Photo: Miro Denck · CC BY-SA 4.0Sutton has a larger share of its working-age people in jobs than 87% of Canadian towns
In May 2021, unemployment in Sutton reached 6.6%; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. Median household income in Sutton was $66,400 in 2020, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. An hour or more each way is the commute for 7% of workers in Sutton; the average is 24.1 minutes.
The short version on work in Sutton
More people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 83% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 48%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 4.3% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 6.6%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $66,400 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. 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 Sutton earn B
Better than 58% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #229 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.
83% of working-age people in Sutton have jobs
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Brome-Missisquoi census division, 5 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 48%: many residents are past working age. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 62% of the wider area’s adults in work. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 52% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. 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.
Household income in Sutton
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 75% of Canadian towns.
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 or more in the Brome-Missisquoi census division, 4 have a higher median. The middle of Quebec’s towns is $74,100, and Sutton is 10% below it. 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).
More of Sutton’s workers leave each day than arrive
1,085 residents of Sutton had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 945 people had theirs in Sutton, wherever they lived.
Of those who commute, 41% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
59% of Sutton’s residents in work leave it to work; Cowansville takes the most
Inbound, the leader is Lac-Brome (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 Sutton work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Leaving the car at home: 7.6% of commuters in Sutton
27% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 1% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. 90% drive to work, about the same as 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.
Time on the road to work from Sutton
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 21.9 minutes. The middle of Quebec’s towns averages 26.5 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 40% of commuters, against 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
EI claims in the Brome-Missisquoi census division run 49% above their 2019 level
Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 3%. At its peak, in January 2021, 3,320 people were on EI, 3.7 times the 2019 average. Roughly 3.3 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw 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). Sutton doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Brome-Missisquoi census division.
The walkability of Sutton: C+
Better than 42% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #406 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Sutton ranks: 303rd of 739 Canadian towns of 3,300 to 6,400
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 2 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | Hay River Northwest Territories | 3,317 | 78% | 6.5% | $129K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska Quebec | 3,307 | 85% | 4.8% | $91K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 26 | Havre-Saint-Pierre Quebec | 3,389 | 76% | 6.6% | $96K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 29 | Saint-Antonin Quebec | 4,633 | 85% | 3.9% | $76K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 301 | Valley Park Ontario | 6,394 | 73% | 11% | $118K | B |
| 302 | Burton New Brunswick | 5,424 | 69% | 7.3% | $89K | B |
| 303 | Sutton Quebec | 4,775 | 83% | 6.6% | $66K | B |
| 304 | Lac-Brome Quebec | 6,307 | 80% | 5.5% | $75K | B |
| 305 | Saint-Sulpice Quebec | 3,688 | 86% | 4.3% | $83K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 739 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Sutton, and others among Quebec’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Sutton
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton | 83% | 6.6% | $66K | 24.1 min | B | C+ |
| Frelighsburg 14.5 km | 87% | 4.2% | $71K | 27.1 min | B | B− |
| Dunham 14.7 km | 87% | 4.4% | $77K | 23.6 min | A− | C− |
| Potton 16 km | 82% | 6.9% | $68K | 25.7 min | B− | A− |
| Cowansville 16.2 km | 75% | 6.1% | $59K | 20.1 min | C+ | B+ |
| Lac-Brome 16.3 km | 80% | 5.5% | $75K | 25 min | B | B |
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 Sutton, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. 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. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- 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. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- 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 Sutton
How do people in Sutton get to work?
By car: 90% of commuters, 1% take public transit, 5.9% walk and 0.7% cycle; on census day 27% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Sutton?
24.1 minutes is the average trip, with 40% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 7% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Sutton work?
Only 41% work in Sutton itself; the rest go first to Cowansville (190) and Lac-Brome (130).
How many jobs are there in Sutton?
The 2021 census counted about 945 people working in Sutton: 0.9 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 212 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Sutton?
The 2021 census found 6.6% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Montérégie economic region, is 4.3% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Sutton?
Sutton’s middle household had $66,400 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
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).