Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainWith 0.5 jobs for each resident in work, most of Electoral Area A, Comox Valley commutes out
Half the households in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley had more than $71,200 in 2020, before tax; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. The 2021 census put unemployment in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley at 7.3%, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns. In Electoral Area A, Comox Valley, 77% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What sets Electoral Area A, Comox Valley apart on jobs and income
Less unemployment than most towns
7.3% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 5.2% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $71,200 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 23 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 7% 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.
Electoral Area A, Comox Valley earns B− for jobs and income
Better than 51% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #134 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.
Who in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley has a job
Of the 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Comox Valley census division, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting those looking for work too, 52% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Counting retirees, 48% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 56% in October 2026. 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.
How Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 63% of Canadian towns.
Every other place of 2,500 or more in the Comox Valley census division has a higher median. The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Electoral Area A, Comox Valley is 18% below it. 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).
A shorter commute than the middle of Canadian towns: 23 minutes from Electoral Area A, Comox Valley
The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 42%, more than the 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. An hour or more: 7% of commuters, close to the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 23.2 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.
A commuter town: Electoral Area A, Comox Valley sends out more workers than it takes in
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.
69% of Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s residents in work leave it to work; Courtenay takes the most
- Courtenay640
- Comox140
- Cumberland50
- Campbell River45
- Parksville30
- Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley25
- Qualicum Beach20
- Vancouver15
- Nanaimo Town 115
- Nanoose15
Courtenay sends the largest group the other way, 175 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Electoral Area A, Comox Valley gets to work without a car for 10% of commuters
26% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 1% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The car takes 85% of commuters here, under the 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).
In the Comox Valley census division, 19% more people receive EI than in 2019
That is about 3.9 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 1%. At its peak, in January 2021, 3,220 people were on EI, 2.5 times the 2019 average.
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). Behind EI beneficiaries sits data gathered across the Comox Valley census division, with Electoral Area A, Comox Valley one part of it.
Everyday places on foot in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley: B
Better than 63% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #172 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Electoral Area A, Comox Valley next to Canadian towns of 5,900 to 11,400: 344th of 686 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 37 | Fernie British Columbia | 7,086 | 78% | 9.4% | $107K | A |
| 38 | Coldstream British Columbia | 11,380 | 77% | 7.8% | $112K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 342 | Redcliff Alberta | 5,916 | 71% | 12% | $83K | B− |
| 343 | Bois-des-Filion Quebec | 10,666 | 82% | 6.3% | $83K | B− |
| 344 | Electoral Area A, Comox Valley British Columbia | 8,415 | 77% | 7.3% | $71K | B− |
| 345 | Electoral Area B, Cowichan Valley British Columbia | 9,903 | 78% | 6.2% | $100K | B− |
| 346 | Beaubassin East / Beaubassin-est New Brunswick | 8,138 | 73% | 12% | $83K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 686 | Beasley Ontario | 6,338 | 49% | 17% | $47K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Electoral Area A, Comox Valley, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Neighbouring places to Electoral Area A, Comox Valley, compared
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Comox Valley | 77% | 7.3% | $71K | 23 min | B− | B |
| Cumberland 11.1 km | 80% | 8.2% | $86K | 22.2 min | A | A− |
| Comox 12.6 km | 75% | 6.7% | $83K | 18.6 min | A− | A |
| Courtenay 15.2 km | 74% | 8.5% | $72K | 18.7 min | B | A |
| Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley 17.1 km | 74% | 9.4% | $89K | 21.5 min | B+ | B |
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, Comox Valley, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- 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 census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- 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. 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 A, Comox Valley
What is the average household income in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley?
At $71,200 before tax in 2020, the median household in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley get to work?
Driving takes 85% of commuters to work, 1% take public transit, 6.4% walk and 2.9% cycle, and on census day 26% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Electoral Area A, Comox Valley?
About 23 minutes on average, with 42% under a quarter-hour and 7% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley work?
Only 31% work in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley itself; the rest go first to Courtenay (640) and Comox (140).
How many jobs are there in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley?
In June 2026, 249 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley?
Two figures answer it: 7.3% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 5.2% for the Vancouver Island and Coast economic region in the Labour Force Survey of 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).