Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Most of Central Okanagan works elsewhere: the town has 0.3 jobs for each resident in work
Central Okanagan counted 79% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. The median household in Central Okanagan had $98,900 before tax in 2020, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns. Of everyone in Central Okanagan working or looking for work in May 2021, 8.3% were unemployed; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
The work numbers behind Central Okanagan
More people in work than most towns
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 79% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 56%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $98,900 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 and income in Central Okanagan earn A−
Better than 84% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #46 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.
Who in Central Okanagan has a job
All 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Central Okanagan census division have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
In October 2026, 61% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. Counting those looking for work too, 61% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. An older population pulls the all-ages rate down: 56% 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.
Household income in Central Okanagan
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 85% of Canadian towns.
No other place of 2,500 or more in the Central Okanagan census division has a higher median. Against the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900), Central Okanagan’s median is 14% above. 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).
The daily tide in Central Okanagan runs outward
About 4 residents leave for work for each person who comes in. 8.3% 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.
92% of Central Okanagan’s residents in work leave it to work; Kelowna takes the most
Kelowna sends the largest group the other way, 200 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Central Okanagan gets to work without a car for 2.5% of commuters
Home was the workplace for 15%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. The car is the way to work for 95% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
Close to the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Central Okanagan average 25.2 minutes
In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 25%, fewer than the 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. An hour or more: 4.7% of commuters, under the 6.3% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 22.1 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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.
EI claims in the Central Okanagan census division run 52% above their 2019 level
At its peak, in February 2021, 11,330 people were on EI, 3 times the 2019 average. That is about 4.1 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 8%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: the Central Okanagan 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).
Walkability in Central Okanagan: graded C−
Better than 21% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #235 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 3,300 to 6,500, Central Okanagan ranks 121st of 761 for jobs and income
| # | 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 | Hay River Northwest Territories | 3,317 | 78% | 6.5% | $129K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 10 | Smithers British Columbia | 5,627 | 83% | 6% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 18 | Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako British Columbia | 5,829 | 82% | 7.4% | $98K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | Invermere British Columbia | 4,305 | 82% | 5.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 119 | Haultain Saskatchewan | 6,126 | 77% | 9.4% | $78K | A− |
| 120 | Flagstaff County Alberta | 3,724 | 83% | 8% | $90K | A− |
| 121 | Central Okanagan British Columbia | 4,784 | 79% | 8.3% | $99K | A− |
| 122 | Electoral Area E, Cariboo British Columbia | 4,242 | 77% | 7.4% | $92K | A− |
| 123 | Idlewood Ontario | 5,005 | 74% | 6.3% | $125K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 761 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Central Okanagan, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Work in the places around Central Okanagan
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Okanagan | 79% | 8.3% | $99K | 25.2 min | A− | C− |
| Kelowna 9 km | 78% | 7.9% | $83K | 20.1 min | A | A |
| Duck Lake 7 9.6 km | 81% | 2.4% | $63K | 20.5 min | B | B− |
| Lake Country 13.9 km | 78% | 7.5% | $98K | 25 min | A− | B− |
| Tsinstikeptum 10 14.7 km | 78% | 9.1% | $91K | 21 min | A | 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 Central Okanagan, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- 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. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in Central Okanagan
What is the unemployment rate in Central Okanagan?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 8.3% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Kelowna metro area at 9.6% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Central Okanagan?
The median household in Central Okanagan had $98,900 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Central Okanagan get to work?
95% of commuters drive, 2.5% walk; 15% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Central Okanagan?
The average commute is 25.2 minutes; 25% of trips take under 15 minutes and 4.7% an hour or more.
Where do people in Central Okanagan work?
Only 8.3% work in Central Okanagan itself; the rest go first to Kelowna (1,040) and Lake Country (60).
How many jobs are there in Central Okanagan?
The 2021 census found about 375 people with their usual workplace in Central Okanagan, or 0.3 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 162 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).