Photo: Hayden Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Households in Lyster have lower incomes than those in 92% of Canadian towns
At the 2021 census, 86% of Lyster’s 15-to-64s were in work, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. The census counted 250 people working in Lyster and 430 residents commuting to a fixed workplace. Out of work in May 2021: 5.6% of Lyster’s labour force, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Work in Lyster: the figures worth knowing
More people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 86% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 61%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 3.4% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 5.6%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $57,900 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
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 Lyster: C+
Better than 42% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
Work and the working-age population of Lyster
Of the 3 other places of 2,500 people or more in the L'Érable census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 60% in October 2026. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 65%. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 61%: 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.
The median household in Lyster had $57,900 in 2020
2 of the 3 other places of 2,500+ in the L'Érable census division have a higher median. Set beside Quebec’s towns, where the median is $74,100, Lyster sits 22% below. Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for that year.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
More go out than come in: the working day in Lyster
Each person commuting in is matched by about 3 residents going out. The job is inside the municipality for 36% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
63% of Lyster’s residents in work leave it to work; Plessisville takes the most
- Laurierville25
- Inverness15
- Sainte-Agathe-de-Lotbinière10
- Saint-Flavien10
- Val-des-Sources10
Inbound, the leader is Laurierville (25).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 4.6% of Lyster’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 95% of commuters. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 14% against 21%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
A commute like the middle of Canadian towns: 25.9 minutes from Lyster
An hour or more: 7.7% of commuters, above the 5.3% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 21.6 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 34% 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.
In the L'Érable census division, 23% more people receive EI than in 2019
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 2%. In January 2021 it reached 1,330, the most in the series and 3 times the 2019 average. That works out to around 4.2 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Not measured by town: EI beneficiaries (the L'Érable 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).
The Walkability grade for Lyster: C−
Better than 25% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Jobs near Lyster: the places around it
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyster | 86% | 5.6% | $58K | 25.9 min | C+ | C− |
| Laurierville 10.7 km | 83% | 5% | $65K | 23 min | B | B |
| Val-Alain 11.9 km | 78% | 4.9% | $64K | 29.7 min | C− | C |
| Saint-Janvier-de-Joly 13.6 km | 77% | 8.1% | $75K | 28 min | C+ | C |
| Saint-Flavien 14.7 km | 85% | 2.9% | $71K | 22.2 min | A− | B− |
| Sainte-Agathe-de-Lotbinière 16.5 km | 87% | 3.5% | $63K | 30.5 min | C | B− |
| Laurier-Station 17.8 km | 89% | 3.1% | $67K | 21.7 min | A− | 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 Lyster, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- 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. 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. 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. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- 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.
- 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 Lyster
How many jobs are there in Lyster?
The 2021 census counted about 250 people working in Lyster: 0.6 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 82 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Lyster?
The census put unemployment at 5.6% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Centre-du-Québec economic region at 3.4%.
What is the average household income in Lyster?
Lyster’s middle household had $57,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Lyster get to work?
By car: 95% of commuters, 4.6% walk; on census day 14% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Lyster?
25.9 minutes is the average trip, with 34% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 7.7% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Lyster work?
36% work in Lyster itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Plessisville (50), then Victoriaville (50).
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).