Photo: Ruth Hartnup from Vancouver, Canada · CC BY 2.0Cumberland has 0.5 jobs for every resident in work, so most leave town for work
For 5.5% of commuters in Cumberland, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 22.2 minutes. 80% of people aged 15 to 64 in Cumberland had a job at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. The median household in Cumberland had $85,500 before tax in 2020, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Cumberland: what the figures say
More people in work than most towns
In work at the 2021 census: 80% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 65% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 22.2 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 5.5% 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.
On jobs and income, Cumberland grades A
Better than 85% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #42 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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.
Who in Cumberland has a job
All 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Comox Valley census division have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 56% in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 71%. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 65%. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at home.
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 long the commute from Cumberland takes
In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 36%, fewer than the 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 22.1 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 of Cumberland’s workers leave each day than arrive
Each person commuting in is matched by about 3 residents going out. The job is inside the municipality for 19% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
81% of Cumberland’s residents in work leave it to work; Courtenay takes the most
Inbound, the leader is Courtenay (150).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How Cumberland’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 67% of Canadian towns.
The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Cumberland is 2% below it. 2 of the 5 other places of 2,500+ in the Comox Valley census division have a higher median. 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 9% of Cumberland’s commuters
More people cycle to work here than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 3.4% against 0.9%. Fewer drive than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 86% against 87%. Only 17% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 1.1%, 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
January 2021 was the busiest month, with 3,220 people on EI, 2.5 times 2019’s average. That works out to around 3.9 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 1%.
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 Comox Valley census division as a whole, not for Cumberland alone.
Walking in Cumberland earns A−
Better than 78% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #136 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Cumberland places 101st of 727 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 3,500 to 6,700
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 2 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | South Tuxedo Manitoba | 3,629 | 85% | 6.8% | $110K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Smithers British Columbia | 5,627 | 83% | 6% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako British Columbia | 5,829 | 82% | 7.4% | $98K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Invermere British Columbia | 4,305 | 82% | 5.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 99 | Kirkfield Manitoba | 4,100 | 80% | 8.4% | $84K | A |
| 100 | Sherwood/McCarthy Saskatchewan | 5,753 | 75% | 9.2% | $95K | A |
| 101 | Cumberland British Columbia | 4,974 | 80% | 8.2% | $86K | A |
| 102 | Charleswood Alberta | 5,642 | 73% | 15% | $116K | A− |
| 103 | Hearst Ontario | 5,032 | 77% | 8.6% | $76K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 727 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Cumberland, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Neighbouring places to Cumberland, compared
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland | 80% | 8.2% | $86K | 22.2 min | A | A− |
| Courtenay 8.8 km | 74% | 8.5% | $72K | 18.7 min | B | A |
| Comox 10.1 km | 75% | 6.7% | $83K | 18.6 min | A− | A |
| Electoral Area A, Comox Valley 11.1 km | 77% | 7.3% | $71K | 23 min | B− | B |
| Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley 13.8 km | 74% | 9.4% | $89K | 21.5 min | B+ | B |
| Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley 17.7 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 Cumberland, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- Employment Insurance. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so 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.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
Questions about work in Cumberland
How long is the commute from Cumberland?
The average commute is 22.2 minutes; 36% of trips take under 15 minutes and 5.5% an hour or more.
Where do people in Cumberland work?
19% work in Cumberland itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Courtenay (690), then Comox (225).
How many jobs are there in Cumberland?
The 2021 census found about 730 people with their usual workplace in Cumberland, or 0.5 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 160 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Cumberland?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Vancouver Island and Coast economic region at 5.2%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 8.2%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Cumberland?
Cumberland’s middle household had $85,500 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Cumberland get to work?
86% of commuters drive, 1.1% take public transit, 4.5% walk and 3.4% cycle; 17% 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).