Photo: Ken Eckert · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer of Castlegar’s 15-to-64s are in work than in 69% of Canadian towns
Before tax, the typical household in Castlegar brought in $81,000 in 2020, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. Getting to work from Castlegar takes 20.1 minutes on average, an hour or more for 2.3%. Out of work in May 2021: 11% of Castlegar’s labour force; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
Work in Castlegar: the figures worth knowing
A local job centre
3,515 people work in Castlegar and 2,505 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 20.1 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 2.3% 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 & income in Castlegar: graded B
Better than 57% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #113 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.
Castlegar fills up on a working day: 33% more workers
2,505 residents of Castlegar had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 3,515 people had theirs in Castlegar, wherever they lived.
About 2 people arrive to work in Castlegar for each resident who goes out. Of those who commute, 63% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Commuting times in Castlegar
A quarter-hour or less for 49% of commuters, against 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 18 minutes. In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
1,939 people come into Castlegar to work, most from Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay and Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay
Of everyone working in Castlegar, 55% come in from elsewhere; 590 make the 6 km trip from Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay. Going the other way, Trail is the biggest single destination (380).
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 Castlegar work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
How many in Castlegar have a job: 71% of 15-to-64s
Of the 9 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Central Kootenay census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 54% in October 2026. 59% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Counting retirees, 52% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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 Castlegar earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 58% of Canadian towns.
2 of the 9 other places of 2,500+ in the Central Kootenay census division have a higher median. Castlegar’s median is 7% below the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900). Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Leaving the car at home: 7.4% of commuters in Castlegar
Only 15% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 1.8% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 90% of commuters.
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.
EI claims in the Central Kootenay census division run 24% above their 2019 level
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 15%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 3,650 people on EI, 2.4 times 2019’s average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.8 are on EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: the Central Kootenay 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).
Getting around Castlegar on foot earns A−
Better than 77% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #140 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 654 Canadian towns of 6,600 to 12,800, Castlegar comes 287th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | Revelstoke British Columbia | 9,464 | 77% | 10% | $97K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 25 | Saltspring Island British Columbia | 12,429 | 84% | 5.5% | $77K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 35 | Fernie British Columbia | 7,086 | 78% | 9.4% | $107K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 285 | Mono Ontario | 10,036 | 78% | 10% | $140K | B |
| 286 | Millrise Alberta | 6,754 | 75% | 12% | $100K | B |
| 287 | Castlegar British Columbia | 9,465 | 71% | 11% | $81K | B |
| 288 | Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Ontario | 8,484 | 74% | 13% | $109K | B |
| 289 | Midnapore Alberta | 7,022 | 75% | 13% | $92K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 654 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Castlegar, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Castlegar
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlegar | 71% | 11% | $81K | 20.1 min | B | A− |
| Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay 6.1 km | 70% | 9% | $95K | 24.5 min | B− | C |
| Electoral Area B (Lower Columbia-Old-Glory), Kootenay Boundary 9.2 km | 65% | 8.8% | $83K | 22.2 min | C+ | B− |
| Electoral Area I, Central Kootenay 13.3 km | 76% | 7.2% | $81K | 26.8 min | C+ | D |
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 Castlegar, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Where people commute. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- 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. 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.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- Trip times. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- 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 Castlegar
How many jobs are there in Castlegar?
Some 3,515 people worked in Castlegar at the 2021 census: 1.4 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 344 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Castlegar?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Kootenay economic region at 4.1%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 11%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Castlegar?
Castlegar’s middle household had $81,000 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Castlegar get to work?
Driving takes 90% of commuters to work, 1.8% take public transit, 5.1% walk and 0.5% cycle, and on census day 15% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Castlegar?
About 20.1 minutes on average, with 49% under a quarter-hour and 2.3% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Castlegar work?
Most stay: 63% work in Castlegar. The rest go first to Trail (380) and Nelson (155).
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).