Photo: Jean-Philippe Boulet · CC BY 3.0With 0.2 jobs for each resident in work, most of Austin commutes out
When the 2021 census was taken, 5.9% of people in Austin who wanted a job had none, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns. Getting to work from Austin takes 28.3 minutes on average, an hour or more for 7.9%. In 2020, a household at the middle of Austin had $85,400 before tax; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
Where Austin stands out on work
Work near the middle
The 2021 census found 75% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 49%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 5.9% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 3.7% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs & income in Austin: graded C+
Better than 44% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, trip times.
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.
The share of 15-to-64s in work in Austin: 75%
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Memphrémagog census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 49%. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 58% in October 2026. Working or looking, 52% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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.
A commuter town: Austin sends out more workers than it takes in
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 11 to 1. Of those who commute, 14% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
86% of Austin’s residents in work leave it to work; Magog takes the most
- Magog20
- Bolton-Est10
Inbound, the leader is Magog (20).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How Austin’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 67% of Canadian towns.
4 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Memphrémagog census division have a higher median. Against the middle of Quebec’s towns ($74,100), Austin’s median is 15% above. In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Austin gets to work without a car for 4.8% of commuters
The car is the way to work for 93% of commuters. Working at home: 21%, close to the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 1.6% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
Commuting times in Austin
In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. Only 25% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 24.8 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.
EI claims in the Memphrémagog census division run 21% above their 2019 level
That is about 3.3 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 5%. The count topped out in January 2021 at 3,050 people, 3.2 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Memphrémagog census division. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
On getting around on foot, Austin grades C
Better than 27% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
The places around Austin, side by side
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | 75% | 5.9% | $85K | 28.3 min | C+ | C |
| Eastman 5.4 km | 82% | 4% | $87K | 29.4 min | B | C+ |
| Magog 8.7 km | 78% | 7.8% | $63K | 21.4 min | B− | B+ |
| Bolton-Est 9.1 km | 72% | 8.9% | $72K | 31.5 min | D | C |
| Orford 9.8 km | 80% | 3.9% | $99K | 28.7 min | B+ | D |
| Stukely-Sud 12.8 km | 79% | 9.8% | $74K | 28.4 min | C+ | D− |
| Stanstead 17.7 km | 76% | 8.2% | $77K | 30.5 min | C | 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 Austin, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- 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. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- 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. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s average.
- Where people commute. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- 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 Austin
How long is the commute from Austin?
About 28.3 minutes on average, with 25% under a quarter-hour and 7.9% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Austin work?
14% work in Austin itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Magog (145), then Sherbrooke (100).
How many jobs are there in Austin?
In June 2026, 55 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Austin?
The census put unemployment at 5.9% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Estrie economic region at 3.7%.
What is the average household income in Austin?
The median household in Austin had $85,400 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Austin get to work?
Driving takes 93% of commuters to work, 1.6% take public transit and 3.2% walk, and on census day 21% of those in work were at 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).