Photo: U.S. Coast Guard · Public domainComox’s household incomes are higher than in 63% of Canadian towns
From Comox, the drive or ride to work averages 18.6 minutes, with 5.4% going an hour or longer. At the 2021 census, 75% of Comox’s 15-to-64s were in work; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. Out of work in May 2021: 6.7% of Comox’s labour force, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
Jobs and income in Comox: what the figures say
Less unemployment than most towns
6.7% 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 ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 18.6 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 5.4% 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.
Jobs & income in Comox: graded A−
Better than 79% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #58 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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 Comox were working in 2021
Of the 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Comox Valley census division, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting retirees, 49% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. In October 2026, 56% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. Working or looking, 53% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. 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.
The length of the trip to work in Comox
The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 55% of commuters, against 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 18.4 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.
About as many people come in to work in Comox as leave
38% 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.
62% of Comox’s residents in work leave it to work; Courtenay takes the most
Coming the other way, Courtenay sends the most (1,335).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
$83,300 a year: the median household in Comox
3 of the 5 other places of 2,500+ in the Comox Valley census division have a higher median. The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Comox is 4% below it. 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).
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 12% of Comox’s commuters
By bike: 4.2% of commuters, well above the 0.9% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. The car takes 84% of commuters here, under the 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 15% against 21%. Few ride transit: 2.3%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Comox Valley census division run 19% above their 2019 level
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 1%. The highest month was January 2021: 3,220 people, 2.5 times the 2019 level. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.9 receive EI.
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). Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for Comox alone, so this card uses the figure for the Comox Valley census division.
Comox on foot: a A grade
Better than 91% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #91 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Comox is 91st of 547 Canadian towns of 11,100 to 21,400
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Oak Bay British Columbia | 18,626 | 80% | 7% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 89 | Salmon Arm British Columbia | 20,891 | 78% | 7.9% | $75K | A− |
| 90 | McKenzie Lake Alberta | 11,966 | 74% | 12% | $131K | A− |
| 91 | Comox British Columbia | 15,884 | 75% | 6.7% | $83K | A− |
| 92 | Pelham Ontario | 19,980 | 76% | 8.6% | $110K | A− |
| 93 | Windermere Alberta | 14,922 | 79% | 9.2% | $126K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 547 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Comox, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Comox
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comox | 75% | 6.7% | $83K | 18.6 min | A− | A |
| Courtenay 4.4 km | 74% | 8.5% | $72K | 18.7 min | B | A |
| Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley 4.6 km | 74% | 9.4% | $89K | 21.5 min | B+ | B |
| Cumberland 10.1 km | 80% | 8.2% | $86K | 22.2 min | A | A− |
| Electoral Area A, Comox Valley 12.6 km | 77% | 7.3% | $71K | 23 min | B− | B |
| Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley 15.6 km | 76% | 7.5% | $86K | 27.6 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 Comox, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. People in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64 (2021 Census). The census doesn’t cross work with age below the municipality, so this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood has; retirees don’t weigh on it.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- 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. 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. 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. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
Questions about work in Comox
How long is the commute from Comox?
The average commute is 18.6 minutes; 55% of trips take under 15 minutes and 5.4% an hour or more.
Where do people in Comox work?
Only 38% work in Comox itself; the rest go first to Courtenay (1,935) and Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley (130).
How many jobs are there in Comox?
The 2021 census found about 4,035 people with their usual workplace in Comox, or 1 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 495 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Comox?
The 2021 census found 6.7% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Vancouver Island and Coast economic region, is 5.2% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Comox?
The median household in Comox had $83,300 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Comox get to work?
84% of commuters drive, 2.3% take public transit, 5.2% walk and 4.2% cycle; 15% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
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).