Photo: P199 · Public domainGracefield has lower household incomes than 94% of Canadian towns
Census day 2021 found 6.9% of Gracefield’s labour force without a job, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. From Gracefield, the drive or ride to work averages 32.9 minutes, with 21% going an hour or longer. At the 2021 census, 69% of Gracefield’s 15-to-64s were in work, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Where Gracefield stands out on work
Less unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 6.4% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 6.9%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $56,800 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 32.9 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 21% 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 Gracefield: D−
Better than 2% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #492 of 507 in Quebec.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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 Gracefield were working in 2021
A smaller share in work than in 75% of Canadian towns.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 58% in October 2026. 51% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 48% of residents 15 and over were in work. 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.
The median household in Gracefield had $56,800 in 2020
Set beside Quebec’s towns, where the median is $74,100, Gracefield sits 23% below. 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).
How long the commute from Gracefield takes
Timed exactly, the average is 31.3 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 37% of commuters, 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.
More go out than come in: the working day in Gracefield
Of those who commute, 50% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
50% of Gracefield’s residents in work leave it to work; Maniwaki takes the most
In the other direction the biggest source is Blue Sea, with 70.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
9% of commuters from Gracefield go without a car
Few ride transit: 1.3%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The middle of Quebec’s towns has 4.2% walking; here, 7.7% do. The car takes 88% of commuters here, under 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).
EI claims in the La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau census division run 28% above their 2019 level
The highest month was January 2021: 1,700 people, 2.3 times the 2019 level. That works out to around 6.4 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 3%.
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). Gracefield shares its EI beneficiaries numbers with the rest of the La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau census division.
On getting around on foot, Gracefield grades B+
Better than 68% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #297 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Gracefield compares with Canadian towns of 2,500 to 3,400 people
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Kuujjuaq Quebec | 2,766 | 78% | 4.2% | $112K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | Hatley Quebec | 2,512 | 89% | 4.1% | $103K | A+ |
| 10 | Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska Quebec | 3,307 | 85% | 4.8% | $91K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 377 | Saint-Damien Quebec | 2,569 | 70% | 8.1% | $59K | D− |
| 378 | North Point Douglas Manitoba | 2,670 | 53% | 14% | $46K | D− |
| 379 | Gracefield Quebec | 2,544 | 69% | 6.9% | $57K | D− |
| 380 | Division No. 7, Subdivision E Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,632 | 55% | 25% | $60K | D− |
| 381 | Westwood Alberta | 3,279 | 53% | 19% | $48K | D− |
| … | ||||||
| 390 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Gracefield, and others among Quebec’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Gracefield
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gracefield | 69% | 6.9% | $57K | 32.9 min | D− | B+ |
| Kazabazua 11.8 km | 58% | 20% | $63K | 37.6 min | D− | C |
| Messines 18 km | 70% | 6.7% | $67K | 21.9 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 Gracefield, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- 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. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- 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 Gracefield
How many jobs are there in Gracefield?
About 545 people had their usual place of work in Gracefield at the 2021 census, 0.9 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 71 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Gracefield?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 6.9% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Outaouais economic region at 6.4% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Gracefield?
The census puts Gracefield at $56,800 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Gracefield get to work?
88% of commuters go by car, 1.3% take public transit and 7.7% walk. On census day 18% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Gracefield?
On average 32.9 minutes; 37% take under 15 minutes and 21% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Gracefield work?
Most stay: 50% work in Gracefield. The rest go first to Maniwaki (100) and Gatineau (75).
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).