Photo: Judicieux · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Plateau trail those of 73% of Canadian towns
On average, people in Plateau spend 21.1 minutes getting to work, next to 26 for the middle of Canadian towns. 17% of its commuters take public transit. In Plateau, 80% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Plateau at work: what stands out
More people in work than most towns
With 80% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, it has 63% of all adults employed. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $67,000 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 21.1 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns. 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.
On jobs and income, Plateau grades B
Better than 62% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #208 of 507 in Quebec.
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.
Who in Plateau has a job
Of the 36 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Québec census division, 13 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Working or looking, 69% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. Counting retirees, 63% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 63% of the wider area’s adults in work. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from 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.
Plateau households: $67,000 a year at the median
That puts Plateau 10% below the median of Quebec’s towns, $74,100. 24 of the 36 other places of 2,500+ in the Québec census division have a higher median. Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 25% of Plateau’s commuters
Working at home: 30% here, 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.
In the Québec census division, 36% more people receive EI than in 2019
Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 3%. The highest month was January 2021: 30,440 people, 4.8 times the 2019 level. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 2.6 receive EI.
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).
Everyday places on foot in Plateau: A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #61 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Plateau is 202nd of 579 Canadian towns of 9,900 to 19,100 people for 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 200 | Pine Grove Ontario | 13,302 | 73% | 12% | $137K | B |
| 201 | Windsor Park Manitoba | 12,523 | 75% | 9% | $84K | B |
| 202 | Plateau Quebec | 14,176 | 80% | 7.6% | $67K | B |
| 203 | Leaside-Bennington Ontario | 16,710 | 73% | 11% | $160K | B |
| 204 | Lacombe County Alberta | 11,072 | 78% | 8.8% | $89K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 579 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Plateau, and others among Quebec’s towns.
How the places next to Plateau compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plateau | 80% | 7.6% | $67K | 21.1 min | B | A+ |
| Pointe-de-Sainte-Foy 1.6 km | 81% | 7.2% | $68K | 22 min | B | A+ |
| Saint-Louis 2.2 km | 81% | 7.5% | $78K | 21.7 min | A− | A+ |
| Cité-Universitaire 2.6 km | 67% | 10% | $54K | 20.6 min | C− | A+ |
| Cap-Rouge 3.6 km | 81% | 4.3% | $126K | 21.2 min | A+ | A |
| L'Aéroport 4.1 km | 84% | 5.2% | $90K | 19.8 min | A+ | B+ |
| L'Ancienne-Lorette 4.4 km | 84% | 4.4% | $86K | 19.8 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 Plateau, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
- 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. 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.
- 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.
- Neighbourhood figures. Plateau’s census figures are summed from its dissemination areas. Commuting flows and Statistics Canada’s timed averages are published only for the whole municipality, so they are on Québec’s page.
Questions about work in Plateau
How do people in Plateau get to work?
By car: 73% of commuters, 17% take public transit, 6.7% walk and 0.8% cycle; on census day 30% of those in work worked from home.
How many jobs are there in Plateau?
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 Plateau?
Two figures answer it: 7.6% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 4.5% for the Québec metro area in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Plateau?
Plateau’s middle household had $67,000 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
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).