Socio-Economic Status

The Socio-Economic Status (SES) indicators cover a range of topics: municipalities’ age profiles, labour force measures, educational achievement, and family structure. As data become available we will add measures for youth education and employment.

The dependency ratio provides an indication of a population’s split between those of working age and those who are not. A high value here means that a larger proportion of the population is composed of children and seniors; a low value means that working age people comprise a larger proportion of the population. The municipalities with the highest dependency ratios are generally smaller communities, whereas the larger municipalities dominate the other end of the rankings; HRM has the lowest dependency ratio in the province. Between these bookends there are a variety of scenarios, including municipalities whose low ratio is driven primarily by a low proportion of seniors (e.g., East Hants), municipalities whose high dependency ratio is driven by a high proportion of seniors (e.g., Mahone Bay and the Town of Lunenburg), and municipalities whose low dependency ratio is driven by a low proportion of youth (e.g., Wolfville).

Strong labour market statistics – high participation rate, high employment rate, low unemployment rate, and high incidence of high- status employment – can be found across a variety of municipalities, including large centres like HRM, medium-sized communities like Kentville, smaller towns such as Hantsport and Oxford, and rural municipalities like Colchester and East Hants. The weakest labour market performances tend to be found in the towns and rural municipalities of northeastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, including Canso, Guysborough, Richmond, and St. Mary’s.

The education results mimic the labour market measures to some extent. The municipalities with the highest proportions of people who have graduated from high school and who have acquired post-secondary education include Wolfville, Kentville, HRM, Mahone Bay, Antigonish (town and county), and Port Hawkesbury. At the other end of the scale are Canso, Clark’s Harbour, Barrington, Shelburne (town and district), Guysborough, St. Mary’s, and Yarmouth (town).

The single-parent family ratio features both larger communities and smaller ones at both ends of the ranking.

There is a considerable spread in median household incomes across Nova Scotia, ranging from East Hants’ high of approximately $57,000 down to Parrsboro’s low of just over $27,000. Within the top ten spots for median income are seven rural municipalities, two towns (Hantsport and Port Hawkesbury), and HRM. The lower end of the rankings is composed of two rural municipalities (Guysborough and St. Mary’s) and eight towns, including several of the smaller towns in the province, such as Parrsboro, Canso, Clark’s Harbour, and Lockeport.

House values and rental accommodation costs follow a broadly similar pattern to the median household income statistic.

The highest housing values are clustered largely in two areas: from HRM south through Chester, Mahone Bay, and Lunenburg, and from HRM west through Windsor, Hantsport, Wolfville, and Kentville. Annapolis Royal and Antigonish (town) also are in the top ten in this category. Rental costs follow the same general geographic clustering trends. Stewiacke, Truro, Port Hawkesbury, and Pictou (town), also have relatively high rental cost figures.

The lowest housing values and rental accommodations costs tend to be found most frequently in northern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton.

Rank Rank Rank Rank % of All Rank Rank Rank Rank (Out of (Out of Rank % of Adults Rank % of Adults (Out of (Out of Families That Rank (Out of (Out of (Out of (Out of 55 - 55 - (Out of Without High (Out of With Post 55 - % of Labour 55 - Are Single (Out of Median 55 - Average 55 - Median Monthly 55 - 55 - High- Labour Force High- 55 - School 55 - Secondary High- Force in High High- Parent 55 - Household High- Residential High- Costs for Rented High- Dependency Low-To- Employment To- Participation To- Unemployment Low-To- Diploma, Low-To- Education, To- Status Jobs, To- Families, Low-To- Income, To- Property To- Accommodations, To- Municipalities Ratio, 2006 High) Rate, 2006 Low) Rate, 2006 Low) Rate, 2006 High) 2006 High) 2006 Low) 2006 Low) 2006 High) 2006 Low) Value, 2006 Low) 2006 Low) Amherst 0.36 42 54.6% 18 60.6% 21 10.0% 27 30% 21 43% 39 47% 16 22% 42 $36,539 43$ 102,559 42 $576 14 Annapolis Royal 0.47 55 36.6% 55 40.2% 55 9.1% 19 29% 17 54% 9 66% 3 19% 36 $36,480 44$ 245,158 3 $554 26 Annapolis 0.34 30 50.5% 33 57.0% 37 11.3% 35 32% 31 46% 25 38% 39 12% 8 $37,059 39$ 128,331 27 $531 35 Antigonish (county) 0.30 2 61.1% 4 67.3% 5 9.2% 20 25% 9 55% 5 48% 12 14% 18 $52,358 3 136,737$ 19 $642 6 Antigonish (town) 0.35 40 56.2% 13 62.2% 13 9.7% 25 20% 4 55% 8 52% 9 26% 54 $38,100 35$ 177,693 7 $551 27 Argyle 0.32 13 55.1% 16 61.7% 17 10.7% 32 42% 50 42% 42 34% 46 10% 3 $49,898 4$ 117,360 35 $499 41 Barrington 0.32 12 51.7% 29 62.0% 14 16.6% 53 51% 53 27% 54 23% 53 16% 26 $44,541 12$ 121,800 29 $483 46 Berwick 0.43 53 52.3% 27 57.9% 34 9.5% 22 27% 13 52% 12 48% 14 13% 16 $43,730 17$ 133,172 22 $601 8 Bridgetown 0.40 48 44.3% 50 51.1% 50 13.5% 43 32% 27 41% 43 45% 21 21% 40 $38,248 34$ 106,251 40 $499 41 Bridgewater 0.35 34 54.6% 18 59.2% 26 7.9% 11 30% 20 45% 32 47% 17 16% 25 $40,123 29$ 134,044 21 $573 17 Canso 0.33 19 37.9% 54 44.4% 54 14.7% 45 52% 55 31% 53 28% 51 24% 47 $30,502 53$ 55,681 55 $501 39 Cape Breton Regional Municipality 0.33 23 44.8% 49 53.3% 45 15.9% 50 30% 22 46% 29 47% 15 25% 52 $41,257 23$ 87,935 50 $570 18 Chester 0.33 15 53.3% 23 58.3% 33 8.5% 15 33% 36 48% 20 41% 28 11% 5 $42,776 19$ 209,559 5 $569 21 Clare 0.33 24 51.7% 29 59.5% 25 12.9% 42 42% 51 42% 40 36% 44 14% 20 $41,450 22$ 141,332 17 $501 39 Clark's Harbour 0.33 14 49.0% 39 63.1% 11 23.4% 54 52% 54 24% 55 22% 54 22% 45 $35,830 46$ 85,145 51 $450 52 Colchester 0.33 21 58.7% 8 63.5% 10 7.5% 7 30% 23 45% 31 39% 32 14% 17 $44,402 14$ 137,894 18 $564 23 Cumberland 0.34 32 50.3% 35 56.6% 38 11.2% 34 33% 39 40% 44 37% 41 13% 12 $39,939 32$ 99,204 44 $484 45 Digby (district) 0.33 22 51.0% 31 58.6% 30 12.8% 41 39% 45 38% 46 33% 48 15% 22 $38,062 36$ 120,632 30 $536 32 Digby (town) 0.38 46 49.1% 38 55.6% 41 11.6% 36 33% 38 37% 48 40% 31 23% 46 $28,551 54$ 123,503 28 $451 51 East Hants 0.30 3 63.0% 3 67.5% 4 6.7% 5 30% 24 46% 26 43% 25 12% 11 $56,591 1 156,288$ 12 $675 2 Guysborough 0.35 36 44.9% 48 53.4% 44 16.0% 51 43% 52 38% 47 33% 47 17% 31 $34,987 49$ 97,515 46 $345 55 Halifax Regional Municipality 0.28 1 64.5% 1 68.9% 2 6.3% 3 19% 2 57% 3 58% 5 17% 28 $54,129 2$ 212,942 4 $712 1 Hantsport 0.37 45 59.7% 5 63.5% 9 5.5% 2 23% 5 54% 11 53% 7 11% 6 $49,283 5$ 147,983 14 $525 36 Inverness 0.34 28 49.5% 37 58.8% 28 15.8% 49 32% 30 46% 27 39% 34 15% 24 $47,966 7$ 119,079 33 $462 49 Kentville 0.34 31 59.7% 5 64.6% 7 7.5% 8 20% 3 59% 2 54% 6 18% 33 $44,164 16$ 158,796 10 $570 18 Kings 0.32 11 57.9% 11 62.8% 12 7.8% 10 31% 25 47% 22 38% 37 15% 23 $44,880 11$ 156,866 11 $598 12 Lockeport 0.41 49 50.5% 34 57.4% 35 13.8% 44 32% 28 44% 37 21% 55 13% 13 $33,854 51$ 84,898 52 $456 50 Lunenburg (district) 0.31 6 54.3% 20 60.1% 22 9.6% 24 34% 40 46% 28 40% 30 11% 4 $45,088 10$ 162,347 9 $600 9 Lunenburg (town) 0.41 51 49.0% 39 53.7% 43 8.3% 13 28% 15 55% 7 45% 23 12% 9 $37,822 37$ 196,782 6 $646 4 Rank Rank Rank Rank % of All Rank Rank Rank Rank (Out of (Out of Rank % of Adults Rank % of Adults (Out of (Out of Families That Rank (Out of (Out of (Out of (Out of 55 - 55 - (Out of Without High (Out of With Post 55 - % of Labour 55 - Are Single (Out of Median 55 - Average 55 - Median Monthly 55 - 55- High- Labour Force High- 55 - School 55 - Secondary High- Force in High High- Parent 55 - Household High- Residential High- Costs for Rented High- Dependency Low-To- Employment To- Participation To- Unemployment Low-To- Diploma, Low-To- Education, To- Status Jobs, To- Families, Low-To- Income, To- Property To- Accommodations, To- Municipalities Ratio, 2006 High) Rate, 2006 Low) Rate, 2006 Low) Rate, 2006 High) 2006 High) 2006 Low) 2006 Low) 2006 High) 2006 Low) Value, 2006 Low) 2006 Low) Mahone Bay 0.43 54 46.0% 44 49.3% 52 6.8% 6 25% 6 56% 4 66% 2 17% 29 $36,374 45$ 291,604 1 $584 13 Middleton 0.40 47 45.6% 45 51.8% 49 11.9% 38 28% 16 54% 10 59% 4 17% 32 $40,351 26$ 130,798 25 $536 32 Mulgrave 0.33 24 59.7% 5 67.6% 3 10.6% 30 32% 29 49% 19 30% 50 20% 37 $40,339 27$ 93,511 47 $450 52 New Glasgow 0.35 39 56.2% 13 60.9% 20 7.6% 9 26% 11 49% 16 52% 8 21% 39 $39,979 31$ 119,946 32 $550 29 Oxford 0.34 33 63.6% 2 70.1% 1 8.4% 14 26% 10 49% 18 48% 13 9% 1 $37,734 38$ 92,191 48 $551 27 Parrsboro 0.41 50 41.7% 53 45.7% 53 9.5% 22 33% 35 47% 21 46% 18 21% 38 $27,472 55$ 116,439 36 $421 54 Pictou (county) 0.31 4 54.6% 17 61.1% 18 10.6% 31 29% 19 50% 14 38% 36 12% 10 $46,118 8 116,255$ 37 $475 47 Pictou (town) 0.36 43 53.3% 23 58.6% 30 9.0% 18 25% 7 50% 13 42% 26 22% 41 $41,905 20$ 154,693 13 $600 9 Port Hawkesbury 0.32 8 58.6% 9 65.4% 6 10.3% 28 25% 8 55% 6 46% 19 19% 35 $48,141 6$ 120,203 31 $646 4 Regional Municipality of Queens County 0.34 29 45.6% 45 52.1% 48 12.2% 39 39% 44 38% 45 38% 35 14% 19 $40,009 30$ 118,344 34 $550 29 Richmond 0.35 38 44.1% 51 52.4% 46 15.7% 48 35% 43 46% 24 37% 43 14% 21 $40,834 24$ 99,858 43 $489 44 Shelburne (district) 0.33 17 50.1% 36 59.8% 24 16.1% 52 41% 49 37% 49 28% 51 11% 7 $40,415 25$ 128,587 26 $471 48 Shelburne (town) 0.33 24 52.2% 28 59.1% 27 11.7% 37 39% 46 36% 50 45% 22 24% 50 $35,341 48$ 108,801 39 $516 37 Springhill 0.35 37 43.4% 52 51.1% 50 15.4% 47 35% 41 42% 41 35% 45 22% 43 $36,995 41$ 71,867 54 $531 34 St. Mary's 0.35 35 48.1% 42 57.0% 36 15.3% 46 40% 48 34% 52 30% 49 10% 2 $35,789 47$ 91,304 49 $489 43 Stellarton 0.33 18 53.7% 21 59.9% 23 10.3% 28 28% 14 49% 15 45% 20 24% 48 $40,252 28$ 104,463 41 $561 24 Stewiacke 0.33 24 52.7% 25 55.6% 41 5.2% 1 33% 37 45% 33 37% 40 17% 29 $41,787 21$ 114,194 38 $655 3 Trenton 0.33 20 58.1% 10 62.0% 14 6.4% 4 31% 26 44% 36 38% 38 24% 51 $43,687 18$ 97,720 45 $570 18 Truro 0.36 41 53.6% 22 58.7% 29 8.8% 17 27% 12 49% 17 50% 10 22% 44 $37,056 40$ 132,142 24 $600 9 Victoria 0.33 16 45.5% 47 61.9% 16 26.5% 55 32% 33 44% 35 37% 42 16% 27 $44,440 13$ 132,947 23 $516 37 West Hants 0.31 5 55.8% 15 61.1% 19 8.7% 16 32% 32 46% 30 39% 33 13% 15 $46,036 9 134,281$ 20 $575 15 Westville 0.32 7 52.5% 26 58.4% 32 9.9% 26 29% 18 45% 34 41% 27 24% 49 $38,262 33$ 81,385 53 $550 29 Windsor 0.41 52 47.8% 43 52.2% 47 8.0% 12 32% 34 43% 38 49% 11 28% 55 $34,414 50$ 168,422 8 $575 15 Wolfville 0.32 10 50.9% 32 56.1% 39 9.4% 21 13% 1 63% 1 67% 1 18% 34 $36,979 42$ 247,841 2 $638 7 Yarmouth (district) 0.32 9 57.3% 12 64.3% 8 10.9% 33 35% 42 46% 23 40% 29 13% 14 $44,323 15$ 141,461 16 $557 25 Yarmouth (town) 0.37 44 49.0% 39 56.0% 40 12.7% 40 39% 46 36% 50 43% 24 26% 53 $31,584 52$ 144,677 15 $567 22 Average 0.35 51.9% 58.4% 11.1% 32% 46% 42% 17% $40,640 $ 132,935 $544 Minimum 0.28 36.6% 40.2% 5.2% 13% 24% 21% 9% $27,472 $ 55,681 $345 Maximum 0.47 64.5% 70.1% 26.5% 52% 63% 67% 28% $56,591 $ 291,604 $712