B2W vs B3A

Nova Scotia

This page does not pick a winner. Every row shows two measurements and the gap between them. There is no score, no tally of which area “wins” more categories, and no overall result — those would be a rating of two places and the people who live in them, assembled by the layout.

Both areas are forward sortation areas, and every figure describes the whole of one. Crime is not shown here: it is reported at the metropolitan level, so for two areas in the same city it is usually the same number twice. It is on each area’s own page, with the geography it describes.

Selected 2021 Census figures for B2W and B3A, with the national figure for scale. The last column states the gap between the two areas as a direction and a size, never as a preference.
Measure	B2W	B3A	Canada	Difference
Median household income	$89,000	$58,000	$84,000	B2W is 53% higher than B3A
Median after-tax income	$75,500	$50,800	$73,000	B2W is 49% higher than B3A
Median age	46.4	40.8	41.6	B2W is 14% higher than B3A
Unemployment rate	10.4%	12.7%	10.3%	B2W is 18% lower than B3A
Low income (LIM-AT)	6.8%	18.3%	11.1%	B2W is 63% lower than B3A
Average household size	2.4	1.9	2.4	B2W is 26% higher than B3A

Counts for each area. These describe the place and are not compared as ratios.
Measure	B2W	B3A
Population	33,145	21,857
Private dwellings	14,027	11,978
Land area	23 km²	25 km²

Share of each area’s residents with an amenity within reach, weighted by where people live. A blank is a coverage fact, not a zero.
Amenity	Within	B2W	B3A
Grocery store	1 km walk	68%	82%
Public transit	1 km walk	98%	95%
Park	1 km walk	99%	99%
Pharmacy	1 km walk	30%	29%
Child care	1.5 km walk	91%	94%
Primary school	1.5 km walk	71%	83%
Secondary school	1.5 km walk	38%	62%
Library	1.5 km walk	24%	37%
Health care	3 km drive	100%	100%
Employment	10 km drive	100%	100%

These measure how close an amenity is, never its quality. A school 500 m away is a school 500 m away — nothing here says anything about the school itself.
The proximity index is scaled against all of Canada, where 1 is the single most well-served block in the country and the national average is close to zero. It is useful for comparing places and misleading as a score.

What tenants pay, from CMHC’s survey of purpose-built rental buildings. The two areas may sit in different survey zones, or one may not be surveyed at all — that is a coverage fact and is stated rather than left blank.
Unit	B2W	B3A
Studio	$954	$1,097
1 bedroom	$1,252	$1,276
2 bedrooms	$1,631	$1,655
3+ bedrooms	$1,714	$2,204

Adapted from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Rental Market Survey, October 2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation of this product.

The air quality index is a reading at the nearest station, which may be far away — the distance is shown because it decides whether the reading describes the area at all. Facility counts are reported releases within 10 km.
Measure	B2W	B3A
Nearest AQHI station	Lake Major · 5.5 km	Halifax Downtown · 3.9 km
Current reading	1 — Low risk	2 — Low risk
Reporting facilities within 10 km	27	31
Reported releases to air	6,331 t	6,331 t

B2W: Measured at Lake Major, 5.5 km from B2W. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.
B3A: Measured at Halifax Downtown, 3.9 km from B3A. The index runs from 1 upward and combines ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide into one health-risk scale.

This page carries the figures the two areas can be set against each other on. Each area’s own page has the rest — including crime, the boundary map, and every source note and caveat in full.

B2W in full · B3A in full

Source: Census Profile, 2021 Census (98-401-X). Data current as of 2026-08-12. Statistics Canada Open Licence. Each figure describes a whole forward sortation area. Amenity, rent and air figures carry their own sources and vintages on the area pages.