Photo: Mario Hains · CC BY-SA 3.0The share of 15-to-64s with a job in Hatley tops that of 98% of Canadian towns
Hatley is the usual workplace of 225 people, and 660 of its own residents commute to a job. Half the households in Hatley had more than $102,800 in 2020, before tax, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. 4.1% of the labour force in Hatley was out of work at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
What the numbers say about work in Hatley
More people in work than most towns
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 89% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 63%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 4.1% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 4.2% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household had $102,800 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 21.8 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 2.4% 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.
Jobs and income in Hatley earn A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on three measures together, #3 of 507 in Quebec.
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.
In Hatley, 89% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
All 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Memphrémagog census division have 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 63%. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 60% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Counting those looking for work too, 65% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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 Hatley’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 88% of Canadian towns.
No other place of 2,500 or more in the Memphrémagog census division has a higher median. Set beside Quebec’s towns, where the median is $74,100, Hatley sits 39% 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).
Hatley has a quicker trip to work than the middle of Canadian towns: 21.8 minutes
In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 33% of commuters, against 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Quebec’s towns: 2.4% take an hour or more, against 5.3%. Timed exactly, the average is 20.1 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.
On a working day, Hatley loses more workers than it gains
Each person commuting in is matched by about 3 residents going out. The job is inside the municipality for 7.1% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
93% of Hatley’s residents in work leave it to work; Sherbrooke takes the most
- Sherbrooke475
- Magog45
- Waterville30
- North Hatley15
- Montréal15
- Valcourt10
- Coaticook10
- Stanstead10
In the other direction the biggest source is Sherbrooke, with 135.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
4.2% of commuters in Hatley walk, cycle or take transit
Few ride transit: 1.2%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters. Home was the workplace for 28%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Memphrémagog census division run 21% above their 2019 level
The count topped out in January 2021 at 3,050 people, 3.2 times the 2019 average. That works out to around 3.3 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 5%.
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). Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for Hatley alone, so this card uses the figure for the Memphrémagog census division.
How walkable Hatley is: C−
Better than 23% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #468 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Hatley ranks: 9th of 390 Canadian towns of 2,500 to 3,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | South River Heights Manitoba | 2,632 | 84% | 5.3% | $112K | A+ |
| 8 | Point Road Manitoba | 3,290 | 88% | 7.4% | $107K | A+ |
| 9 | Hatley Quebec | 2,512 | 89% | 4.1% | $103K | A+ |
| 10 | Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska Quebec | 3,307 | 85% | 4.8% | $91K | A+ |
| 11 | Boothill Saskatchewan | 2,613 | 80% | 8.2% | $98K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | Saint-Elzéar Quebec | 2,842 | 90% | 3.8% | $89K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | Saint-Anaclet-de-Lessard Quebec | 3,018 | 85% | 4.5% | $83K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 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 Hatley, and others among Quebec’s towns.
How Hatley compares with the places nearby
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hatley | 89% | 4.1% | $103K | 21.8 min | A+ | C− |
| Waterville 3 km | 84% | 4.9% | $74K | 23 min | A− | B |
| Sherbrooke 8.2 km | 77% | 6.1% | $63K | 20.7 min | B− | A |
| Compton 10.5 km | 86% | 4.6% | $75K | 23.4 min | A− | B |
| Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley 12.1 km | 81% | 4% | $91K | 27 min | A− | D− |
| Ascot Corner 17.2 km | 86% | 3.2% | $88K | 23.1 min | A | D |
| Stoke 18.8 km | 79% | 6% | $88K | 23.5 min | A− | D |
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 Hatley, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- 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. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- 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. 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. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Hatley
How long is the commute from Hatley?
The average commute is 21.8 minutes; 33% of trips take under 15 minutes and 2.4% an hour or more.
Where do people in Hatley work?
7.1% work in Hatley itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Sherbrooke (475), then Magog (45).
How many jobs are there in Hatley?
The 2021 census found about 225 people with their usual workplace in Hatley, or 0.3 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 89 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Hatley?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Sherbrooke metro area at 4.2%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 4.1%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Hatley?
Hatley’s middle household had $102,800 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Hatley get to work?
95% of commuters drive, 1.2% take public transit and 3% walk; 28% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
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).