Photo: Iceberg9999 · CC BY-SA 4.0A larger share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Des Châtels than in 84% of Canadian towns
Commutes from Des Châtels average 22.1 minutes, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. Before tax, the typical household in Des Châtels brought in $89,200 in 2020, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 6.1% of Des Châtels’ labour force; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
Des Châtels and work: the main findings
More people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 82% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 64%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 6.1% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 4.5%. Unemployment ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 22.1 minutes; the middle of Canadian towns is 26. Getting to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Des Châtels grades A for jobs and income
Better than 94% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #31 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.
How many in Des Châtels have a job: 82% of 15-to-64s
Of the 36 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Québec census division, 28 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 68% of residents that age. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 64% were working. In October 2026, 63% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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.
Leaving the car at home: 9% of commuters in Des Châtels
23% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. The middle of Quebec’s towns has 1.5% on transit; here it is 5.7%. Fewer drive than in the middle of Quebec’s towns: 88% against 90%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How Des Châtels’ household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 73% of Canadian towns.
Des Châtels’ median is 20% above the middle of Quebec’s towns ($74,100). 10 of the 36 other places of 2,500+ in the Québec 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).
36% more people are on EI in the Québec census division than in 2019
That is about 2.6 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 3%. The count topped out in January 2021 at 30,440 people, 4.8 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of the Québec 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 Des Châtels on foot earns A
Better than 90% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #162 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Des Châtels ranks: 30th of 561 Canadian towns of 10,400 to 20,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 28 | Mapleton Ontario | 11,518 | 86% | 3.8% | $109K | A |
| 29 | Coldstream British Columbia | 11,380 | 77% | 7.8% | $112K | A |
| 30 | Des Châtels Quebec | 14,836 | 82% | 6.1% | $89K | A |
| 31 | Lakeview Alberta | 12,799 | 75% | 11% | $125K | A |
| 32 | Rothesay New Brunswick | 12,626 | 77% | 8.7% | $100K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 561 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Des Châtels, and others among Quebec’s towns.
Work in and around Des Châtels
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Des Châtels | 82% | 6.1% | $89K | 22.1 min | A | A |
| Loretteville 1.7 km | 81% | 7.3% | $74K | 23.1 min | B+ | A |
| Wendake 3.1 km | 78% | 6.3% | $68K | 18.2 min | B | A− |
| L'Ancienne-Lorette 4.1 km | 84% | 4.4% | $86K | 19.8 min | A+ | A |
| Neufchatel Est—Lebourgneuf 4.2 km | 83% | 6.2% | $83K | 20.1 min | A | A |
| Val-Bélair 4.6 km | 84% | 4.3% | $96K | 23.3 min | A+ | B+ |
| Saint-Émile 4.7 km | 82% | 4.3% | $105K | 22.6 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 Des Châtels, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- 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.
- 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. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
- Neighbourhood figures. We add up Des Châtels’ dissemination areas for its census figures. Flows between places and timed averages exist only for the whole municipality: see Québec’s page.
Questions about work in Des Châtels
How many jobs are there in Des Châtels?
Jobs are counted by municipality, not neighbourhood: the page for Québec has the jobs based there and where its commuters go.
What is the unemployment rate in Des Châtels?
The census put unemployment at 6.1% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Québec metro area at 4.5%.
What is the average household income in Des Châtels?
At $89,200 before tax in 2020, the median household in Des Châtels compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Des Châtels get to work?
By car: 88% of commuters, 5.7% take public transit, 3.1% walk and 0.2% cycle; on census day 23% of those in work worked from home.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · 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).