Photo: Félix Mathieu-Bégin · CC BY-SA 4.0Saint-Bernard ranks among the Canadian towns where most working-age people have jobs
The census counted 695 people working in Saint-Bernard and 905 residents commuting to a fixed workplace. Half the households in Saint-Bernard had more than $82,700 in 2020, before tax, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. Unemployment in Saint-Bernard stood at 3.4% on census day 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
The work figures that set Saint-Bernard apart
More people in work than most towns
92% 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 73%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 3.4% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 2.3%. Unemployment ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 23 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 3.5% 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.
Saint-Bernard earns A for jobs and income
Better than 93% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #32 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 Saint-Bernard, 92% of the working-age population has a job
All 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the La Nouvelle-Beauce census division have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 76% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 73%. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 61% in work in October 2026. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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.
23 minutes from Saint-Bernard to work, under the middle of Canadian towns
A quarter-hour or less for 41% of commuters, against 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Quebec’s towns: 3.5% take an hour or more, against 5.3%. Timed exactly, the average is 20 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Quebec’s towns averages 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.
More workers leave Saint-Bernard each day than arrive
Each person commuting in is matched by about 2 residents going out. Of those who commute, 32% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
68% of Saint-Bernard’s residents in work leave it to work; Sainte-Marie takes the most
Of those coming in, Lévis supplies the most: 90.
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 Saint-Bernard work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Earnings at home in Saint-Bernard: households
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 62% of Canadian towns.
Set beside Quebec’s towns, where the median is $74,100, Saint-Bernard sits 12% above. 3 of the 5 other places of 2,500+ in the La Nouvelle-Beauce census division have a higher median. Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up part of these before-tax incomes.
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: 9.6% of Saint-Bernard’s commuters
By car, truck or van: 90% of commuters, much as in the middle of Quebec’s towns. 20% worked at home on census day, about the same as in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 0.9%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. On foot: 7% of commuters, well above the 4.2% in the middle of Quebec’s 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 La Nouvelle-Beauce census division run 37% above their 2019 level
Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 1%. At its peak, in January 2021, 1,850 people were on EI, 3.2 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.2 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100). For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of the La Nouvelle-Beauce census division, Saint-Bernard included.
Walkability in Saint-Bernard: graded B+
Better than 68% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #300 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 458 Canadian towns of 2,500 to 3,600, Saint-Bernard comes 47th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Kuujjuaq Quebec | 2,766 | 78% | 4.2% | $112K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | Hatley Quebec | 2,512 | 89% | 4.1% | $103K | A+ |
| 10 | Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska Quebec | 3,307 | 85% | 4.8% | $91K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 45 | Rivergrove Manitoba | 2,742 | 87% | 5.2% | $100K | A |
| 46 | Kensington, Part 1 Prince Edward Island | 3,357 | 80% | 12% | $86K | A |
| 47 | Saint-Bernard Quebec | 2,680 | 92% | 3.4% | $83K | A |
| 48 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 3,198 | 79% | 4.9% | $105K | A |
| 49 | Normanview West Saskatchewan | 2,866 | 76% | 9.9% | $98K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 458 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Saint-Bernard, and others among Quebec’s towns.
Around Saint-Bernard: jobs, pay and the commute
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Bernard | 92% | 3.4% | $83K | 23 min | A | B+ |
| Scott 4.6 km | 87% | 4.1% | $90K | 25.2 min | A | C |
| Saint-Narcisse-de-Beaurivage 7.4 km | 96% | 2.9% | $75K | 26.2 min | B+ | C+ |
| Saint-Isidore 8.6 km | 91% | 4.7% | $83K | 27.3 min | A− | C− |
| Sainte-Marie 10.6 km | 86% | 4.9% | $78K | 19.6 min | A | B |
| Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon 10.7 km | 87% | 4.3% | $96K | 26.5 min | A | C− |
| Saint-Patrice-de-Beaurivage 11.3 km | 86% | 4.2% | $72K | 24 min | B+ | C+ |
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 Saint-Bernard, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- Unemployment. The share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- 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. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- 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. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- 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.
Questions about work in Saint-Bernard
How do people in Saint-Bernard get to work?
90% of commuters go by car, 0.9% take public transit, 7% walk and 1.7% cycle. On census day 20% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Saint-Bernard?
On average 23 minutes; 41% take under 15 minutes and 3.5% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Saint-Bernard work?
Only 32% work in Saint-Bernard itself; the rest go first to Sainte-Marie (200) and Québec (95).
How many jobs are there in Saint-Bernard?
About 695 people had their usual place of work in Saint-Bernard at the 2021 census, 0.8 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 158 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Saint-Bernard?
At the 2021 census 3.4% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Chaudière-Appalaches economic region, gives 2.3% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Saint-Bernard?
Before tax, half the households in Saint-Bernard had more than $82,700 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).