Photo: George Dean · CC BY-SA 3.0Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako has 0.4 jobs for every resident in work, so most leave town for work
At the 2021 census, 82% of Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako’s 15-to-64s were in work; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Half the households in Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako had more than $97,800 in 2020, before tax, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Most commutes from Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako take well under an hour: the average is 19.8 minutes, and 4.9% take 60 minutes or longer.
Work in Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako: the figures worth knowing
More people in work than most towns
The 2021 census found 82% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 65%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 7.4% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 5.5% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 19.8 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 4.9% last an hour or longer. 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 Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako earn A+
Better than 98% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #4 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, trip times.
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 Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako
Of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Bulkley-Nechako census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 61% of the wider area’s adults in work. 70% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 65% of residents 15 and over were in work. 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.
Time on the road to work from Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 18.3 minutes. In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 50%, 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.
More workers leave Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako each day than arrive
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 4 to 1. The job is inside the municipality for 19% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
81% of Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako’s residents in work leave it to work; Smithers takes the most
- Smithers205
- Fraser Lake60
- Telkwa50
- Electoral Area D, Bulkley-Nechako25
- Prince Rupert15
- Leduc County10
- Electoral Area B, Kitimat-Stikine10
- Houston10
- Stellaquo (Stella) 110
- Smithers1,240
- Telkwa100
- Houston75
- Moricetown 120
- Nanaimo15
- Burns Lake15
- Kitimat-Stikine D (RDA)10
- Gitanmaax 110
Inbound, the leader is Smithers (205).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Earnings at home in Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako: households
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 83% of Canadian towns.
No other place of 2,500 or more in the Bulkley-Nechako census division has a higher median. The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako is 13% above it. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes 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).
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 3% of Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako’s commuters
The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 18% against 21%. Transit takes 0.6% of commuters, 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).
EI claims in the Bulkley-Nechako census division are back near their 2019 level
In April 2021 it reached 2,240, the most in the series and 1.8 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 5.5 receive EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 2%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Data for EI beneficiaries covers the Bulkley-Nechako 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).
The walkability of Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako: D
Better than 13% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #243 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako ranks: 18th of 697 Canadian towns of 4,100 to 7,900
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Smithers British Columbia | 5,627 | 83% | 6% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Tuxedo Manitoba | 4,295 | 81% | 7.2% | $105K | A+ |
| 17 | Wainwright No. 61 Alberta | 4,576 | 84% | 5.5% | $108K | A+ |
| 18 | Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako British Columbia | 5,829 | 82% | 7.4% | $98K | A+ |
| 19 | Whitmore Park Saskatchewan | 6,603 | 77% | 9.1% | $107K | A+ |
| 20 | Chibougamau Quebec | 7,273 | 82% | 3.7% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 22 | Invermere British Columbia | 4,305 | 82% | 5.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 38 | Golden British Columbia | 4,433 | 78% | 7% | $87K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 697 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Work next door to Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako | 82% | 7.4% | $98K | 19.8 min | A+ | D |
| Smithers 4.2 km | 83% | 6% | $85K | 13.3 min | A+ | A+ |
| Telkwa 10.1 km | 75% | 5.4% | $102K | 27.4 min | B | 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 Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured 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. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
Questions about work in Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako
What is the unemployment rate in Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the North Coast and Nechako economic region at 5.5%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 7.4%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako?
The census puts Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako at $97,800 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako get to work?
Driving takes 95% of commuters to work, 0.6% take public transit, 1.3% walk and 1.1% cycle, and on census day 18% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako?
About 19.8 minutes on average, with 50% under a quarter-hour and 4.9% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako work?
19% work in Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Smithers (1,240), then Telkwa (100).
How many jobs are there in Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako?
Statistics Canada counted 219 businesses with employees in June 2026.
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).