Photo: Historyted at English Wikipedia · Public domainA larger share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Armstrong than in 75% of Canadian towns
Commutes from Armstrong average 21.8 minutes, and 5.5% take an hour or more. Median household income in Armstrong was $78,100 in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. In May 2021, unemployment in Armstrong reached 6.8%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Armstrong: what the figures say
More people in work than most towns
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 80% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 55%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 6.6% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 6.8%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
A local job centre
2,060 people work in Armstrong and 1,665 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 21.8 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 5.5% 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 Armstrong earn A−
Better than 79% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #59 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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.
Armstrong at work: 80% of people aged 15 to 64
All 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in the North Okanagan census division have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 55%: many residents are past working age. In October 2026, 56% 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 59% of residents that age. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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.
A working day adds 21% to the people at work in Armstrong
1,665 residents of Armstrong had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 2,060 people had theirs in Armstrong, wherever they lived.
The job is inside the municipality for 42% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
The length of the trip to work in Armstrong
Timed exactly, the average is 19.6 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 43%, more than the 39% in the middle of British Columbia’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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
1,366 people come into Armstrong to work, most from Spallumcheen and Vernon
- Vernon465
- Spallumcheen190
- Salmon Arm55
- Kelowna50
- Enderby50
- Electoral Area B, North Okanagan40
- Tsinstikeptum 925
- Enderby 215
- Tsinstikeptum 1010
- Coldstream10
Of everyone working in Armstrong, 66% come in from elsewhere; 475 make the 4 km trip from Spallumcheen. Going the other way, Vernon is the biggest single destination (465).
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 Armstrong work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
What households in Armstrong earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 52% of Canadian towns.
Of the 8 other places of 2,500 or more in the North Okanagan census division, 5 have a higher median. The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Armstrong is 10% below it. Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for 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).
Without a car, 9.2% of Armstrong’s commuters get to work
Home was the workplace for 10%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 1%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. By car, truck or van: 87% of commuters, much as in the middle of British Columbia’s 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.
In the North Okanagan census division, 25% more people receive EI than in 2019
February 2021 was the busiest month, with 4,850 people on EI, 2.5 times 2019’s average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.3 receive EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 8%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of the North Okanagan 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).
How walkable Armstrong is: B+
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Armstrong is 147th of 687 Canadian towns of 4,000 to 7,600
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Smithers British Columbia | 5,627 | 83% | 6% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako British Columbia | 5,829 | 82% | 7.4% | $98K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | Invermere British Columbia | 4,305 | 82% | 5.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 145 | Stettler Alberta | 6,035 | 76% | 9.2% | $76K | A− |
| 146 | Niverville Manitoba | 7,277 | 82% | 6.1% | $102K | A− |
| 147 | Armstrong British Columbia | 5,643 | 80% | 6.8% | $78K | A− |
| 148 | Electoral Area E, Kitimat-Stikine British Columbia | 4,153 | 73% | 11% | $86K | A− |
| 149 | Mandalay West Manitoba | 5,423 | 76% | 7.4% | $110K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 687 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Armstrong, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Armstrong and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armstrong | 80% | 6.8% | $78K | 21.8 min | A− | B+ |
| Spallumcheen 3.5 km | 78% | 6.1% | $85K | 24.2 min | B+ | B− |
| Enderby 13.3 km | 69% | 7.1% | $59K | 23.5 min | D | A |
| Electoral Area D, Columbia-Shuswap 14.5 km | 74% | 7.2% | $70K | 30.3 min | C− | C+ |
| Electoral Area B, North Okanagan 15.5 km | 75% | 6.4% | $83K | 19.6 min | A− | C+ |
| Electoral Area C, North Okanagan 17.1 km | 76% | 8% | $105K | 22.9 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 Armstrong, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
Questions about work in Armstrong
How long is the commute from Armstrong?
The average commute is 21.8 minutes; 43% of trips take under 15 minutes and 5.5% an hour or more.
Where do people in Armstrong work?
Only 42% work in Armstrong itself; the rest go first to Vernon (465) and Spallumcheen (190).
How many jobs are there in Armstrong?
The 2021 census found about 2,060 people with their usual workplace in Armstrong, or 1.2 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 204 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Armstrong?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Thompson-Okanagan economic region at 6.6%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 6.8%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Armstrong?
The median household in Armstrong had $78,100 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Armstrong get to work?
87% of commuters drive, 1% take public transit, 6.5% walk and 1.7% cycle; 10% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
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).