Photo: Darren Kirby from Penticton, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer of Campbell River’s 15-to-64s are in work than in 62% of Canadian towns
Before tax, the typical household in Campbell River brought in $77,700 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. From Campbell River, the drive or ride to work averages 20.9 minutes, with 8.1% going an hour or longer. The 2021 census put unemployment in Campbell River at 8.7%, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Campbell River: what the figures say
More jobs than the typical town
With 10,540 jobs based in Campbell River and 10,345 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 20.9 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 8.1% 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.
On jobs and income, Campbell River grades B−
Better than 54% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #123 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
Campbell River keeps its workforce on a working day
The job is inside the municipality for 79% 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 Campbell River
A quarter-hour or less for 54% of commuters, against 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes.
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.
2,336 people come into Campbell River to work, most from Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona and Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley
- Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona735
- Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley355
- Courtenay295
- Electoral Area C, Strathcona105
- Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley105
- Strathcona A95
- Cumberland75
- Comox70
- Campbell River 1165
- Nanaimo60
- Courtenay365
- Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona255
- Campbell River 11245
- Strathcona A135
- Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley95
- Comox85
- Fort McMurray80
- Electoral Area C, Nanaimo75
- Electoral Area C, Strathcona75
- Quinsam 1265
22% of the people who work in Campbell River live outside it, 735 of them in Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona, 10 km away. Courtenay is where the largest group of commuters out goes, 365 of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
In Campbell River, 73% of the working-age population has a job
An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 52% of residents 15 and over were in work. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 56% of the wider area’s adults in work. Working or looking, 57% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. 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.
What households in Campbell River earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 51% of Canadian towns.
The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Campbell River is 11% below it. In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
7.8% of commuters from Campbell River go without a car
By bus, train or subway: 2.8%, much as in the middle of Canadian towns. Driving takes 89% of commuters to work; the middle of British Columbia’s towns has 87%. Only 12% worked at home on census day, against 21% 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).
In the Strathcona census division, the count on EI is close to where it was in 2019
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4 receive EI. Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 3%. In January 2021 it reached 2,720, the most in the series and 2.3 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 Strathcona census division, Campbell River included.
How walkable Campbell River is: A−
Better than 77% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #138 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 172 Canadian towns of 26,800 to 51,700, Campbell River comes 66th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whitehorse Yukon | 34,129 | 82% | 5.6% | $112K | A+ |
| 2 | Arcola East Saskatchewan | 33,823 | 79% | 7.7% | $123K | A+ |
| 3 | Woolwich Ontario | 31,382 | 82% | 6.2% | $115K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 10 | Squamish British Columbia | 28,578 | 83% | 6.8% | $112K | A |
| 11 | West Kelowna British Columbia | 40,274 | 78% | 7.5% | $99K | A |
| 12 | Fairview British Columbia | 33,969 | 86% | 6.9% | $83K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 64 | Thetford Mines Quebec | 27,155 | 78% | 6.6% | $57K | B− |
| 65 | Alma Quebec | 30,659 | 76% | 5.3% | $68K | B− |
| 66 | Campbell River British Columbia | 38,300 | 73% | 8.7% | $78K | B− |
| 67 | Harbourfront-CityPlace Ontario | 28,199 | 80% | 10% | $90K | B− |
| 68 | Amherstburg Ontario | 27,509 | 71% | 12% | $98K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 172 | Parc-Extension Quebec | 29,066 | 61% | 16% | $48K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Campbell River, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Neighbouring places to Campbell River, compared
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell River | 73% | 8.7% | $78K | 20.9 min | B− | A− |
| Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona 9.5 km | 72% | 10% | $88K | 28.9 min | C | C+ |
| Electoral Area C, Strathcona 9.5 km | 71% | 8.6% | $60K | 28.3 min | D | 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 Campbell River, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- 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. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- 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.
- The Labour Force Survey. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- 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. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Campbell River
How many jobs are there in Campbell River?
The 2021 census found about 10,540 people with their usual workplace in Campbell River, or 1 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 1,414 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Campbell River?
The 2021 census found 8.7% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Vancouver Island and Coast economic region, is 5.2% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Campbell River?
The census puts Campbell River at $77,700 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Campbell River get to work?
89% of commuters drive, 2.8% take public transit, 4% walk and 1% cycle; 12% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Campbell River?
The average commute is 20.9 minutes; 54% of trips take under 15 minutes and 8.1% an hour or more.
Where do people in Campbell River work?
Most stay: 79% work in Campbell River. The rest go first to Courtenay (365) and Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona (255).
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).