Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 4.0Mercier has 0.4 jobs for every resident in work, so most leave town for work
An hour or more each way is the commute for 6.5% of workers in Mercier; the average is 29.3 minutes. Out of work in May 2021: 5% of Mercier’s labour force, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. Median household income in Mercier was $100,500 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
What Mercier’s work numbers say
More people in work than most towns
Counting everyone 15 and over, 68% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 82%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
5% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 6.9% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $100,500 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 29.3 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6.5% 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.
Jobs and income in Mercier earn A−
Better than 77% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #120 of 507 in Quebec.
Its strongest measure is household income; 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 Mercier, 82% of the working-age population has a job
Of the 10 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Roussillon census division, 6 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
71% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 68%: many residents are past working age. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 62% in October 2026. 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.
How Mercier’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 86% of Canadian towns.
Mercier’s median is 36% above the middle of Quebec’s towns ($74,100). Of the 10 other places of 2,500 or more in the Roussillon census division, 3 have a higher median. 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).
Commuting times in Mercier
Only 25% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 26.3 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
On a working day, Mercier loses more workers than it gains
5,155 residents of Mercier had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 2,080 people had theirs in Mercier, wherever they lived.
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 3 to 1. 16% 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.
84% of Mercier’s residents in work leave it to work; Montréal takes the most
- Montréal1,410
- Châteauguay1,155
- Longueuil195
- Brossard135
- Salaberry-de-Valleyfield135
- Beauharnois130
- Sainte-Catherine110
- Saint-Rémi95
- Saint-Constant85
- Boucherville80
Coming the other way, Châteauguay sends the most (355).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Mercier work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Walking, cycling or transit: 7.4% of Mercier’s commuters
The middle of Quebec’s towns has 1.5% on transit; here it is 4.2%. The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters. Only 18% 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).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
EI claims in the Roussillon census division run 31% above their 2019 level
Roughly 3.3 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 2%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 9,250 people on EI, 3.7 times 2019’s 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 Roussillon 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).
On getting around on foot, Mercier grades B+
Better than 69% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #289 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 547 Canadian towns of 11,200 to 21,600, Mercier comes 98th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| 4 | Cap-Rouge Quebec | 17,139 | 81% | 4.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | L'Aéroport Quebec | 13,630 | 84% | 5.2% | $90K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 96 | Beaconsfield Quebec | 19,430 | 77% | 7.2% | $138K | A− |
| 97 | Greektown British Columbia | 16,618 | 79% | 8.5% | $101K | A− |
| 98 | Mercier Quebec | 16,036 | 82% | 5% | $101K | A− |
| 99 | Cardinal Creek Ontario | 11,676 | 78% | 8.6% | $137K | A− |
| 100 | Pont-Rouge Quebec | 11,339 | 82% | 3.9% | $87K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 547 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Mercier, and others among Quebec’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Mercier
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercier | 82% | 5% | $101K | 29.3 min | A− | B+ |
| Châteauguay 5.1 km | 75% | 8.4% | $79K | 29.3 min | C | A |
| Saint-Isidore 5.7 km | 81% | 3% | $94K | 26.8 min | A− | C− |
| Léry 6.2 km | 87% | 4.1% | $94K | 26.7 min | A | C |
| Sainte-Martine 7.6 km | 83% | 3.3% | $79K | 27.7 min | B | B− |
| Kahnawake 8.7 km | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Saint-Urbain-Premier 10 km | 85% | 6% | $86K | 32.8 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 Mercier, 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. People in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64 (2021 Census). The census doesn’t cross work with age below the municipality, so this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood has; retirees don’t weigh on it.
- 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. 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. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- 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 Mercier
How long is the commute from Mercier?
On average 29.3 minutes; 25% take under 15 minutes and 6.5% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Mercier work?
16% work in Mercier itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Montréal (1,410), then Châteauguay (1,155).
How many jobs are there in Mercier?
About 2,080 people had their usual place of work in Mercier at the 2021 census, 0.4 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 360 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Mercier?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 5% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Montréal metro area at 6.9% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Mercier?
The median household in Mercier had $100,500 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Mercier get to work?
91% of commuters go by car, 4.2% take public transit, 3% walk and 0.2% cycle. On census day 18% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
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).