Photo: Themightyquill · CC BY-SA 2.5Ashcroft’s household incomes are lower than in 80% of Canadian towns
The 2021 census put unemployment in Ashcroft at 3.4%, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns. 570 people have their usual place of work in Ashcroft, against 385 residents who travel to a job. Of Ashcroft’s residents aged 15 to 64, 68% were employed when the 2021 census was taken, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns.
The work numbers behind Ashcroft
Fewer people in work than most towns
Counting everyone 15 and over, 41% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 68%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 3.4% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 6.6% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $63,800 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
A local job centre
570 people work in Ashcroft and 385 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 19.4 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 7.5% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Ashcroft: C
Better than 28% 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 Ashcroft, 68% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Thompson-Nicola census division, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 41%: many residents are past working age. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 56% in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 42%. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from home.
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 Ashcroft had $63,800
Ashcroft’s median is 27% below the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900). 5 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Thompson-Nicola census division have a higher median. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
A working day adds 45% to the people at work in Ashcroft
Ashcroft takes in some 3 workers for every resident it sends out. Of those who commute, 73% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
19.4 minutes from Ashcroft to work, under the middle of Canadian towns
An hour or more: 7.5% of commuters, above the 6.3% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 18.6 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 63%, 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.
291 people come into Ashcroft to work, most from Cache Creek and Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country), Thompson-Nicola
- Cache Creek105
- Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country), Thompson-Nicola45
- Electoral Area E (Bonaparte Plateau), Thompson-Nicola25
- Kamloops25
- Electoral Area J (Copper Desert Country), Thompson-Nicola15
- Bridge River 110
- Merritt10
- Logan Lake10
- Skeetchestn10
- Marble Canyon 310
Of everyone working in Ashcroft, 51% come in from elsewhere; 105 make the 9 km trip from Cache Creek. The main destination the other way is Cache Creek, with 35.
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: 7.5% of Ashcroft’s commuters
83% drive to work, fewer than the 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Home was the workplace for 5.3%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% 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).
14% more people are on EI in the Thompson-Nicola census division than in 2019
That works out to around 3.9 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 2%. The count topped out in February 2021 at 7,510 people, 2.4 times the 2019 average.
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). For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of the Thompson-Nicola census division, Ashcroft included.
On getting around on foot, Ashcroft grades B−
Better than 54% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Work in the places around Ashcroft
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashcroft | 68% | 3.4% | $64K | 19.4 min | C | B− |
| Cache Creek 9.2 km | 60% | 13% | $56K | 21.9 min | D | B− |
| Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country), Thompson-Nicola 15.6 km | 78% | 10% | $66K | 25.8 min | C+ | C− |
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 Ashcroft, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- In work. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- 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. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- Employment Insurance. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
Questions about work in Ashcroft
How many jobs are there in Ashcroft?
About 570 people had their usual place of work in Ashcroft at the 2021 census, 1.5 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 66 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Ashcroft?
Two figures answer it: 3.4% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6.6% for the Thompson-Okanagan economic region in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Ashcroft?
Before tax, half the households in Ashcroft had more than $63,800 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Ashcroft get to work?
83% of commuters go by car, 7.5% walk. On census day 5.3% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Ashcroft?
On average 19.4 minutes; 63% take under 15 minutes and 7.5% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Ashcroft work?
Most stay: 73% work in Ashcroft. The rest go first to Cache Creek (35) and Logan Lake (25).
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).