46.8139° N, 71.2080° O — CAPITALE-NATIONALE

Québec

About 550,000 (city) / 840,000 (greater area)

01 — Housing
Average rent
$1,227 /mo
Quebec City CMA average, 2025, +9.7% year over year (CMHC)
Unemployment rate
3.3 %
April 2026 (Quebec City CMA)
02 — Economic snapshot

Living and working in Québec

Quebec's provincial capital: government jobs, insurance (Desjardins, iA), and a tourism sector driven by Old Quebec. Its job market is structurally the tightest in the province, meaning strong job security but a real struggle for local employers to find candidates.

Typical employers and sectors: provincial government, insurance and finance, tourism, technology (video games, optics-photonics).

03 — Things to see

Points of interest in Québec

Old Quebec

the only fortified walled city north of Mexico in North America, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Château Frontenac

widely cited as the most photographed hotel in the world, overlooking Dufferin Terrace and the river

Montmorency Falls

a waterfall taller than Niagara Falls, just 15 minutes from downtown

Île d'Orléans

farmland and vineyards minutes from downtown, known for strawberries and cider

04 — Verdict
Strength

Quebec's tightest job market — great for job seekers, tough for employers.

Estimate my net income in Québec →

Sources: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (2025 Rental Market Report), Institut de recherche et d'informations socioéconomiques (Livable Income 2025), Statistics Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada. This English page is a translated summary of our full French-language city profile, which is updated more frequently.