Photo: Adqproductions · CC BY-SA 3.0A larger share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Saint-Bruno than in 92% of Canadian towns
Joblessness at the 2021 census: 2.9% of Saint-Bruno’s labour force; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. Getting to work from Saint-Bruno takes 21 minutes on average, an hour or more for 2.6%. Median household income in Saint-Bruno was $78,500 in 2020, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns.
What sets Saint-Bruno apart on jobs and income
More people in work than most towns
The 2021 census found 85% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 69%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 2.9% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 3.6% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 21 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 2.6% 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.
Saint-Bruno grades A for jobs and income
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.
The share of 15-to-64s in work in Saint-Bruno: 85%
Of the 3 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est census division, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 71% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 69%: many residents are past working age. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 59% in October 2026. 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.
Saint-Bruno has a quicker trip to work than the middle of Canadian towns: 21 minutes
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 18.7 minutes. In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 45%, more 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: Saint-Bruno sends out more workers than it takes in
The job is inside the municipality for 26% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
74% of Saint-Bruno’s residents in work leave it to work; Alma takes the most
Of those coming in, Alma supplies the most: 330.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How Saint-Bruno’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 53% of Canadian towns.
No other place of 2,500 or more in the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est census division has a higher median. Against the middle of Quebec’s towns ($74,100), Saint-Bruno’s median is 6% above. 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).
4.5% of commuters in Saint-Bruno walk, cycle or take transit
The car is the way to work for 94% of commuters. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 12% against 21%. 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 Lac-Saint-Jean-Est census division run 5% above their 2019 level
That works out to around 4.8 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 1%. The highest month was January 2021: 4,270 people, 2.5 times the 2019 level.
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). Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for Saint-Bruno alone, so this card uses the figure for the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est census division.
Everyday places on foot in Saint-Bruno: B−
Better than 47% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #385 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,000, Saint-Bruno ranks 60th of 578 for 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 10 | Hatley Quebec | 2,512 | 89% | 4.1% | $103K | A+ |
| 11 | Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska Quebec | 3,307 | 85% | 4.8% | $91K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 58 | Highlands British Columbia | 2,753 | 83% | 4.9% | $124K | A |
| 59 | Holliston Saskatchewan | 2,963 | 75% | 10% | $100K | A |
| 60 | Saint-Bruno Quebec | 2,935 | 85% | 2.9% | $79K | A |
| 61 | Freelton Ontario | 2,724 | 83% | 9.6% | $129K | A |
| 62 | Bridgeport North Ontario | 2,858 | 74% | 9.6% | $165K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 578 | 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-Bruno, and others among Quebec’s towns.
Work in the places around Saint-Bruno
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Bruno | 85% | 2.9% | $79K | 21 min | A | B− |
| Hébertville-Station 3.1 km | 86% | 3.7% | $67K | 24.2 min | B | C+ |
| Saint-Gédéon 7.5 km | 81% | 5.4% | $86K | 23.5 min | A | C |
| Alma 9.2 km | 76% | 5.3% | $68K | 18.6 min | B− | B+ |
| Hébertville 9.5 km | 87% | 5.3% | $69K | 24.5 min | B+ | C+ |
| Larouche 10.2 km | 78% | 3.6% | $87K | 29.5 min | B− | C |
| Saint-Nazaire 13.4 km | 83% | 5.1% | $80K | 25.6 min | B+ | D |
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-Bruno, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s 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. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
Questions about work in Saint-Bruno
How many jobs are there in Saint-Bruno?
Some 1,020 people worked in Saint-Bruno at the 2021 census: 0.9 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 108 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Saint-Bruno?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 2.9% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean economic region at 3.6% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Saint-Bruno?
Saint-Bruno’s middle household had $78,500 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Saint-Bruno get to work?
Driving takes 94% of commuters to work, 4.5% walk, and on census day 12% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Saint-Bruno?
About 21 minutes on average, with 45% under a quarter-hour and 2.6% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Saint-Bruno work?
26% work in Saint-Bruno itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Alma (475), then Saguenay (215).
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).