Photo: University of the Fraser Valley · CC BY 2.0Households in Chilliwack have higher incomes than those in 65% of Canadian towns
Of Chilliwack’s residents aged 15 to 64, 76% were employed when the 2021 census was taken, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. Chilliwack had an unemployment rate of 6.6% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The average trip to work from Chilliwack is 26.3 minutes; 10% of commuters spend an hour or more getting there.
Chilliwack and work: the main findings
Work near the middle
The 2021 census found 76% of 15-to-64s with a job (73% in the middle of Canadian towns). Count every adult, retirees too, and the figure is 59%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 5.4% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 6.6%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
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, Chilliwack grades B−
Better than 51% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #133 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.
76% of working-age people in Chilliwack have jobs
Of the 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Fraser Valley census division, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
63% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 59%: many residents are past working age. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 62% in work in October 2026. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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.
Chilliwack is quieter on a working day than at night
Each person commuting in is matched by about 2 residents going out. Of those who commute, 66% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
34% of Chilliwack’s residents in work leave it to work; Abbotsford takes the most
- Abbotsford1,935
- Kent490
- Rosedale375
- Cultus Lake330
- Penticton320
- Tzeachten 13280
- Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley275
- Langley235
- Mission205
- Surrey180
- Abbotsford3,915
- Surrey875
- Langley870
- Kent725
- Cultus Lake575
- Mission285
- Hope275
- Tzeachten 13260
- Burnaby245
- Squiaala240
In the other direction the biggest source is Abbotsford, with 1,935.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Half the households in Chilliwack had more than $84,700 in 2020
2 of the 5 other places of 2,500+ in the Fraser Valley census division have a higher median. Against the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900), Chilliwack’s median is 3% below. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
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: 6.8% of commuters in Chilliwack
Transit takes 1.6% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 91% of commuters. Only 15% 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).
Time on the road to work from Chilliwack
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 23.9 minutes. Only 37% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 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.
EI claims in the Fraser Valley census division run 46% above their 2019 level
That is about 4.6 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 5%. The count topped out in July 2021 at 14,860 people, 2.4 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of the Fraser Valley 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).
Everyday places on foot in Chilliwack: B+
Better than 74% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #149 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Chilliwack ranks: 23rd of 43 Canadian towns of 73,900 to 142,500
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saanich British Columbia | 126,011 | 77% | 6.8% | $93K | A |
| 2 | St. Albert Alberta | 74,621 | 77% | 9.1% | $118K | A |
| 3 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 97,845 | 79% | 7.3% | $123K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Kamloops British Columbia | 108,793 | 75% | 7.4% | $88K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | Maple Ridge British Columbia | 105,925 | 77% | 6.7% | $105K | B− |
| 22 | St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador | 128,693 | 68% | 12% | $75K | B− |
| 23 | Chilliwack British Columbia | 105,520 | 76% | 6.6% | $85K | B− |
| 24 | Sarnia Ontario | 80,539 | 66% | 13% | $78K | B− |
| 25 | Wood Buffalo Alberta | 81,611 | 74% | 8.7% | $183K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 43 | Chomedey Quebec | 81,813 | 69% | 12% | $66K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Chilliwack, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
How the places next to Chilliwack compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chilliwack | 76% | 6.6% | $85K | 26.3 min | B− | B+ |
| Skowkale 1.3 km | 72% | 7.1% | $69K | 24.2 min | C | C− |
| Tzeachten 13 3 km | 75% | 6.5% | $63K | 26.9 min | C− | A+ |
| Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley 11.2 km | 68% | 6.9% | $73K | 31.8 min | D | D |
| Cultus Lake 12.6 km | 73% | 11% | $79K | 34.3 min | C− | B− |
| Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley 13.3 km | 67% | 5.4% | $71K | 42.9 min | D− | D− |
| Rosedale 15.3 km | 74% | 5.9% | $109K | 27.8 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 Chilliwack, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- Where people commute. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not 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.
- In work. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every 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. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
Questions about work in Chilliwack
What is the average household income in Chilliwack?
The census puts Chilliwack at $84,700 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Chilliwack get to work?
Driving takes 91% of commuters to work, 1.6% take public transit, 4.1% walk and 1.1% cycle, and on census day 15% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Chilliwack?
About 26.3 minutes on average, with 37% under a quarter-hour and 10% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Chilliwack work?
Most stay: 66% work in Chilliwack. The rest go first to Abbotsford (3,915) and Surrey (875).
How many jobs are there in Chilliwack?
Some 25,065 people worked in Chilliwack at the 2021 census: 0.9 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 3,658 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Chilliwack?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 6.6% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Chilliwack metro area at 5.4% 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).