Photo: Gabriel Picard · CC BY-SA 4.0Upton has a larger share of its working-age people in jobs than 96% of Canadian towns
An hour or more each way is the commute for 12% of workers in Upton; the average is 30.3 minutes. Half the households in Upton had more than $70,000 in 2020, before tax; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. The 2021 census put unemployment in Upton at 3.4%; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
What the numbers say about work in Upton
More people in work than most towns
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 88% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 66%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 3.4% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 4.3% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The median household had $70,000 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 30.3 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 12% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Upton: B−
Better than 45% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
Work for 88% of 15-to-64s in Upton
Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 69%. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 66%. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 62% in work in October 2026. 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.
Household income in Upton
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 66% of Canadian towns.
Upton’s median is 6% below the middle of Quebec’s towns ($74,100). Pandemic support paid in 2020, CERB first among it, is 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).
Commuting times in Upton
Timed exactly, the average is 27.1 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 minutes. Only 27% get to work within a quarter-hour, 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.
More of Upton’s workers leave each day than arrive
It sends out some 2 workers for every one it takes in. The job is inside the municipality for 19% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
81% of Upton’s residents in work leave it to work; Saint-Hyacinthe takes the most
- Saint-Hyacinthe190
- Acton Vale70
- Drummondville65
- Granby30
- Montréal30
- Saint-Valérien-de-Milton20
- Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot20
- Saint-Nazaire-d'Acton10
- Wickham10
- Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover10
Inbound, the leader is Acton Vale (90).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
5.4% of commuters in Upton walk, cycle or take transit
Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 17% against 21%. Few ride transit: 1.1%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 94% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Acton census division run 50% above their 2019 level
At its peak, in January 2021, 950 people were on EI, 3 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.5 receive EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 5%.
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 Acton 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).
Upton on foot: a B− grade
Better than 49% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Upton compares with the places nearby
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upton | 88% | 3.4% | $70K | 30.3 min | B− | B− |
| Saint-Liboire 5.9 km | 86% | 4.2% | $88K | 24.9 min | A | B |
| Acton Vale 8.9 km | 80% | 6.4% | $58K | 24.4 min | C+ | A− |
| Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot 9.9 km | 85% | 3.7% | $75K | 21.7 min | A | C |
| Saint-Valérien-de-Milton 10.7 km | 85% | 4% | $80K | 27.6 min | B+ | C+ |
| Saint-Théodore-d'Acton 11.3 km | 84% | 4.1% | $71K | 22.4 min | B+ | C+ |
| Saint-Simon 13.9 km | 83% | 4.6% | $85K | 24.9 min | A− | 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 Upton, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- 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.
- 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. 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. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Upton
What is the unemployment rate in Upton?
The census put unemployment at 3.4% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Montérégie economic region at 4.3%.
What is the average household income in Upton?
The median household in Upton had $70,000 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Upton get to work?
94% of commuters drive, 1.1% take public transit, 3.2% walk and 1.1% cycle; 17% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Upton?
The average commute is 30.3 minutes; 27% of trips take under 15 minutes and 12% an hour or more.
Where do people in Upton work?
19% work in Upton itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Saint-Hyacinthe (190), then Acton Vale (70).
How many jobs are there in Upton?
The 2021 census found about 480 people with their usual workplace in Upton, or 0.7 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 109 businesses with employees in June 2026.
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).