure, after tax · New Brunswick 2024 · Canada: 12.5%
Median Income Comparison (CAD)
New Brunswick$70,000
National$84,000

Community Snapshot

Source: Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population
869,682
Population (2025 estimate)
366,146
Total Dwellings (2021 Census)
Total Employment
405,100
Unemployment Rate StatCan LFS 2024 annual
7.1% +0.5 pts YoY
Avg Annual Wage
$61,811 CAD
Industry Sectors
10
Age Distribution
0-14: 14% (122,178 residents) 15-54: 48.8% (424,687 residents) 55-64 (near retirement): 13.8% (120,070 residents) 65+: 23.3% (202,747 residents) 44.6 Avg Age
0-14: 122,178
15-54: 424,687
55-64: 120,070
65+: 202,747
Visible Minority Composition (2021 Census)
Black 1.6%
South Asian 1.1%
Arab 0.7%
Filipino 0.7%
Chinese 0.5%
Latin American 0.3%
Not a visible minority(complement) 94.2%
"Visible minority" is a Statistics Canada classification defined by the Employment Equity Act and refers to "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." "Not a visible minority" is the complement to the total visible minority population. Top 6 groups shown; smaller groups are included in totals but not charted.
Indigenous Identity
4.4% identify as Indigenous
First Nations 2.8%
Métis 1.3%
Indigenous responses, n.i.e. 0.1%
Multiple Indigenous responses 0.1%
Inuit 0.1%
Indigenous identity per Statistics Canada Census 2021 (Table 98-10-0293): First Nations (North American Indian), Métis, and Inuk (Inuit), plus multiple and other Indigenous responses. Counts use census random rounding, so categories may not sum exactly to the total.
New Brunswick's median household income sits 17% below the Canadian national median, with 869,682 residents and a senior-skewed population structure (65+: 23.3%, 0-14: 14%). Bachelor's-or-higher attainment of 30%. The province has 366,146 total dwellings and has experienced a population change of 3.8% since the previous census.
Source: Statistics Canada 2021 Census of Population via CensusMapper.ca
Key Takeaways
  • Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the Canadian median, affecting consumer market depth.
  • Aging population: Seniors (65+) outnumber youth (0-14); plan for succession and senior-services demand.
  • Talent gap: Bachelor's+ attainment of 30% is below typical urban benchmarks.

Educational Attainment

Source: Statistics Canada · Table 37-10-0130 · New Brunswick province-wide (ages 25-64) · Reference year 2025
92%
High School+
Canada: 93%
1.0 pts
30%
Bachelor's+
Canada: 39%
9.0 pts
10%
Graduate+
Canada: 14%
4.0 pts

Economy & Industry

Statistics Canada · Labour Force Survey · Provincial GDP

$48.3B
Provincial Gross Domestic Product (CAD)
Source: Statistics Canada · Provincial Economic Accounts
405,100
Total Employment
$61,811
Avg Wage (CAD)
$70,000
Median Income
405,100
Total Employment
Source: StatCan Labour Force Survey
$61,811
Average Annual Wage (CAD)
Weighted by sector employment

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Statistics Canada · Labour Force Survey
IndustryEmployment% of Top Sectors
1Health care and social assistance		 68,100 19.9%
2Wholesale and retail trade		 58,400 17%
3Public administration		 38,400 11.2%
4Manufacturing		 33,300 9.7%
5Educational services		 32,300 9.4%
6Construction		 32,100 9.4%
7Professional, scientific and technical services		 22,000 6.4%
8Accommodation and food services		 19,900 5.8%
9Transportation and warehousing		 19,200 5.6%
10Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing		 19,000 5.5%
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Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Health care and social assistance employs 68,100 workers (19.9% of the tracked sectors).
  • Economic scale: Provincial GDP of $48.3B CAD.
  • Average wage: $61,811 CAD, annualized from average weekly earnings for payroll employees province-wide.
  • Diversified base: Top 5 sectors are Health care and social assistance, Wholesale and retail trade, Public administration, Manufacturing, and Educational services.
Source: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey + Provincial Economic Accounts.
Industry Employment Composition
New Brunswick's Top Sectors by Workforce Share
Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of the top sectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey · NAICS supersectors

Housing & Rental Market

Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0133 (Rents) - Table 34-10-0127 (Vacancy) - Reference year 2025 - Provincial average across CMHC-surveyed centres

Note: figures are single-year vintages. StatCan and CMHC do not publish ACS-style rolling 5-year housing averages, the long-form Census of Population every 5 years (2016, 2021) plays the equivalent precision role.

CMHC Average Rents by Bedroom

Source: Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0133 - 2025
20.4%
Annual Rent (2BR) as % of Median Household Income - Affordable
30% threshold = "cost-burdened" (CMHC / HUD convention). Computed from $1,190 average 2BR rent × 12 / $70,000 household income.
Bachelor
$822/mo
1 Bedroom
$911/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,190/mo
3+ Bedroom
$1,378/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,750/mo), rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.

Vacancy & Housing Stock

Source: Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0127 - 2021 Census Dwellings
2.6%
CMHC Vacancy Rate (apartment structures of 6+ units)
Near the 3% balanced-market benchmark.
Total Dwellings
366,146
Avg 2BR Rent
$1,190/mo
Median Home Value
$180,000
Vacancy Rate
2.6%
Key Takeaways
  • Affordable rental market: Annual 2BR rent eats 20.4% of median household income, well below the 30% threshold.
Source: CMHC RMS rent data and StatCan median household income.

Broadband & Connectivity

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)

Broadband Coverage

Source: ISED National Broadband Data · share of locations with 50/10 Mbps available
73% Coverage
Moderate broadband coverage, some underserved areas may exist.

Industry Concentration

Location Quotient: industries where New Brunswick over- or under-indexes vs. the Canadian national average

Chart source: Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0466 · broad NAICS supersector employment (Labour Force Survey) · Location Quotient vs. national employment share. The same supersector axes appear on every profile, so the shape can be compared across geographies.
Concentrated Industries
List source: Statistics Canada Table 33-10-0222-01 · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector, establishment basis, LQ computed vs. national share.
These sit at a finer level than the chart's supersector axes and on a different basis, establishment counts rather than Labour Force Survey employment, so the two sets of values are not directly comparable. LFS-based or SEPH-based employment LQ may also differ from each other, because StatCan publishes household and payroll employment series with different methodologies.
Fishing, hunting and trapping
12.32x
1,309
Forestry and logging
4.10x
374
Federal government public administration
2.84x
33
Provincial and territorial public administration
2.79x
129
Hospitals
2.16x
45
Heritage institutions
2.07x
62
Nursing and residential care facilities
2.02x
452
Broadcasting (except Internet)
1.84x
50

Attraction Opportunities - Below Average Industries

LQ < 0.5, below-average sub-sector representation vs. national. Source: Statistics Canada Table 33-10-0222-01 (NAICS-3 establishments)
0.07x
Oil and gas extraction
2 establishments
0.17x
Primary metal manufacturing
2 establishments
0.26x
Private households
43 establishments
0.28x
Support activities for mining, and oil and gas extraction
36 establishments
0.31x
Personal and household goods merchant wholesalers
45 establishments
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Fishing, hunting and trapping concentrates at 12.32x the national norm, signature-sector territory.
  • Cluster depth: 8 sectors register LQ >= 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base.
  • Attraction whitespace: 5 sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification.
Source: StatCan Table 33-10-0222-01 (NAICS-3 sub-sector establishment counts).

Workforce & Labour

Labour force composition from Statistics Canada population estimates and employment data

Source: StatCan Table 17-10-0137
544,757
Working Age (15-64)
Employment rate: 74% of working-age population (15-64) 74% Employment Rate

Labour Summary

Source: StatCan LFS + Population Estimates
Total Employment
405,100
Avg Annual Wage
$61,811 CAD
Working Age Pop
544,757
Youth (0-14)
122,178
Seniors (65+)
202,747

Dependency & Aging

Source: StatCan population estimates
23.3%
Seniors (65+) Share
Senior population exceeds youth, aging workforce risk. Succession planning and talent attraction recommended.
Youth / Senior Ratio
60:100

Aging Workforce

Source: StatCan 17-10-0150 · Population estimates by age
22%
55-64 of working-age (15-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0416 NOC 2021 broad categories (2025)
Management / Professional
55.1%
Sales & Service
22.2%
Trades / Transport
16.2%
Natural Resources
2.3%
Manufacturing
4.1%
Bars scaled 2x for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 405,200 employed workers.

Commute

Source: StatCan 2021 Census Table 98-10-0457
Mean Commute 5.4 min below national avg
18.3 min

Work From Home

Source: StatCan 2021 Census Table 98-10-0455
Worked At Home vs 24.3% national
15.9%
Census 2021 long-form: percent of employed labour force aged 15+ whose place of work is "at home".

Top Institutions in New Brunswick

Source: Statistics Canada · Table 37-10-0277 · Postsecondary Enrolments
Named post-secondary institutions
Total students enrolled in the 2023/2024 academic year (StatCan Table 37-10-0277).
University of New Brunswick · Fredericton 10,914students
Mount Allison University · Sackville 2,397students
St. Thomas University · Fredericton 1,683students
Enrolment figures from Statistics Canada Table 37-10-0277 (2023/2024 academic year). Province-wide top 6 by enrolment.
Key Takeaways
  • Working-age base: 544,757 residents aged 15-64 (62.6% of total population) form the labour pool.
  • Employment rate: 74% of working-age residents are employed (405,100 workers).
  • Succession risk: Seniors (65+) outnumber youth (0-14); plan for retirements and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
  • Talent gap: Bachelor's+ attainment of 30% is below typical urban benchmarks.
Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 + Labour Force Survey.

Economic Regions

5 economic regions in New Brunswick

Campbellton-Miramichi Edmundston-Woodstock Fredericton-Oromocto Moncton-Richibucto Saint John-St. Stephen

AI Insights

Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 16 Canadian data sources.

Sample AI Insight

New Brunswick's industrial base is anchored by Health care and social assistance with 68,100 workers, followed by Wholesale and retail trade and Public administration. The province skews older: seniors outnumber youth, which has implications for succession planning and workforce transition strategy.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example

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Data Sources

Updated from official Canadian government data.

Statistics Canada Census 20212021
StatCan Labour Force Survey2025
StatCan LFS Unemployment Rate (14-10-0393)2024
StatCan GDP Tables2024
CMHC Rental Market2025
CRTC Broadband Data2025
StatCan Education (37-10-0130)2025
StatCan Population (17-10-0150)2025
StatCan Postsecondary Enrolments (37-10-0277)2024
StatCan Top Occupations (14-10-0416)2025
StatCan Commute (98-10-0457)2021
StatCan Place of Work (98-10-0455)2021
StatCan Low Income (11-10-0135)2024
StatCan Visible Minority (98-10-0351)2021
StatCan Indigenous Identity (98-10-0293)2021
StatCan Population and Dwelling Counts (98-10-0001)2021

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for New Brunswick, from Statistics Canada and federal sources.

What is the population of New Brunswick?

869,682 (Statistics Canada, Population Estimates 17-10-0150).

What is the median household income in New Brunswick?

$70,000 (Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population).

What is the unemployment rate in New Brunswick?

7.1% (Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey 14-10-0393).

What is the GDP of New Brunswick?

$48.3B CAD (Statistics Canada, Table 36-10-0222).