Photo: Fralambert · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Montpellier earn less than those in 97% of Canadian towns
Of Montpellier’s residents aged 15 to 64, 60% were employed when the 2021 census was taken, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. From Montpellier, the drive or ride to work averages 36.3 minutes, with 22% going an hour or longer. Census day 2021 found 19% of Montpellier’s labour force without a job, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
What sets Montpellier apart on jobs and income
Fewer people in work than most towns
60% 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 37%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 19% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 6.4%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household had $53,800 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 36.3 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 22% 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.
Montpellier grades D− for jobs and income
Behind almost every Canadian town on three measures together.
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.
Work for 60% of 15-to-64s in Montpellier
A smaller share in work than in 93% of Canadian towns.
45% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 37% were working. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 58% of the wider area’s adults in work. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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.
Household income in Montpellier: $53,800 at the median
Montpellier’s median is 27% below the middle of Quebec’s towns ($74,100). Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
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 Montpellier
Timed exactly, the average is 33.2 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 20%, fewer 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.
A commuter town: Montpellier sends out more workers than it takes in
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 8 to 1. The job is inside the municipality for 12% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
89% of Montpellier’s residents in work leave it to work; Saint-André-Avellin takes the most
- Ripon15
- Saint-André-Avellin50
- Gatineau35
- Ottawa20
- Papineauville15
- Ripon15
- Chénéville15
- Lac-Simon10
- Duhamel10
Inbound, the leader is Ripon (15).
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: 0% of Montpellier’s commuters
The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters. Working at home: 20%, close to the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Papineau census division run 40% above their 2019 level
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 5%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 1,600 people on EI, 3 times 2019’s average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.2 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Papineau 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).
How walkable Montpellier is: D−
Better than 2% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Work in and around Montpellier
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montpellier | 60% | 19% | $54K | 36.3 min | D− | D− |
| Lac-Simon 9 km | 61% | 11% | $72K | 36.8 min | D− | D− |
| Ripon 10 km | 73% | 8.2% | $71K | 31 min | D | B |
| Saint-André-Avellin 17.2 km | 69% | 12% | $63K | 26.8 min | D | 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 Montpellier, 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. 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.
- Household income. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- 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. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless 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 Montpellier
How do people in Montpellier get to work?
95% of commuters go by car. On census day 20% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Montpellier?
On average 36.3 minutes; 20% take under 15 minutes and 22% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Montpellier work?
12% work in Montpellier itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Saint-André-Avellin (50), then Gatineau (35).
How many jobs are there in Montpellier?
About 45 people had their usual place of work in Montpellier at the 2021 census, 0.2 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 22 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Montpellier?
The census put unemployment at 19% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Outaouais economic region at 6.4%.
What is the average household income in Montpellier?
Before tax, half the households in Montpellier had more than $53,800 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
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).