Living in Québec

In Québec, unemployment is 7.2% (2021).

At the end of 2022, Québec had a population of 557,390. Québec's unemployment stood at 7.15% at the end of 2021. The foreign population count was 45,230 at the end of 2021.

Last checked 2026-10-0227 sources

Population557,390people31 Dec 2022Official source · Statistics Canada

Median gross salary3,246EUR/month31 Dec 2020Official source · Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - CMAs, CAs and CSDs CSV (Statistics Canada catalogue 98-401-X2021003, GEONO 003)

Average rent927.3EUR/month31 Dec 2025Metro-area figureOfficial source · Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, average rents for areas with a population of 10,000 and over

Unemployment rate7.15%country median 8.4% — 15% belowOfficial source · Statistics Canada

Recorded crime4,630incidents per 100,000country median 4,873 — 5% belowOfficial source · Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, police services in Quebec (Table 35-10-0179-01), 2024

PM2.5, annual mean7.13µg/m³31 Dec 2024Official source · data-donnees.az.ec.gc.ca

Lower unemployment than 66% of Canadian cities that publish it and less recorded crime than 63% of Canadian cities that publish it.

Which Canada-wide rules apply when you move to Québec?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in CanadaNational rates and thresholds that apply in Québec.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

The dwelling count was 283,219 at the end of 2021.

What recurs every month3 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Transport pass€64

Internet, 60 Mbps€50

Mobile plan, 10 GB€24

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	49.79 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	Bell Fibe 500 home internet²Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	24.27 EUR/month	30 Sept 2026	Public Mobile 50GB plan¹⁰Official · national market
Monthly transport pass	63.83 EUR/month	31 Dec 2026	Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC)¹¹Official
Dwellings	283,219 dwellings	31 Dec 2021	Statistics Canada¹⁴Official
Average monthly rent (two-bedroom)	808.2 EUR/month	31 Dec 2025	Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, average rents for areas with a population of 10,000 and over³Official
Average monthly rent (whole dwelling)	927.3 EUR/month	31 Dec 2025	Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, average rents for areas with a population of 10,000 and over³Official · metropolitan-area figure
Recorded property crimes	16,461 violations/year	31 Dec 2024	Statistics Canada 35-10-0177-01 (incident-based crime, by CMA)²⁰Official

Is Québec a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile

Remote worker52%strong on work, weak on safety · range 43–61%

Skilled employee54%strong on work, weak on safety · range 46–62%

Student29%strong on education, weak on work · range 22–36%

Family40%strong on family, weak on cost · range 32–48%

Retirement51%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 40–62%

Work and income

What is the typical salary in Québec?

The median gross salary is about 3,246 EUR/month (2020). The regional series (home-region basis, 2020) is a separate labelled row in the table.

City-scope median, gross, before tax and social contributions.

Median gross salary: 3,246 EUR/month · Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - CMAs, CAs and CSDs CSV (Statistics Canada catalogue 98-401-X2021003, GEONO 003)⁴
Median gross salary (regional): 2,527 EUR/month · 2026-09-17 · www150.statcan.gc.ca²¹

What is the unemployment rate in Québec?

The unemployment rate is about 7.2 % (2021).

Unemployment rate: 7.15 % · Statistics Canada¹⁶

Unemployment across cities in CanadaUnemployment in Québec is 7.2%. Of 515 cities with data, 125 have unemployment of 6 to under 8%.

125

108

0–22–44–66–88–1010–1212–1414–1616–1818–2020–22

Québec 7.2%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Public employment offices	2 count	15 Sept 2026	Service Canada — Québec city office list¹²Official
Median gross salary	3,246 EUR/month	31 Dec 2020	Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - CMAs, CAs and CSDs CSV (Statistics Canada catalogue 98-401-X2021003, GEONO 003)⁴Official
Median gross salary (regional)	2,527 EUR/month	31 Dec 2020	www150.statcan.gc.ca²¹Official
Unemployment rate	7.15 %country median 8.4%	31 Dec 2021	Statistics Canada¹⁶Official

What does a salary buy in Québec?

Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.

Left over each month€1,459of €2,524 take-home

Rent
Transport
Internet
Mobile
Left over

Line-by-line breakdown and sources

Each month	€
Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions; euro amounts at the ECB average for 2026-08.	€2,524
Rentaverage rent of a whole dwelling · official · Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, average rents for areas with a population of 10,000 and over · 2025-12-31	− €927
Public transport pass€64 · official · Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) · 2026-12-31	− €64
Utilities, 85 m²not published for this city	—
Internet€50 · official · Bell Fibe 500 home internet · 2026-09-30	− €50
Mobile plan€24 · official · Public Mobile 50GB plan · 2026-09-30	− €24
Left overbefore the bill this city does not publish	€1,459

Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Québec Salary needed to live in Québec

Public employment offices in Québec

Service Canada lists 2 public employment offices in Québec (checked 2026-09-16). Use the official office finder for addresses and appointments; registration and job search are also available online through the national service below.

Office count verified

Job Bank and public employment services — Public employment service

Government of Canada

Job SearchMigrant Support

Open official service

Open the Canada service overview

The office count comes from the service's own directory. Individual addresses and opening hours are not listed here yet. Sources checked through 16 Sept 2026.

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Public language course providers	1 count	31 Aug 2026	Official public language-service provider/location register⁷Official

Safety

How safe is Québec?

Police recorded 4,630 incidents per 100,000 (2024). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, police services in Quebec (Table 35-10-0179-01), 2024⁶

Recorded crime across major citiesQuébec highlighted among comparable cities

recorded incidents per 100k residents

Winnipeg7,894

Edmonton7,108

Halifax6,020

Vancouver5,438

Calgary4,796

London4,743

Québec4,630

Ottawa4,298

Hamilton4,257

Toronto4,177

Gatineau3,756

Montreal3,674

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	4,630 incidents per 100,000country median 4,873	31 Dec 2024	Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, police services in Quebec (Table 35-10-0179-01), 2024⁶Official
Recorded violent crimes	11,663 violations/year	31 Dec 2024	Statistics Canada 35-10-0177-01 (incident-based crime, by CMA)²⁰Official

Mobility and administration

Québec's nearest airport was YQB, 14 km away and offered 18 direct destinations.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Direct destinations from the nearest major airport	18 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights⁸Official
Distance to the nearest major airport	14 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁹Official
Nearest major airport (IATA code)	YQB	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports⁹Official

Language courses and integration in Québec

1 exact course-location record is linked to this city. Check the linked source for dates, availability and enrolment.

Verified locally

1verified local records

1publicly funded course provider

Centre d’éducation des adultes Le Phénix

1088 route de l’Église, Québec (Québec) G1V 3V9

View official record

Check courses in Québec How the country programme works

Exact city-linked record checked 2026-08-10. Provider-supplied records are supplemental and are not presented as official accreditation.

Find courses near Québec

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Québec?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 7.1 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³.

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

PM2.5 — annual mean: 7.13 µg/m³ · data-donnees.az.ec.gc.ca⁵

Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³

PM2.57.1WHO 5 · EU 25

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

PM2.5 across cities in CanadaAnnual PM2.5 in Québec is 7.1 µg/m³. Of 123 cities with data, 46 have annual PM2.5 of 3 to under 4 µg/m³.

1–22–33–44–55–66–77–88–99–1010–1113–1415–1616–1717–1820–2140–41

Québec 7.1

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	7.13 µg/m³	31 Dec 2024	data-donnees.az.ec.gc.ca⁵Official source, approximated value · Supplemental context

Population and city profile

The city covered 452.3 km² at the end of 2021. Median age stood at 43.2 years at the end of 2021. The population density of Québec stood at 1,214.8 people per km² at the end of 2021.

How many people live in Québec?

The published population was 557,390 people in 2022. Source: Statistics Canada¹⁵

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport91.9%

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	452.3 km²	31 Dec 2021	Statistics Canada¹⁷Official
Foreign-resident share	8.48 %	31 Dec 2021	Statistics Canada¹³Official
Foreign residents	45,230 people	31 Dec 2021	Statistics Canada¹³Official
Population density	1,215 people/km²	31 Dec 2021	Statistics Canada¹⁷Official
Population	557,390 people	31 Dec 2022	Statistics Canada¹⁵Official
Population covered by crime statistics	877,359 people	31 Dec 2024	Statistics Canada 35-10-0177-01 (incident-based crime, by CMA)²⁰Official

Population over time22 published observations, 2001–2022

480,102

507,773

535,444

563,115

557,39020012005200920152022

Population rose 14.7% between 2001 and 2022, from 485,827 to 557,390.

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Median age	43.2 years	31 Dec 2021	Statistics Canada¹⁸Official

Alternatives for people set on Québec

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures as a Québec alternative in the same region

20 km away, better on 3 of 6 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1. Recorded crime, per 100k cannot be compared like for like.

Median gross pay, city: €4,248 Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures vs €3,246 Québec+31%
Median gross pay, region: €3,224 Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures vs €2,527 Québec+28%
Foreign residents: 3.3% Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures vs 8.5% Québec−61%
Residents: 20,287 Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures vs 557,390 Québec−96%
Unemployment: 5.3% Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures vs 7.2% Québec−26%
Recorded crime, per 100k: 3,493 (2025) Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures vs 4,630 (2024) Québecno percentage
Annual PM2.5: 7.2 µg/m³ Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures vs 7.1 µg/m³ Québecsame level

Full comparison More about Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures

Ottawa as a Québec alternative in the same country

Better on 3 of 3 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0. Recorded crime, per 100k cannot be compared like for like.

Foreign residents: 25.9% Ottawa vs 8.5% Québec+205%
Median gross pay, city: €4,221 Ottawa vs €3,246 Québec+30%
Median gross pay, region: €3,246 Ottawa vs €2,527 Québec+28%
Recorded crime, per 100k: 4,298 Ottawa vs 4,630 Québecno percentage

Full comparison More about Ottawa

Cities near Québec

Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

L'Ancienne-Lorette Commuting Zone · 10.7 km away

Salary: 3,568 EUR/monthMedian gross salary · 2020-12-31

Boischatel Commuting Zone · 10.9 km away

Salary: 4,058 EUR/monthMedian gross salary · 2020-12-31

Saint-Henri Commuting Zone · 17.6 km away

Salary: 3,028 EUR/monthMedian gross salary · 2020-12-31

Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures Commuting Zone · 19.7 km away

Salary: 4,248 EUR/monthMedian gross salary · 2020-12-31

Shannon Commuting Zone · 23.5 km away

Salary: 3,622 EUR/monthMedian gross salary · 2020-12-31

Alternative cities in Canada

Other cities in Canada to compare with Québec, nearest in population first.

All Canada cities

Hamilton597,010 residents Surrey633,234 residents Halifax480,216 residents Brampton656,480 residents Laval446,476 residents Vancouver706,012 residents

How does Québec compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Québec's.

Open the full comparison

Québec in rankings

#6 of 12 in Safest cities in Canada by recorded crime #12 of 30 in Largest cities in Canada #20 of 30 in City hubs with the lowest published recorded-crime rate

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Québec when the national insurance or residence conditions are met.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Put Québec's key facts on your site — a card with this page's figures and a link back, free under CC BY 4.0.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Québec?

The published population was 557,390 people in 2022. Source: Statistics Canada.

Is the air quality good in Québec?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 7.1 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: data-donnees.az.ec.gc.ca.

How safe is Québec?

What is the typical salary in Québec?

The median gross salary is about 3,246 EUR/month (2020). The regional series (home-region basis, 2020) is a separate labelled row in the table. Source: Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - CMAs, CAs and CSDs CSV (Statistics Canada catalogue 98-401-X2021003, GEONO 003).

What is the unemployment rate in Québec?

The unemployment rate is about 7.2 % (2021). Source: Statistics Canada.

What is the typical salary around Québec?

The median gross salary is 2,527 EUR/month. Source: www150.statcan.gc.ca.

Is Québec a good place to live?

Québec may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Which cities are near Québec?

L'Ancienne-Lorette, Boischatel, Saint-Henri, Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Shannon are near Québec. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation

ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Québec, Canada: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 3889f616bd6fc234dfded34daf6f4b64]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/ca/quebec/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_quebec-canada-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_a3de2f7b62fa,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Québec, Canada: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {3889f616bd6fc234dfded34daf6f4b64},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/ca/quebec/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Québec, Canada: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/ca/quebec/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 3889f616bd6fc234dfded34daf6f4b64; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown

2021 Census — Cartographic boundary files: census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations 2021 Census · geo.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-09-19
Bell Fibe 500 home internet bell.ca · checked 2026-09-15
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, average rents for areas with a population of 10,000 and over www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-09-12
Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - CMAs, CAs and CSDs CSV (Statistics Canada catalogue 98-401-X2021003, GEONO 003) www12.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-09-18
data-donnees.az.ec.gc.ca data-donnees.az.ec.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-26
Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, police services in Quebec (Table 35-10-0179-01), 2024 www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-09-18
Official public language-service provider/location register cdn-contenu.quebec.ca · checked 2026-09-15
OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
Public Mobile 50GB plan publicmobile.ca · checked 2026-09-15

Show 17 more sources

Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) rtcquebec.ca · checked 2026-09-15
Service Canada — Québec city office list Service Canada · offices.service.canada.ca · checked 2026-09-15
Statistics Canada www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-03
Statistics Canada www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-07
Statistics Canada www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-03
Statistics Canada www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-03
Statistics Canada www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-03
Statistics Canada www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-07
Statistics Canada www12.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-09-13
Statistics Canada 35-10-0177-01 (incident-based crime, by CMA) www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-09-05
www150.statcan.gc.ca www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-27
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06

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