Photo: Carl Young · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Chisasibi are among the highest of any Canadian town
Of Chisasibi’s residents aged 15 to 64, 62% were employed when the 2021 census was taken; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. For 5.9% of commuters in Chisasibi, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 13.5 minutes. Unemployment in Chisasibi stood at 8% on census day 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
Work in Chisasibi, in a few figures
Fewer people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 62% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 55% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household had $133,600 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
More jobs than the typical town
With 1,725 jobs based in Chisasibi and 1,620 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 13.5 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 5.9% 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.
Jobs & income in Chisasibi: graded A
Better than 85% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #71 of 507 in Quebec.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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 Chisasibi: 62%
Of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Nord-du-Québec census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 60%. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 63% in June 2026. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at home.
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.
Chisasibi households: $133,600 a year at the median
No other place of 2,500 or more in the Nord-du-Québec census division has a higher median. Against the middle of Quebec’s towns ($74,100), Chisasibi’s median is 80% above. Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Before tax, 2020: higher than in almost any Canadian town.
A working day adds 6% to the people at work in Chisasibi
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 3 to 1 in Chisasibi. The job is inside the municipality for 96% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Time on the road to work from Chisasibi
In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 85%, more than the 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 14.8 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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.
165 people come into Chisasibi to work, most from Wemindji and Montréal
- Wemindji15
- Gatineau10
- Eeyou Istchee Baie-James10
- Mistissini10
- Waskaganish10
- Nemaska10
9.6% of the people who work in Chisasibi live outside it, 55 of them in Wemindji, 84 km away. Going the other way, Wemindji is the biggest single destination (15).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 11% of Chisasibi’s commuters
Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 2.1% against 21%. Few ride transit: 0.5%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. 84% drive to work, fewer than the 90% in the middle of Quebec’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the Nord-du-Québec census division, the count on EI is close to where it was in 2019
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 10%. In July 2021 it reached 1,810, the most in the series and 2.5 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 2.5 are on 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). Chisasibi shares its EI beneficiaries numbers with the rest of the Nord-du-Québec census division.
On getting around on foot, Chisasibi grades B−
Better than 51% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #369 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Chisasibi next to Canadian towns of 3,800 to 7,300: 96th of 701 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 2 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Chibougamau Quebec | 7,273 | 82% | 3.7% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 23 | Shannon Quebec | 7,088 | 81% | 3.7% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 29 | Saint-Antonin Quebec | 4,633 | 85% | 3.9% | $76K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 94 | Oakridge Alberta | 5,623 | 75% | 11% | $119K | A |
| 95 | Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce Quebec | 5,339 | 84% | 4.9% | $71K | A |
| 96 | Chisasibi Quebec | 5,382 | 62% | 8% | $134K | A |
| 97 | Sargent Park Manitoba | 6,242 | 80% | 7.3% | $82K | A |
| 98 | Kirkfield Manitoba | 4,100 | 80% | 8.4% | $84K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 701 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Chisasibi, and others among Quebec’s towns.
The work picture around Chisasibi
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chisasibi | 62% | 8% | $134K | 13.5 min | A | B− |
| Wemindji 83.6 km | 64% | 7.9% | $117K | 10.3 min | A | B |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come. No closer place has figures: this one lies 84 km from Chisasibi.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Chisasibi, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- 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. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- 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. 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.
- 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 Chisasibi
What is the average household income in Chisasibi?
The median household in Chisasibi had $133,600 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Chisasibi get to work?
84% of commuters drive, 0.5% take public transit and 11% walk; 2.1% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Chisasibi?
The average commute is 13.5 minutes; 85% of trips take under 15 minutes and 5.9% an hour or more.
Where do people in Chisasibi work?
96% work in Chisasibi itself; of those who leave, the most go to Wemindji (15), then Gatineau (10).
How many jobs are there in Chisasibi?
The 2021 census found about 1,725 people with their usual workplace in Chisasibi, or 1.1 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 45 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Chisasibi?
The census put unemployment at 8% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in June 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Côte-Nord and Nord-du-Québec economic region at 4.3%.
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).