Official Canadian Data
Southern, Nova Scotia
Economic region · Population 121,917
17 Sources
Updated September 02, 2026
121,917
Population
$71,500
Median Income (CAD) · NS provincial
$84,000 national
9%
Unemployment
$65.3B
Provincial GDP (CAD)
52,600
Total Employment
37%
Bachelor's+ · NS provincial
39% national
Demographics & Population
Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population
Household Income
Source: Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population
Median Household Income
$71,500
Poverty Rate (LIM-AT)
16%
Low Income Measure, after tax · Nova Scotia 2024 · Canada: 12.5%
Median Income Comparison (CAD)
Nova Scotia$71,500
National$84,000
Community Snapshot
Source: Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population
121,917
Population (2025 estimate)
476,007
Total Dwellings (2021 Census, NS provincial)
Total Employment
52,600
Unemployment Rate StatCan LFS 2024 annual
9% +2.0 pts YoY
Avg Annual Wage Nova Scotia (provincial), SEPH 2025
$60,581 CAD
Industry Sectors
10
Age Distribution
0-14: 14,517
15-54: 49,213
55-64: 20,507
65+: 37,680
15-54: 49,213
55-64: 20,507
65+: 37,680
Visible Minority Composition
"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
9.6% identify as Indigenous
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.
Nova Scotia's median household income sits 15% below the Canadian national median across 121,917 residents with a senior-skewed age structure (65+: 30.9%, 0-14: 11.9%).
Nova Scotia has 476,007 total dwellings and has experienced a population change of 5% 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); succession and senior-services demand.
Educational Attainment
Source: Statistics Canada · Table 37-10-0130 · Nova Scotia province-wide (ages 25-64) · Reference year 2025
93%
High School+
Canada: 93%
0.0 pts
37%
Bachelor's+
Canada: 39%
2.0 pts
14%
Graduate+
Canada: 14%
0.0 pts
Economy & Industry
Statistics Canada · Labour Force Survey · Provincial GDP
$65.3B
Provincial Gross Domestic Product (CAD)
Source: Statistics Canada · Provincial Economic Accounts
52,600
Total Employment
$60,581
Avg Wage (CAD) · provincial
$71,500
Median Income (NS prov.)
52,600
Total Employment
Source: StatCan Labour Force Survey
$60,581
Average Annual Wage (CAD) · Nova Scotia (provincial)
Source: Statistics Canada · Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (14-10-0223), 2025. Payroll employees only. Published for provinces and territories; StatCan publishes no economic-region earnings.
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health care and social assistance employs 9,500 workers (20.8% of the tracked sectors). tracked sectors", which claimed a regional, sector-weighted figure. It is neither: it is the SEPH all-industries aggregate for the parent province. ##}}
- Average wage: $60,581 CAD for payroll employees across Nova Scotia in 2025. StatCan publishes these earnings for provinces and territories only, so the provincial figure stands in for the region.
- Diversified base: Top 5 sectors are Health care and social assistance, Wholesale and retail trade, Manufacturing, Construction, and Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas.
Source: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey.
Housing & Rental Market
Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0133 (Rents) - Table 34-10-0127 (Vacancy) - Reference year 2025
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
21.6%
Annual Rent (2BR) as % of Median Household Income - Affordable
30% threshold = "cost-burdened" (CMHC / HUD convention). Computed from $1,287 average 2BR rent × 12 / $71,500 household income.
Bachelor
$914/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,055/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,287/mo
3+ Bedroom
$1,572/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,788/mo), rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Note: this region has no Census Metropolitan Area or Census Agglomeration covered by the CMHC Rental Market Survey. Values shown are the unweighted average across all CMHC-surveyed centres in Nova Scotia.
Vacancy & Housing Stock
Source: Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0127 · CMHC Rental Market Survey
2.5%
CMHC Vacancy Rate (apartment structures of 6+ units)
Near the 3% balanced-market benchmark.
Total Dwellings Nova Scotia (provincial)
476,007
Avg 2BR Rent
$1,287/mo
Median Home Value Nova Scotia (provincial)
$250,000
Vacancy Rate
2.5%
Key Takeaways
- Affordable rental market: Annual 2BR rent eats 21.6% of median household income, well below the 30% cost-burdened threshold; supports talent attraction.
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 · Nova Scotia province-wide
Below-average broadband coverage across Nova Scotia, significant connectivity gaps. Statistics on 50/10 Mbps availability are published for locations without a breakdown below the province, so this is the province-wide share and not this region's own.
Industry Concentration
Location Quotient: industries where Southern over- or under-indexes vs. the Canadian national average
Economic-region employment basis: NAICS supersector Location Quotients from Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey (Table 14-10-0466), computed vs. the national employment share. The spider chart plots 9 broad supersectors for cross-region comparability; the ranked list shows every concentrated sector, including resource industries not among the chart's fixed axes.
Attraction Opportunities - Below Average Industries
LQ < 0.5, below-average representation vs. national. Source: Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0466 (NAICS supersector employment)
0.43x
Professional, scientific and technical services
2,200 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas concentrates at 5.78x the national norm, signature-sector territory.
- Attraction whitespace: 1 sector registers LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment.
Source: StatCan Labour Force Survey (Table 14-10-0466), NAICS supersector employment.
Workforce & Labour
Labour force composition from Statistics Canada population estimates and employment data
Labour Summary
Source: StatCan LFS + Population Estimates
Total Employment
52,600
Avg Annual Wage Nova Scotia (provincial), SEPH 2025
$60,581 CAD
Working Age Pop
69,720
Youth (0-14)
14,517
Seniors (65+)
37,680
Dependency & Aging
Source: StatCan population estimates
31%
Seniors (65+) Share
Senior population exceeds youth, aging workforce risk. Succession planning and talent attraction recommended.
Youth / Senior Ratio
39:100
Aging Workforce
Source: StatCan 17-10-0150 · Population estimates by economic region, age
29.4%
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 - province-level)
Management / Professional
56.2%
Sales & Service
22.6%
Trades / Transport
15.3%
Natural Resources
2.6%
Manufacturing
3.4%
Bars scaled 2x for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 523,500 employed workers across Nova Scotia. Economic Region-level occupation data is not published by StatCan; this provincial breakdown is the closest available proxy.
Commute
Source: StatCan 2021 Census Table 98-10-0458
Mean Commute 4.3 min below national avg
19.4 min
Work From Home
Source: StatCan 2021 Census Table 98-10-0456
Worked At Home vs 24.3% national
12.4%
Census 2021 long-form: percent of employed labour force aged 15+ whose place of work is "at home".
Key Takeaways
- Working-age base: 69,720 residents aged 15-64 (57.2% of population) form the labour pool.
- Employment rate: 75% of working-age residents are employed (52,600 workers).
- Succession risk: Seniors (65+) outnumber youth (0-14); plan for retirements alongside attraction strategy.
- Succession risk is real: 29.4% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 + Labour Force Survey.
AI Insights
Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 17 Canadian data sources.
Sample AI Insight
Southern's industrial base is anchored by Health care and social assistance with 9,500 workers, followed by Wholesale and retail trade and Manufacturing. The region skews older: seniors outnumber youth, which has implications for succession planning and workforce transition strategy.
Illustrative example
Take it further
AI Insights: Built into ExecutivePulse. Continuous analysis tied to your own pipeline: industry-shift signals, prospect matches, retention prompts.
Managed Services: Prefer to hand it off? Our team delivers the analysis and consulting for you.
Schedule a DemoAvailable as premium offerings.
Data Sources
All data from official Canadian government APIs. Updated from official Canadian government data.
Statistics Canada Census 20212021
StatCan Labour Force Survey2025
StatCan LFS Unemployment Rate (14-10-0393)2024
StatCan SEPH Average Weekly Earnings (14-10-0223, provincial)2025
StatCan GDP Tables2024
CMHC Rental Market2025
CRTC Broadband Data2025
CensusMapper.ca2021
StatCan Education (37-10-0130)2025
StatCan Population (17-10-0150)2025
StatCan Top Occupations (14-10-0416)2025
StatCan Commute (98-10-0457/0458)2021
StatCan Place of Work (98-10-0455/0456)2021
StatCan Low Income (11-10-0135)2024
StatCan Visible Minority (98-10-0352)2021
StatCan Indigenous Identity (98-10-0293)2021
StatCan Population and Dwelling Counts (98-10-0001, provincial)2021
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Southern, Nova Scotia, from Statistics Canada.
What is the population of Southern, Nova Scotia?
121,917 (Statistics Canada, Population Estimates, Table 17-10-0150).
What is the median household income in Southern, Nova Scotia?
$71,500 (Statistics Canada, Census 2021, Nova Scotia provincial).
What is the unemployment rate in Southern, Nova Scotia?
9% (Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0393).
Southern, NS: Public data. Imagine the full platform.
Get a Demo →