Photo: Mario Hains · CC BY-SA 3.0Dudswell has 0.4 jobs for every resident in work, so most commute out
83% of people aged 15 to 64 in Dudswell had a job at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Dudswell had an unemployment rate of 5.9% at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. In 2020, a household at the middle of Dudswell had $70,500 before tax, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns.
What the numbers say about work in Dudswell
More people in work than most towns
With 83% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, it has 58% of all adults employed. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 5.9% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 3.7% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $70,500 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Dudswell grades C+ for jobs and income
Better than 45% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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.
How many in Dudswell were working in 2021
Of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Le Haut-Saint-François census division, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Working or looking, 62% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. Counting retirees, 58% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 58% in October 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.
How Dudswell’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 65% of Canadian towns.
That puts Dudswell 5% below the median of Quebec’s towns, $74,100. One of the 4 other places of 2,500+ in the Le Haut-Saint-François census division has a higher median. Pandemic support paid in 2020, CERB first among it, is part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
More of Dudswell’s workers leave each day than arrive
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 5 to 1. Of those who commute, 24% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
76% of Dudswell’s residents in work leave it to work; Sherbrooke takes the most
- Sherbrooke55
- Westbury15
- Beaulac-Garthby10
- Weedon10
Coming the other way, Sherbrooke sends the most (55).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Without a car, 4% of Dudswell’s commuters get to work
The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 14% against 21%. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
Longer than the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Dudswell average 28.4 minutes
Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Quebec’s towns: 4% take an hour or more, against 5.3%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 26.6 minutes. In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 31%, close to 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 Le Haut-Saint-François census division run 44% above their 2019 level
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.5 receive EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 3%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 1,360 people on EI, 2.8 times 2019’s 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 Le Haut-Saint-François 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).
Dudswell grades C− for walkability
Better than 21% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
The work picture around Dudswell
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dudswell | 83% | 5.9% | $71K | 28.4 min | C+ | C− |
| Weedon 13.3 km | 76% | 7.1% | $54K | 29 min | D | B |
| Bury 14.8 km | 70% | 7.9% | $67K | 32.5 min | D | D |
| East Angus 14.8 km | 72% | 6.4% | $60K | 23.6 min | C− | A− |
| Westbury 15.2 km | 73% | 4% | $82K | 23.6 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 Dudswell, 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. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed average.
- Where people commute. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- 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.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- 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 Dudswell
How many jobs are there in Dudswell?
In June 2026, 40 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Dudswell?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Estrie economic region at 3.7%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 5.9%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Dudswell?
The census puts Dudswell at $70,500 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Dudswell get to work?
By car: 95% of commuters, 4% walk; on census day 14% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Dudswell?
28.4 minutes is the average trip, with 31% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 4% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Dudswell work?
24% work in Dudswell itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Sherbrooke (240), then East Angus (120).
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).