Photo: Veillg1 · CC BY-SA 4.0A larger share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in McMasterville than in 94% of Canadian towns
Before tax, the typical household in McMasterville brought in $85,400 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. McMasterville is the usual workplace of 1,115 people, and 2,030 of its own residents commute to a job. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 4.9% of McMasterville’s labour force, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
What stands out about work in McMasterville
More people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 86% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 70% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 4.9% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 6.9%. Unemployment ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 29.5 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 8.8% take an hour or more. 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.
On jobs and income, McMasterville grades B+
Better than 70% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #164 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 McMasterville, 86% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in the La Vallée-du-Richelieu census division, 6 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
A more recent figure, for the wider area: 62% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 73% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 70% were working. May 2021, when the census was taken, was a pandemic spring; unemployment has come down since, as the Labour Force Survey records.
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.
29.5 minutes from McMasterville to work, over the middle of Canadian towns
Timed exactly, the average is 27.1 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Quebec’s towns averages 26.5 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 25%, fewer than the 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. An hour or more: 8.8% of commuters, above the 5.3% 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.
On a working day, McMasterville loses more workers than it gains
Each person commuting in is matched by about 2 residents going out. Of those who commute, 13% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
87% of McMasterville’s residents in work leave it to work; Beloeil takes the most
Coming the other way, Beloeil sends the most (170).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How McMasterville’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 67% of Canadian towns.
That puts McMasterville 15% above the median of Quebec’s towns, $74,100. 7 of the 8 other places of 2,500+ in the La Vallée-du-Richelieu census division have a higher median. 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).
Walking, cycling or transit: 8.6% of McMasterville’s commuters
Home was the workplace for 20%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. More people take transit to work here than in the middle of Quebec’s towns: 4.8% against 1.5%. Nearly everyone drives: 91% of commuters go by car, truck or van.
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-du-Richelieu census division run 27% above their 2019 level
For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 3 are on EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 3%. In January 2021 it reached 5,880, the most in the series and 3.8 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the La Vallée-du-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).
Getting around McMasterville on foot earns B+
Better than 74% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #257 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
McMasterville places 205th of 699 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 4,300 to 8,300
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 3 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | Chibougamau Quebec | 7,273 | 82% | 3.7% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 25 | Shannon Quebec | 7,088 | 81% | 3.7% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 31 | Saint-Antonin Quebec | 4,633 | 85% | 3.9% | $76K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 203 | Elmvale - Canterbury Ontario | 8,149 | 73% | 12% | $95K | B+ |
| 204 | Shediac New Brunswick | 5,699 | 80% | 12% | $78K | B+ |
| 205 | McMasterville Quebec | 6,114 | 86% | 4.9% | $85K | B+ |
| 206 | Montgomery Alberta | 4,456 | 75% | 12% | $90K | B+ |
| 207 | Oliver British Columbia | 5,262 | 78% | 8.4% | $69K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 699 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of McMasterville, and others among Quebec’s towns.
How the places next to McMasterville compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McMasterville | 86% | 4.9% | $85K | 29.5 min | B+ | B+ |
| Otterburn Park 2.8 km | 85% | 4.6% | $104K | 30.8 min | A− | B− |
| Beloeil 3.2 km | 85% | 5% | $90K | 27.1 min | A− | A |
| Mont-Saint-Hilaire 4.1 km | 83% | 5.9% | $103K | 28.9 min | A− | A− |
| Saint-Basile-le-Grand 5.2 km | 84% | 4.8% | $108K | 29.1 min | A | A |
| Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil 5.3 km | 87% | 2.8% | $113K | 26.5 min | A+ | C |
| Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu 8.1 km | 83% | 3.2% | $84K | 31 min | B | B− |
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 McMasterville, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- Where people commute. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- Employment Insurance. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- 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.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in McMasterville
How long is the commute from McMasterville?
The average commute is 29.5 minutes; 25% of trips take under 15 minutes and 8.8% an hour or more.
Where do people in McMasterville work?
Only 13% work in McMasterville itself; the rest go first to Beloeil (340) and Montréal (315).
How many jobs are there in McMasterville?
The 2021 census found about 1,115 people with their usual workplace in McMasterville, or 0.6 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 145 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in McMasterville?
At the 2021 census 4.9% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Montréal metro area, gives 6.9% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in McMasterville?
McMasterville’s middle household had $85,400 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in McMasterville get to work?
91% of commuters drive, 4.8% take public transit, 2.6% walk and 1.2% cycle; 20% 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).