Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainHouseholds in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap earn less than those in 91% of Canadian towns
195 people have their usual place of work in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap, against 385 residents who travel to a job. 72% of people aged 15 to 64 in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap had a job at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. Census day 2021 found 19% of Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap’s labour force without a job, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What the numbers say about work in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap
More unemployment than most towns
The Labour Force Survey had the area at 6.6% in October 2026; on census day in 2021 the town’s own rate was 19%, where the middle of Canadian towns had 9.9%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $58,800 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap earns C− for jobs and income
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.
Who in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap has a job
Of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Columbia-Shuswap census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 51%: many residents are past working age. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 56% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Counting those looking for work too, 62% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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 Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap: $58,800 at the median
Set beside British Columbia’s towns, where the median is $86,900, Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap sits 32% below. Every other place of 2,500 or more in the Columbia-Shuswap census division has a higher median. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes that year.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
More go out than come in: the working day in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap
It sends out some 3 workers for every one it takes in. Of those who commute, 31% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
70% of Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap’s residents in work leave it to work; Sicamous takes the most
- Sicamous145
- Salmon Arm65
- Revelstoke35
- Enderby10
- Golden10
In the other direction the biggest source is Sicamous, with 50.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Without a car, 6.8% of Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap’s commuters get to work
Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 16% against 21%. Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. By car, truck or van: 89% of commuters, against 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
A shorter commute than the middle of Canadian towns: 23.6 minutes from Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 21.6 minutes. 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. An hour or more: 6.8% of commuters, close to 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 Columbia-Shuswap census division run 23% above their 2019 level
Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 4%. The count topped out in February 2021 at 3,670 people, 2.5 times the 2019 average. That is about 4.7 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division.
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). Figures for EI beneficiaries are published for the Columbia-Shuswap census division as a whole, not for Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap alone.
The Walkability grade for Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap: C+
Better than 38% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Jobs near Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap: the places around it
Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 9–34 km out.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap | 72% | 19% | $59K | 23.6 min | C− | C+ |
| Sicamous 9.3 km | 70% | 11% | $65K | 23.6 min | C− | A− |
| Electoral Area F, North Okanagan 31.1 km | 78% | 7.6% | $73K | 27.8 min | C+ | C |
| Electoral Area F, Columbia-Shuswap 32.1 km | 67% | 13% | $66K | 30.7 min | D | C+ |
| Salmon Arm 33.5 km | 78% | 7.9% | $75K | 17.5 min | A− | A− |
| Blind Bay 33.9 km | 70% | 9.3% | $75K | 28.6 min | C− | 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 Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around 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. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- 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. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- Employment Insurance. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- 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 Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap
Where do people in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap work?
Only 31% work in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap itself; the rest go first to Sicamous (145) and Salmon Arm (65).
How many jobs are there in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap?
The 2021 census counted about 195 people working in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap: 0.5 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 42 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap?
At the 2021 census 19% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Thompson-Okanagan economic region, gives 6.6% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap?
At $58,800 before tax in 2020, the median household in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap get to work?
By car: 89% of commuters, 6.8% walk; on census day 16% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Electoral Area E, Columbia-Shuswap?
23.6 minutes is the average trip, with 45% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 6.8% taking an hour or more.
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).