Photo: Gabriel Picard · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Acton Vale are lower than in 93% of Canadian towns
Unemployment in Acton Vale stood at 6.4% on census day 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. Acton Vale counted 80% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. For 5.6% of commuters in Acton Vale, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 24.4 minutes.
The short version on work in Acton Vale
More people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 80% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 58% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 6.4% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 4.3% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
At $57,600 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Acton Vale grades C+ for jobs and income
Better than 36% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #333 of 507 in Quebec.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; its weakest, household income.
Graded against Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more; less unemployment and a shorter commute count in its favour.
How the grade works
Census 2021 measures, weighed equally against every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 people or more: the share of residents aged 15 to 64 in work, median household income (2020), the unemployment rate and the average commute. Each becomes a percentile; their average sets the letter.
How many in Acton Vale were working in 2021
A larger share in work than in 75% of Canadian towns.
Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 62%. Counting retirees, 58% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. In October 2026, 62% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: people in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64, and the census unemployment rate (15 and over); the 25-to-54 rate is Statistics Canada’s own (98-10-0485). The Labour Force Survey and business counts are context, not grade inputs.
Before tax, the median household in Acton Vale had $57,600
The middle of Quebec’s towns is $74,100, and Acton Vale is 22% below it. Pandemic benefits paid in 2020 lifted the incomes at the bottom, and they are counted here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
The commute in and out of Acton Vale balances out
The job is inside the municipality for 47% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
53% of Acton Vale’s residents in work leave it to work; Saint-Hyacinthe takes the most
- Drummondville235
- Saint-Théodore-d'Acton150
- Saint-Hyacinthe125
- Roxton Falls100
- Granby85
- Roxton70
- Upton70
- Wickham60
- Saint-Liboire60
- Sainte-Christine50
In the other direction the biggest source is Drummondville, with 235.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
7.9% of commuters from Acton Vale go without a car
Home was the workplace for 11%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 0.3%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. On foot: 6.7% of commuters, well above the 4.2% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How long the commute from Acton Vale takes
Timed exactly, the average is 21.3 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 44% of commuters, against 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting duration in five bands; our average uses each band’s middle (75 minutes for an hour or more), so it runs about two minutes above Statistics Canada’s own.
EI claims in the Acton census division run 50% above their 2019 level
For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.5 are on EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 5%. The highest month was January 2021: 950 people, 3 times the 2019 level.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100). Behind EI beneficiaries sits data gathered across the Acton census division, with Acton Vale one part of it.
The walkability of Acton Vale: A−
Better than 85% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #197 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Acton Vale next to Canadian towns of 5,600 to 10,700: 478th of 680 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 15 | Boischatel Quebec | 9,250 | 85% | 4.8% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | Chibougamau Quebec | 7,273 | 82% | 3.7% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | Shannon Quebec | 7,088 | 81% | 3.7% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 476 | Teston Ontario | 7,437 | 69% | 12% | $150K | C+ |
| 477 | N-Section (bramalea) Ontario | 7,513 | 69% | 13% | $126K | C+ |
| 478 | Acton Vale Quebec | 7,945 | 80% | 6.4% | $58K | C+ |
| 479 | Lambton Baby Point Ontario | 7,966 | 69% | 13% | $110K | C+ |
| 480 | Concord Ontario | 7,225 | 71% | 13% | $103K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 680 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Acton Vale, and others among Quebec’s towns.
Around Acton Vale: jobs, pay and the commute
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acton Vale | 80% | 6.4% | $58K | 24.4 min | C+ | A− |
| Saint-Théodore-d'Acton 6.7 km | 84% | 4.1% | $71K | 22.4 min | B+ | C+ |
| Roxton Falls 8.5 km | 77% | 5.4% | $59K | 25.8 min | C− | A− |
| Upton 8.9 km | 88% | 3.4% | $70K | 30.3 min | B− | B− |
| Roxton 11.1 km | 87% | 5.7% | $66K | 27.3 min | B− | B− |
| Wickham 14 km | 85% | 2.8% | $76K | 22.7 min | A− | B |
| Saint-Valérien-de-Milton 14.1 km | 85% | 4% | $80K | 27.6 min | B+ | C+ |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Acton Vale, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Trip times. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- Where people commute. Only people with a usual place of work are in it: those who work from home or have no fixed site are not. Home and work are both counted by municipality.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- In work. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
Questions about work in Acton Vale
Where do people in Acton Vale work?
Only 47% work in Acton Vale itself; the rest go first to Saint-Hyacinthe (430) and Drummondville (240).
How many jobs are there in Acton Vale?
The 2021 census found about 2,665 people with their usual workplace in Acton Vale, or 1 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 258 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Acton Vale?
The census put unemployment at 6.4% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Montérégie economic region at 4.3%.
What is the average household income in Acton Vale?
The median household in Acton Vale had $57,600 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Acton Vale get to work?
91% of commuters drive, 0.3% take public transit, 6.7% walk and 0.9% cycle; 11% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Acton Vale?
The average commute is 24.4 minutes; 44% of trips take under 15 minutes and 5.6% an hour or more.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, tables 98-10-0458 and 98-10-0459 (commuting) · Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0323 (EI beneficiaries) · Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (14-10-0459, 14-10-0462) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Business Counts (33-10-1176) · grades: TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).