Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domainAmherst has lower household incomes than 91% of Canadian towns
Amherst counted 64% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. The census counted 155 people working in Amherst and 380 residents commuting to a fixed workplace. In May 2021, unemployment in Amherst reached 15%, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
The work numbers behind Amherst
Fewer people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 64% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 43%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
15% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 4.5% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $58,200 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 31.5 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 9.5% last an hour or longer. The trip to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
The Jobs & income grade for Amherst: D−
Better than 2% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is trip times; 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 Amherst were working in 2021
None of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Les Laurentides census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 51%. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 43% of residents 15 and over were in work. In October 2026, 60% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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.
Amherst households: $58,200 a year at the median
Every other place of 2,500 or more in the Les Laurentides census division has a higher median. Amherst’s median is 21% below the middle of Quebec’s towns ($74,100). That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
31.5 minutes from Amherst to work, over the middle of Canadian towns
In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 16%, fewer than the 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. An hour or more: 9.5% of commuters, above the 5.3% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 30.3 minutes.
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.
More of Amherst’s workers leave each day than arrive
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 4 to 1. The job is inside the municipality for 21% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
79% of Amherst’s residents in work leave it to work; Mont-Tremblant takes the most
- Huberdeau15
- Val-des-Lacs15
- Ivry-sur-le-Lac10
- Saint-Faustin--Lac-Carré10
- Rivière-Rouge10
Coming the other way, Huberdeau sends the most (15).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 2.9% of Amherst’s commuters
Only 18% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 97% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
29% more people are on EI in the Les Laurentides census division than in 2019
In January 2021 it reached 4,300, the most in the series and 3.3 times the 2019 average. Roughly 4 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 2%.
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). For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of the Les Laurentides census division, Amherst included.
Getting around Amherst on foot earns D
Better than 12% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Next to Amherst: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | 64% | 15% | $58K | 31.5 min | D− | D |
| Brébeuf 10.5 km | 78% | 8.9% | $64K | 25.5 min | C | C− |
| La Conception 11.7 km | 71% | 16% | $73K | 29.3 min | C− | C− |
| Mont-Tremblant 18.7 km | 72% | 13% | $67K | 20.5 min | C+ | B+ |
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 Amherst, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- Trip times. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- 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. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. The share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
Questions about work in Amherst
How long is the commute from Amherst?
31.5 minutes is the average trip, with 16% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 9.5% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Amherst work?
21% work in Amherst itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Mont-Tremblant (200), then Saint-Faustin--Lac-Carré (25).
How many jobs are there in Amherst?
The 2021 census counted about 155 people working in Amherst: 0.4 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 44 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Amherst?
The census put unemployment at 15% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Laurentides economic region at 4.5%.
What is the average household income in Amherst?
Amherst’s middle household had $58,200 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Amherst get to work?
By car: 97% of commuters, 2.9% walk; on census day 18% of those in work worked from home.
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).