Photo: Pofortin · CC BY-SA 3.0Wendake has lower household incomes than 72% of Canadian towns
In Wendake, 78% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Commutes from Wendake average 18.2 minutes, and 2.2% take an hour or more. Out of work in May 2021: 6.3% of Wendake’s labour force, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Wendake: what the figures say
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 6.3% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 4.5%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $67,800 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
More jobs than the typical town
870 people work in Wendake and 790 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 18.2 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 2.2% take an hour or more. 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.
Jobs and income in Wendake earn B
Better than 64% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
In and out of work in Wendake
Of the 37 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Québec census division, 10 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
A more recent figure, for the wider area: 63% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 63%. Counting retirees, 59% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. May 2021, when the census was taken, was a pandemic spring; unemployment has come down since, as the Labour Force Survey records.
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.
Median household income in Wendake: $67,800 in 2020
Of the 37 other places of 2,500 or more in the Québec census division, 23 have a higher median. That puts Wendake 9% below the median of Quebec’s towns, $74,100. 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).
Wendake fills up on a working day: 8% more workers
790 residents of Wendake had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 870 people had theirs in Wendake, wherever they lived.
Of those who commute, 49% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
The length of the trip to work in Wendake
Trips under 15 minutes: 53%, more than the 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 15.5 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of Quebec’s towns averages 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
484 people come into Wendake to work, most from Québec and Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier
Of everyone working in Wendake, 56% come in from elsewhere; 420 make the 6 km trip from Québec. The main destination the other way is Québec, with 350.
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 Wendake work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Leaving the car at home: 14% of commuters in Wendake
On foot: 9.8% of commuters, well above the 4.2% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. The car takes 85% of commuters here, under the 90% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Only 17% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. By bus, train or subway: 2.7%, much as 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).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
EI claims in the Québec census division run 36% above their 2019 level
The count topped out in January 2021 at 30,440 people, 4.8 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 2.6 receive EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 3%.
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). Figures for EI beneficiaries are published for the Québec census division as a whole, not for Wendake alone.
Everyday places on foot in Wendake: A−
Better than 84% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
The places around Wendake, side by side
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wendake | 78% | 6.3% | $68K | 18.2 min | B | A− |
| Loretteville 1.5 km | 81% | 7.3% | $74K | 23.1 min | B+ | A |
| Saint-Émile 2.2 km | 82% | 4.3% | $105K | 22.6 min | A+ | A− |
| Des Châtels 3.1 km | 82% | 6.1% | $89K | 22.1 min | A | A |
| Lac-Saint-Charles 4 km | 82% | 4.8% | $93K | 24.4 min | A | B− |
| Neufchatel Est—Lebourgneuf 4.7 km | 83% | 6.2% | $83K | 20.1 min | A | A |
| Val-Bélair 5.1 km | 84% | 4.3% | $96K | 23.3 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 Wendake, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- 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.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed average.
- Where people commute. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- 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.
- A First Nations reserve. Wendake’s figures are its own, though Statistics Canada rounds or suppresses some for small communities. A reserve has no overall grade and sits in no ranked list.
Questions about work in Wendake
How do people in Wendake get to work?
85% of commuters go by car, 2.7% take public transit, 9.8% walk and 1.6% cycle. On census day 17% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Wendake?
On average 18.2 minutes; 53% take under 15 minutes and 2.2% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Wendake work?
Only 49% work in Wendake itself; the rest go first to Québec (350) and Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier (15).
How many jobs are there in Wendake?
About 870 people had their usual place of work in Wendake at the 2021 census, 1.1 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 148 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Wendake?
Two figures answer it: 6.3% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 4.5% for the Québec metro area in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Wendake?
At $67,800 before tax in 2020, the median household in Wendake compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
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).