Most of the employment in the community is from the local seafood processing plant, operating in summer months.[2] Most plant workers receive E.I. benefits during the off season. There was briefly a fish sauce plant that used the byproduct of the main processing plant.[3] The town has a Catholic church, a bed & breakfast[4] (which provides the only overnight accommodations in the area), a small pub, and 2 gas stations which also serve as convenience stores.
Point La Haye Beach is a popular picnic location in summer, and is located very near an automated lighthouse and long, natural barachois.
Other than this, there are little tourist attractions in the area, and most tourists are travellers of the Irish Loop Drive,[5] passing through the town.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, St. Mary's had a population of 313 living in 158 of its 202 total private dwellings, a change of -9.8% from its 2016 population of 347. With a land area of 36.41 km2 (14.06 sq mi), it had a population density of 8.6/km2 (22.3/sq mi) in 2021.[7]