Photo: Pymouss · CC BY-SA 4.0Varennes has higher household incomes than 89% of Canadian towns
The average trip to work from Varennes is 25.9 minutes; 4.5% of commuters spend an hour or more getting there. 83% of people aged 15 to 64 in Varennes had a job at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. Out of work in May 2021: 4.3% of Varennes’ labour force; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
The short version on work in Varennes
More people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 83% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 68%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 6.9% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 4.3%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $103,600 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
More jobs than the typical town
8,710 people work in Varennes and 7,855 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Varennes earns A for jobs and income
Better than 92% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #37 of 507 in Quebec.
Its strongest measure is household income; 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.
Who in Varennes has a job
Of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Marguerite-D'Youville census division, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
In October 2026, 62% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 71% of residents that age. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 68% of residents 15 and over were in work. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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.
Before tax, the median household in Varennes had $103,600
One of the 4 other places of 2,500+ in the Marguerite-D'Youville census division has a higher median. Against the middle of Quebec’s towns ($74,100), Varennes’ median is 40% above. 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).
Each working day, Varennes’ workforce swells by 8%
The job is inside the municipality for 33% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
6,141 people come into Varennes to work, most from Longueuil and Montréal
- Longueuil1,060
- Montréal665
- Sainte-Julie475
- Verchères435
- Boucherville425
- Saint-Amable355
- Contrecoeur335
- Sorel-Tracy235
- Beloeil150
- Mont-Saint-Hilaire130
- Montréal1,420
- Boucherville1,170
- Longueuil1,075
- Sainte-Julie195
- Brossard180
- Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville145
- Sorel-Tracy120
- Contrecoeur115
- Verchères100
- Saint-Hyacinthe80
Of everyone working in Varennes, 71% come in from elsewhere; 1,060 make the 18 km trip from Longueuil. Montréal is where the largest group of commuters out goes, 1,420 of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Varennes gets to work without a car for 7.7% of commuters
The middle of Quebec’s towns has 1.5% on transit; here it is 3.7%. The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters. Working at home: 22% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
Time on the road to work from Varennes
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 23.2 minutes. Only 29% 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.
27% more people are on EI in the Marguerite-D'Youville census division than in 2019
That works out to around 2.9 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 2%. The highest month was January 2021: 3,740 people, 3.7 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). Varennes shares its EI beneficiaries numbers with the rest of the Marguerite-D'Youville census division.
Everyday places on foot in Varennes: A−
Better than 84% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #200 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 421 Canadian towns of 15,000 to 29,000, Varennes comes 22nd on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| 3 | Cap-Rouge Quebec | 17,139 | 81% | 4.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures Quebec | 20,864 | 82% | 5.3% | $111K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Saint-Michel Quebec | 17,303 | 83% | 4.7% | $98K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville Quebec | 26,786 | 83% | 4.8% | $117K | A |
| 21 | Sainte-Thérèse-de-Lisieux Quebec | 17,558 | 81% | 4% | $101K | A |
| 22 | Varennes Quebec | 21,490 | 83% | 4.3% | $104K | A |
| 23 | Thames Centre Ontario | 15,475 | 80% | 7.7% | $113K | A |
| 24 | North Perth Ontario | 18,168 | 83% | 5.7% | $84K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 421 | South Parkdale Ontario | 21,663 | 64% | 17% | $57K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Varennes, and others among Quebec’s towns.
Jobs near Varennes: the places around it
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varennes | 83% | 4.3% | $104K | 25.9 min | A | A− |
| Pointe-aux-Trembles 5.7 km | 72% | 7.9% | $71K | 33.2 min | D | A+ |
| Charlemagne 7.4 km | 80% | 6.5% | $67K | 28.2 min | C | A− |
| Montréal-Est 7.9 km | 70% | 8.5% | $66K | 30.4 min | D | A− |
| Boucherville 8.6 km | 82% | 5.2% | $111K | 26.1 min | A | A |
| Repentigny 9.7 km | 80% | 5.9% | $91K | 31.8 min | B− | A |
| Rivière-des-Prairies 10.2 km | 74% | 6.9% | $103K | 35.1 min | C+ | A− |
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 Varennes, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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.
- Employment Insurance. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- 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. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in Varennes
What is the unemployment rate in Varennes?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 4.3% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Montréal metro area at 6.9% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Varennes?
Varennes’s middle household had $103,600 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Varennes get to work?
Driving takes 91% of commuters to work, 3.7% take public transit, 3.3% walk and 0.7% cycle, and on census day 22% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Varennes?
About 25.9 minutes on average, with 29% under a quarter-hour and 4.5% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Varennes work?
Only 33% work in Varennes itself; the rest go first to Montréal (1,420) and Boucherville (1,170).
How many jobs are there in Varennes?
Some 8,710 people worked in Varennes at the 2021 census: 1.1 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 669 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
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).