Photo: Bouchecl · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in La Tuque earn less than those in 89% of Canadian towns
71% of people aged 15 to 64 in La Tuque had a job at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Most commutes from La Tuque take well under an hour: the average is 14.2 minutes, and 3.5% take 60 minutes or longer. The 2021 census put unemployment in La Tuque at 6.9%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in La Tuque: what the figures say
Less unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 6.9% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 4.3% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $59,800 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
More jobs than the typical town
With 4,395 jobs based in La Tuque and 3,905 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 14.2 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 3.5% 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 La Tuque: C+
Better than 38% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #320 of 507 in Quebec.
Its strongest measure is trip times; 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 La Tuque were working in 2021
A smaller share in work than in 70% of Canadian towns.
Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 50%. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 55% in work in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 53%. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from 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.
Before tax, the median household in La Tuque had $59,800
The middle of Quebec’s towns is $74,100, and La Tuque is 19% below it. 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).
Workers pour into La Tuque: 12% more on a working day
About 4 people arrive to work in La Tuque for each resident who goes out. 95% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
How long the commute from La Tuque takes
The middle of Quebec’s towns averages 26.5 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 74%, more than the 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 13 minutes.
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.
685 people come into La Tuque to work, most from La Bostonnais and Shawinigan
- La Bostonnais160
- Shawinigan65
- Trois-Rivières55
- Saguenay35
- Québec30
- Saint-Tite25
- Lac-Édouard25
- Lac-aux-Sables20
- Montréal20
- Bécancour15
- Trois-Rivières20
- La Bostonnais20
- Communauté de Wemotaci20
- Lac-Édouard15
- Obedjiwan 2815
- Québec10
- Trois-Rives10
- Shawinigan10
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 9% of La Tuque’s commuters
More people walk to work here than in the middle of Quebec’s towns: 7.8% against 4.2%. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 6% against 21%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
11% more people are on EI in the La Tuque census division than in 2019
For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.7 are on EI. March 2021 was the busiest month, with 1,010 people on EI, 2.5 times 2019’s average.
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). La Tuque shares its EI beneficiaries numbers with the rest of the La Tuque census division.
La Tuque grades B+ for walkability
Better than 74% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #259 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How La Tuque ranks: 428th of 660 Canadian towns of 7,900 to 15,300
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 4 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | Boischatel Quebec | 9,250 | 85% | 4.8% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | L'Aéroport Quebec | 13,630 | 84% | 5.2% | $90K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 426 | Downtown Alberta | 12,880 | 76% | 13% | $68K | C+ |
| 427 | Quesnel British Columbia | 10,253 | 65% | 11% | $68K | C+ |
| 428 | La Tuque Quebec | 11,309 | 71% | 6.9% | $60K | C+ |
| 429 | Cathedraltown Ontario | 11,029 | 71% | 9.9% | $124K | C+ |
| 430 | Shelburne Ontario | 10,767 | 75% | 10% | $99K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 660 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of La Tuque, and others among Quebec’s towns.
Jobs near La Tuque: the places around it
Distances here run 68–80 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from La Tuque.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Tuque | 71% | 6.9% | $60K | 14.2 min | C+ | B+ |
| Lac-aux-Sables 68.3 km | 71% | 13% | $58K | 26.8 min | D | C |
| Sainte-Thècle 71.9 km | 70% | 7.5% | $51K | 21.9 min | C− | B |
| Saint-Tite 79.8 km | 77% | 5.5% | $50K | 21.8 min | C | 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 La Tuque, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- 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. 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. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- Employment Insurance. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- 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 La Tuque
How long is the commute from La Tuque?
14.2 minutes is the average trip, with 74% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 3.5% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in La Tuque work?
95% work in La Tuque itself; of those who leave, the most go to Trois-Rivières (20), then La Bostonnais (20).
How many jobs are there in La Tuque?
The 2021 census counted about 4,395 people working in La Tuque: 1.1 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 362 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in La Tuque?
At the 2021 census 6.9% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Mauricie economic region, gives 4.3% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in La Tuque?
At $59,800 before tax in 2020, the median household in La Tuque compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in La Tuque get to work?
By car: 89% of commuters, 0.5% take public transit, 7.8% walk and 0.7% cycle; on census day 6% of those in work worked from home.
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).