Photo: John Shorten · CC BY 4.0Households in Coquitlam have higher incomes than those in 78% of Canadian towns
Coquitlam had an unemployment rate of 9% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. For 11% of commuters in Coquitlam, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 32.9 minutes. With 73% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, Coquitlam matches the middle of Canadian towns.
Coquitlam at work: what stands out
Work near the middle
Counting everyone 15 and over, 59% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 73%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 32.9 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 11% last an hour or longer. 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.
Coquitlam grades C for jobs and income
Better than 30% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #199 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.
How long the commute from Coquitlam takes
The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Only 20% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 29.5 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.
More go out than come in: the working day in Coquitlam
Each person commuting in is matched by about 2 residents going out. Of those who commute, 29% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
71% of Coquitlam’s residents in work leave it to work; Burnaby takes the most
- Surrey3,685
- Port Coquitlam3,330
- Burnaby2,540
- Maple Ridge1,995
- Vancouver1,760
- Port Moody1,610
- New Westminster1,010
- Langley875
- Pitt Meadows560
- Abbotsford370
- Burnaby7,450
- Vancouver6,885
- Port Coquitlam3,765
- Surrey2,465
- Port Moody1,945
- New Westminster1,685
- Richmond1,420
- Delta865
- Langley785
- Maple Ridge775
Coming the other way, Surrey sends the most (3,685).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How many in Coquitlam were working in 2021
Of the 95 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Greater Vancouver census division, 43 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 63% in October 2026. Counting those looking for work too, 65% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 59%. 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.
Household income in Coquitlam: $92,400 at the median
55 of the 95 other places of 2,500+ in the Greater Vancouver census division have a higher median. That puts Coquitlam 6% above the median of British Columbia’s towns, $86,900. 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 18% of Coquitlam’s commuters
27% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. The middle of British Columbia’s towns has 2.3% on transit; here it is 13%. The car takes 80% 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).
EI claims in the Greater Vancouver census division run 63% above their 2019 level
The highest month was January 2021: 117,570 people, 3.3 times the 2019 level. That is about 3.6 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 4%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the Greater Vancouver census division, not by town. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
On getting around on foot, Coquitlam grades A+
Better than 97% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #60 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 26 Canadian towns of 121,500 to 234,400, Coquitlam comes 23rd on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lévis Quebec | 160,882 | 84% | 5.3% | $84K | A |
| 2 | Saanich British Columbia | 126,011 | 77% | 6.8% | $93K | A |
| 3 | Kelowna British Columbia | 167,654 | 78% | 7.9% | $83K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Langley British Columbia | 163,885 | 78% | 6.2% | $108K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | Brantford Ontario | 123,521 | 69% | 12% | $79K | C |
| 22 | Ajax Ontario | 141,111 | 69% | 13% | $119K | C |
| 23 | Coquitlam British Columbia | 173,599 | 73% | 9% | $92K | C |
| 24 | St. Catharines Ontario | 153,865 | 66% | 16% | $72K | C |
| 25 | Richmond Hill Ontario | 222,031 | 68% | 13% | $103K | C |
| 26 | Oshawa Ontario | 213,592 | 64% | 15% | $86K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Coquitlam, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
The places around Coquitlam, side by side
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coquitlam | 73% | 9% | $92K | 32.9 min | C | A+ |
| Port Moody 3 km | 78% | 7.1% | $116K | 33 min | B | A |
| Port Coquitlam 4.4 km | 76% | 8.1% | $102K | 31.5 min | B− | A |
| Anmore 5.7 km | 72% | 6.1% | $165K | 35.9 min | C+ | B |
| Lougheed 6 km | 73% | 11% | $77K | 35 min | C− | A+ |
| Burnaby Mountain 6.5 km | 68% | 8.7% | $86K | 33.8 min | C− | A+ |
| Port Mann 7.2 km | 68% | 11% | $102K | 35.1 min | C− | A− |
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 Coquitlam, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Trip times. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- 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. 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. 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Coquitlam
Where do people in Coquitlam work?
29% work in Coquitlam itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Burnaby (7,450), then Vancouver (6,885).
How many jobs are there in Coquitlam?
About 32,475 people had their usual place of work in Coquitlam at the 2021 census, 0.8 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 4,954 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Coquitlam?
Two figures answer it: 9% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6.7% for the Vancouver metro area in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Coquitlam?
Coquitlam’s middle household had $92,400 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Coquitlam get to work?
80% of commuters go by car, 13% take public transit, 4.5% walk and 0.5% cycle. On census day 27% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Coquitlam?
On average 32.9 minutes; 20% take under 15 minutes and 11% take an hour or longer.
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).