Photo: Veillg1 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Carignan top those of 97% of Canadian towns
1,040 people have their usual place of work in Carignan, against 3,985 residents who travel to a job. At the 2021 census, 84% of Carignan’s 15-to-64s were in work, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 5.2% of Carignan’s labour force; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
Work in Carignan: the figures worth knowing
More people in work than most towns
The 2021 census found 84% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 72%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 5.2% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 6.9% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $122,000 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 30.5 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6.4% 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.
On jobs and income, Carignan grades A
Better than 85% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #73 of 507 in Quebec.
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.
Who in Carignan has a job
Of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in the La Vallée-du-Richelieu census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Working or looking, 76% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 72%. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 62% of the wider area’s adults in work. 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.
The median household in Carignan had $122,000 in 2020
No other place of 2,500 or more in the La Vallée-du-Richelieu census division has a higher median. Set beside Quebec’s towns, where the median is $74,100, Carignan sits 65% above. The year is 2020: emergency benefits like CERB count in these incomes, and they raised the bottom of the range.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
At 30.5 minutes, commutes from Carignan are longer than in the middle of Canadian towns
An hour or more: 6.4% 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 27.5 minutes. In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. Only 16% get to work within a quarter-hour, 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.
The daily tide in Carignan runs outward
Each person commuting in is matched by about 5 residents going out. Of those who commute, 7.1% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
93% of Carignan’s residents in work leave it to work; Longueuil takes the most
In the other direction the biggest source is Chambly, with 130.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Carignan gets to work without a car for 4% of commuters
The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters. Working at home: 25% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 2.2% 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).
27% more people are on EI in the La Vallée-du-Richelieu census division than in 2019
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 3%. At its peak, in January 2021, 5,880 people were on EI, 3.8 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3 receive EI.
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 La Vallée-du-Richelieu census division, Carignan included.
Carignan on foot: a C+ grade
Better than 42% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #404 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Ranked on jobs and income, Carignan is 75th among 614 Canadian towns of 8,800 to 17,000
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Walsh Acres/Lakeridge/Garden Ridge Saskatchewan | 9,325 | 80% | 6.7% | $127K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Boischatel Quebec | 9,250 | 85% | 4.8% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | L'Aéroport Quebec | 13,630 | 84% | 5.2% | $90K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 73 | Casa Loma Ontario | 11,369 | 82% | 11% | $107K | A |
| 74 | Olds Alberta | 9,653 | 78% | 9.8% | $83K | A |
| 75 | Carignan Quebec | 12,618 | 84% | 5.2% | $122K | A |
| 76 | Lynden Ontario | 10,442 | 81% | 5.8% | $114K | A− |
| 77 | Whistler British Columbia | 15,090 | 71% | 18% | $99K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 614 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Carignan, and others among Quebec’s towns.
Work in the places around Carignan
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carignan | 84% | 5.2% | $122K | 30.5 min | A | C+ |
| Chambly 2.6 km | 84% | 4.5% | $101K | 29.8 min | A− | A |
| Bienville 4.6 km | 83% | 6.3% | $103K | 29.9 min | A− | B+ |
| Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu 6.5 km | 83% | 3.2% | $84K | 31 min | B | B− |
| Richelieu 6.8 km | 83% | 4.5% | $78K | 26.7 min | B | B+ |
| Laurendeau 8.1 km | 79% | 6.5% | $84K | 29.1 min | B− | A |
| Iberville 8.4 km | 77% | 7.1% | $96K | 29.1 min | B | A+ |
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 Carignan, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- 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. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- 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. 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.
- 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. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Carignan
What is the average household income in Carignan?
The census puts Carignan at $122,000 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Carignan get to work?
Driving takes 95% of commuters to work, 2.2% take public transit, 1.5% walk and 0.3% cycle, and on census day 25% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Carignan?
About 30.5 minutes on average, with 16% under a quarter-hour and 6.4% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Carignan work?
7.1% work in Carignan itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Longueuil (860), then Montréal (835).
How many jobs are there in Carignan?
Some 1,040 people worked in Carignan at the 2021 census: 0.3 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 454 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Carignan?
The census put unemployment at 5.2% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Montréal metro area at 6.9%.
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).