Photo: Hayden Soloviev · CC BY 4.0More of Lacolle’s 15-to-64s are in work than in 74% of Canadian towns
The 2021 census put unemployment in Lacolle at 5.3%, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. From Lacolle, the drive or ride to work averages 30.6 minutes, with 10% going an hour or longer. Median household income in Lacolle was $71,800 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
What Lacolle’s work numbers say
More people in work than most towns
80% of people aged 15 to 64 had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; counting everyone 15 and over, retirees included, it was 60%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 5.3% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 4.3%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household had $71,800 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 30.6 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 10% 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.
Lacolle earns C for jobs and income
Better than 33% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #348 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.
80% of working-age people in Lacolle have jobs
Of the 3 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Le Haut-Richelieu census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 62% of the wider area’s adults in work. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 63% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 60%: many residents are past working age. 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.
Earnings at home in Lacolle: households
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 61% of Canadian towns.
Every other place of 2,500 or more in the Le Haut-Richelieu census division has a higher median. That puts Lacolle 3% below the median of Quebec’s towns, $74,100. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Time on the road to work from Lacolle
Timed exactly, the average is 26.8 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 32%, more than the 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.
In and out of Lacolle: the working day evens out
Of those who commute, 30% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
70% of Lacolle’s residents in work leave it to work; Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu takes the most
Of those coming in, Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix supplies the most: 110.
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 5.9% of Lacolle’s commuters
Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 93% of commuters. Only 16% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
29% more people are on EI in the Le Haut-Richelieu census division than in 2019
That works out to around 3.4 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 5%. The count topped out in January 2021 at 7,220 people, 3.8 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Data for EI beneficiaries covers the Le Haut-Richelieu 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).
Lacolle grades B+ for walkability
Better than 73% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #263 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Lacolle next to Canadian towns of 2,500 to 3,800: 345th of 527 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 10 | Hatley Quebec | 2,512 | 89% | 4.1% | $103K | A+ |
| 11 | Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska Quebec | 3,307 | 85% | 4.8% | $91K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 343 | Ekota Alberta | 2,509 | 65% | 17% | $95K | C |
| 344 | Bedford Quebec | 2,845 | 76% | 6.6% | $55K | C |
| 345 | Lacolle Quebec | 2,806 | 80% | 5.3% | $72K | C |
| 346 | Albany Alberta | 3,015 | 36% | 10% | $91K | C |
| 347 | Northmount Alberta | 3,349 | 64% | 17% | $88K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 527 | 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 Lacolle, and others among Quebec’s towns.
Work next door to Lacolle
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lacolle | 80% | 5.3% | $72K | 30.6 min | C | B+ |
| Noyan 5.9 km | 74% | 6.5% | $65K | 34.1 min | D | D− |
| Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix 6.2 km | 79% | 4.7% | $74K | 29.2 min | C+ | D |
| Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle 8.6 km | 81% | 3% | $80K | 31 min | B− | D |
| Saint-Cyprien-de-Napierville 10.3 km | 82% | 3.6% | $89K | 27.4 min | A− | C− |
| Napierville 12.8 km | 80% | 5.2% | $80K | 26.5 min | B | B+ |
| Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu 14.7 km | 81% | 5.2% | $84K | 30.1 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 Lacolle, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. 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. 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.
- 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.
- 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. 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.
- 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 Lacolle
How do people in Lacolle get to work?
93% of commuters go by car, 5.9% walk. On census day 16% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Lacolle?
On average 30.6 minutes; 32% take under 15 minutes and 10% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Lacolle work?
30% work in Lacolle itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (160), then Montréal (75).
How many jobs are there in Lacolle?
About 790 people had their usual place of work in Lacolle at the 2021 census, 0.9 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 116 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Lacolle?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Montérégie economic region at 4.3%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 5.3%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Lacolle?
Lacolle’s middle household had $71,800 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
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).