Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainElectoral Area A, Central Kootenay’s household incomes are lower than in 87% of Canadian towns
Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay had an unemployment rate of 9.7% at the 2021 census, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns. Jobs were held by 68% of people aged 15 to 64 in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. The average trip to work from Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay is 23.3 minutes; 9.2% of commuters spend an hour or more getting there.
What stands out about work in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay
Fewer people in work than most towns
Counting everyone 15 and over, 42% 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 ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $60,700 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
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 Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay: graded C−
Better than 15% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #235 of 254 in British Columbia.
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.
How many in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay were working in 2021
None of the 9 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Central Kootenay census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 42% were working. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 54% in work in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 47%. May 2021, when the census was taken, was a pandemic spring; unemployment has come down since, as the Labour Force Survey records.
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.
$60,700 a year: the median household in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay
Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay’s median is 30% below the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900). Of the 9 other places of 2,500 or more in the Central Kootenay census division, 7 have a higher median. 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).
On a working day, Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay loses more workers than it gains
44% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
56% of Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay’s residents in work leave it to work; Creston takes the most
Coming the other way, Creston sends the most (85).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
3.8% of commuters from Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay go without a car
Nearly everyone drives: 94% of commuters go by car, truck or van. 21% worked at home on census day, about the same as 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).
Time on the road to work from Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay
Timed exactly, the average is 23.4 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 45%, 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.
24% more people are on EI in the Central Kootenay census division than in 2019
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.8 receive EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 15%. The highest month was January 2021: 3,650 people, 2.4 times the 2019 level.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Not measured by town: 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).
On getting around on foot, Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay grades C−
Better than 19% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #237 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay is 381st of 458 Canadian towns of 2,500 to 3,600
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 52 | Tofino British Columbia | 2,772 | 76% | 12% | $86K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 54 | Highlands British Columbia | 2,753 | 83% | 4.9% | $124K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 60 | Mackenzie British Columbia | 3,442 | 78% | 12% | $88K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 379 | Dalhousie New Brunswick | 3,255 | 55% | 12% | $54K | C− |
| 380 | Algonquin Highlands Ontario | 2,915 | 64% | 11% | $77K | C− |
| 381 | Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 2,668 | 68% | 9.7% | $61K | C− |
| 382 | Port Credit NHD (West) Ontario | 2,902 | 70% | 15% | $77K | C− |
| 383 | Pictou Nova Scotia | 3,307 | 60% | 14% | $56K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 458 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay and its neighbours: work and income
The nearest places to Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay with figures are 30–47 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay | 68% | 9.7% | $61K | 23.3 min | C− | C− |
| Electoral Area C, Central Kootenay 30.1 km | 76% | 5.6% | $66K | 16.8 min | B | D− |
| Creston 31.9 km | 73% | 9% | $59K | 14.3 min | C+ | A+ |
| Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay 33.8 km | 70% | 7.9% | $67K | 20.2 min | C | B− |
| Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay 44.6 km | 79% | 8.2% | $70K | 29.5 min | C | B |
| Nelson 47.2 km | 78% | 9.5% | $73K | 17.6 min | B+ | A+ |
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, Central Kootenay, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, Central Kootenay
What is the average household income in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay?
Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay’s middle household had $60,700 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay get to work?
94% of commuters go by car, 3.8% walk. On census day 21% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay?
On average 23.3 minutes; 45% take under 15 minutes and 9.2% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay work?
44% work in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Creston (160), then Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay (30).
How many jobs are there in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay?
About 400 people had their usual place of work in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay at the 2021 census, 0.9 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 84 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay?
At the 2021 census 9.7% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Kootenay economic region, gives 4.1% in October 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).