Photo: Alain.boucher86 · Public domainSaint-Ferdinand has 0.5 jobs for every resident in work, so most leave town for work
The 2021 census found 80% of working-age people in Saint-Ferdinand employed, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Median household income in Saint-Ferdinand was $66,000 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Workers in Saint-Ferdinand spend 24.3 minutes on the way to work on average, and 3.9% need an hour or more.
What sets Saint-Ferdinand apart on jobs and income
More people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 80% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 52%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
5.2% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 3.4% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $66,000 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs and income in Saint-Ferdinand earn B−
Better than 48% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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 Saint-Ferdinand has a job
None of the 3 other places of 2,500 people or more in the L'Érable census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 52%. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 60% in October 2026. The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 55% of residents that age. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at 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.
What households in Saint-Ferdinand earn
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 76% of Canadian towns.
One of the 3 other places of 2,500+ in the L'Érable census division has a higher median. The middle of Quebec’s towns is $74,100, and Saint-Ferdinand is 11% below it. CERB and the other emergency payments of 2020 are counted in these incomes, which lifted the lower ones 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).
More workers leave Saint-Ferdinand each day than arrive
Each person commuting in is matched by about 3 residents going out. 29% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
71% of Saint-Ferdinand’s residents in work leave it to work; Thetford Mines takes the most
- Irlande35
- Thetford Mines30
- Princeville15
- Plessisville15
- Saint-Joseph-de-Coleraine10
- Sainte-Sophie-d'Halifax10
- Saint-Pierre-Baptiste10
- Victoriaville10
- Thetford Mines125
- Plessisville105
- Victoriaville55
- Plessisville45
- Princeville40
- Irlande15
- Saint-Pierre-Baptiste15
- Lévis10
In the other direction the biggest source is Irlande, with 35.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Saint-Ferdinand gets to work without a car for 5.2% of commuters
Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 92% of commuters. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 15% against 21%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
The length of the trip to work in Saint-Ferdinand
In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 34% of commuters, against 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 23.1 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.
EI claims in the L'Érable census division run 23% above their 2019 level
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.2 receive EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 2%. In January 2021 it reached 1,330, the most in the series and 3 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the L'Érable 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).
Saint-Ferdinand on foot: a B grade
Better than 61% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Work next door to Saint-Ferdinand
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Ferdinand | 80% | 5.2% | $66K | 24.3 min | B− | B |
| Plessisville 17.4 km | 90% | 2.4% | $78K | 19 min | A+ | C+ |
| Saint-Norbert-d'Arthabaska 19.1 km | 83% | 2.3% | $74K | 18.7 min | A | 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-Ferdinand, 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. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- 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. 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.
- 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.
- 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-Ferdinand
How long is the commute from Saint-Ferdinand?
About 24.3 minutes on average, with 34% under a quarter-hour and 3.9% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Saint-Ferdinand work?
Only 29% work in Saint-Ferdinand itself; the rest go first to Thetford Mines (125) and Plessisville (105).
How many jobs are there in Saint-Ferdinand?
Statistics Canada counted 98 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Saint-Ferdinand?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 5.2% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Centre-du-Québec economic region at 3.4% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Saint-Ferdinand?
The median household in Saint-Ferdinand had $66,000 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Saint-Ferdinand get to work?
Driving takes 92% of commuters to work, 5.2% walk, and on census day 15% of those in work were at home.
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).