Photo: Maxime Laterreur · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Waterloo are lower than in 89% of Canadian towns
Of Waterloo’s residents aged 15 to 64, 74% were employed when the 2021 census was taken, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. The census counted 1,320 people working in Waterloo and 1,570 residents commuting to a fixed workplace. Out of work in May 2021: 6.9% of Waterloo’s labour force, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
What the numbers say about work in Waterloo
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 6.9%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $59,400 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. 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 & income in Waterloo: graded C−
Better than 24% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #381 of 507 in Quebec.
Its strongest measure is trip times; 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 Waterloo: 74%
None of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in the La Haute-Yamaska 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 57%. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 62% in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 61%. 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 Waterloo had $59,400
Set beside Quebec’s towns, where the median is $74,100, Waterloo sits 20% below. Every other place of 2,500 or more in the La Haute-Yamaska census division has a higher median. Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
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, more people leave Waterloo for work than come in
31% 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.
69% of Waterloo’s residents in work leave it to work; Granby takes the most
- Shefford200
- Granby165
- Stukely-Sud60
- Sainte-Anne-de-la-Rochelle45
- Magog45
- Cowansville40
- Lac-Brome35
- Bromont35
- Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford35
- Sherbrooke30
Coming the other way, Shefford sends the most (200).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 8.5% of Waterloo’s commuters
The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters. Only 15% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. More people walk to work here than in the middle of Quebec’s towns: 8% against 4.2%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
Shorter than the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Waterloo average 23.6 minutes
Trips under 15 minutes: 34%, more than the 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of Quebec’s towns: 4% take an hour or more, against 5.3%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 21 minutes. In the middle of Quebec’s towns, the average commute is 26.5 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 La Haute-Yamaska census division run 45% above their 2019 level
Roughly 3.6 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 5%. In January 2021 it reached 5,570, the most in the series and 3.9 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: the La Haute-Yamaska 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).
Waterloo grades A− for walkability
Better than 83% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #211 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 4,000 to 7,700, Waterloo ranks 540th of 699 for jobs and income
| # | 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 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 20 | Chibougamau Quebec | 7,273 | 82% | 3.7% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Shannon Quebec | 7,088 | 81% | 3.7% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 31 | Saint-Antonin Quebec | 4,633 | 85% | 3.9% | $76K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 538 | University Heights Alberta | 4,031 | 69% | 15% | $71K | C− |
| 539 | Deer Lake Newfoundland and Labrador | 5,319 | 58% | 17% | $63K | C− |
| 540 | Waterloo Quebec | 5,714 | 74% | 6.9% | $59K | C− |
| 541 | Port Mann British Columbia | 5,988 | 68% | 11% | $102K | C− |
| 542 | Abbeydale Alberta | 6,561 | 66% | 15% | $86K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 699 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Waterloo, and others among Quebec’s towns.
Jobs near Waterloo: the places around it
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo | 74% | 6.9% | $59K | 23.6 min | C− | A− |
| Shefford 8.3 km | 82% | 4.1% | $96K | 27.4 min | A− | D |
| Stukely-Sud 10.2 km | 79% | 9.8% | $74K | 28.4 min | C+ | D− |
| Bromont 12.2 km | 82% | 4.6% | $100K | 29.1 min | A− | B− |
| Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford 12.4 km | 82% | 2% | $76K | 29 min | B− | C+ |
| Lac-Brome 12.5 km | 80% | 5.5% | $75K | 25 min | B | B |
| Granby 17.9 km | 78% | 5.6% | $63K | 19.9 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 Waterloo, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- 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. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- 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. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- 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. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- 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 Waterloo
What is the unemployment rate in Waterloo?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Montérégie economic region at 4.3%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 6.9%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Waterloo?
Before tax, half the households in Waterloo had more than $59,400 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Waterloo get to work?
By car: 91% of commuters, 8% walk and 0.5% cycle; on census day 15% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Waterloo?
23.6 minutes is the average trip, with 34% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 4% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Waterloo work?
31% work in Waterloo itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Granby (355), then Bromont (230).
How many jobs are there in Waterloo?
The 2021 census counted about 1,320 people working in Waterloo: 0.8 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 159 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).