Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainHouseholds in Elkford have higher incomes than those in 96% of Canadian towns
Of Elkford’s residents aged 15 to 64, 77% were employed when the 2021 census was taken, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. The census counted 2,450 people working in Elkford and 1,040 residents commuting to a fixed workplace. Buses, trains and subways take 24% of its commuters to work.
Jobs and income in Elkford: what the figures say
Less unemployment than most towns
5.4% 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 4.1% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $119,300 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
A local job centre
2,450 people work in Elkford and 1,040 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs and income in Elkford earn B+
Better than 72% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #78 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.
In Elkford, 77% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 7 other places of 2,500 people or more in the East Kootenay census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
69% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 54% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
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.
What households earned in Elkford: $119,300 in 2020
No other place of 2,500 or more in the East Kootenay census division has a higher median. Set beside British Columbia’s towns, where the median is $86,900, Elkford sits 37% above. Pandemic benefits paid in 2020 lifted the incomes at the bottom, and they are counted here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
On a working day, 2,544 people work in Elkford, 2.2 times its working residents
For every resident who leaves Elkford for work, about 8 people come in. Of those who commute, 79% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
1,625 people come into Elkford to work, most from Sparwood and Fernie
Of everyone working in Elkford, 66% come in from elsewhere; 325 make the 31 km trip from Sparwood. Outbound, Sparwood takes the most: 125 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 29% of Elkford’s commuters
69% drive to work, fewer than the 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Home was the workplace for 6.7%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
27.7 minutes from Elkford to work, about the middle of Canadian towns
Only 32% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 4.6% take an hour or more, against 6.3%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 25.4 minutes. The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 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.
23% more people are on EI in the East Kootenay census division than in 2019
In February 2021 it reached 3,400, the most in the series and 2.5 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 3.9 are on EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose 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). For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of the East Kootenay census division, Elkford included.
The Walkability grade for Elkford: B
Better than 55% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #188 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Elkford next to Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,100: 178th of 610 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 47 | Pemberton British Columbia | 3,620 | 84% | 6.4% | $100K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 57 | Tofino British Columbia | 2,772 | 76% | 12% | $86K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 60 | Highlands British Columbia | 2,753 | 83% | 4.9% | $124K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 176 | Hillsburg-Roblin-Shell River Manitoba | 3,184 | 88% | 3.7% | $56K | B+ |
| 177 | Magrath Heights Alberta | 3,728 | 74% | 14% | $161K | B+ |
| 178 | Elkford British Columbia | 3,030 | 77% | 5.4% | $119K | B+ |
| 179 | Electoral Area C, Fraser-Fort George British Columbia | 3,811 | 79% | 5.4% | $121K | B+ |
| 180 | Kingsclear New Brunswick | 3,158 | 75% | 6.5% | $106K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 610 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Elkford, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Elkford
No closer places have figures: these lie 31–68 km from Elkford.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkford | 77% | 5.4% | $119K | 27.7 min | B+ | B |
| Sparwood 31.4 km | 79% | 7.1% | $111K | 24.8 min | A | B+ |
| Electoral Area A, East Kootenay 48.1 km | 86% | 6.2% | $98K | 23.7 min | A+ | B |
| Crowsnest Pass 56.4 km | 72% | 8.6% | $80K | 25.1 min | C+ | A− |
| Fernie 57.9 km | 78% | 9.4% | $107K | 21.6 min | A | A+ |
| Electoral Area E, East Kootenay 68.4 km | 74% | 6.4% | $81K | 28.3 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 Elkford, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed 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. 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. 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. 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. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- 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 Elkford
How many jobs are there in Elkford?
The 2021 census counted about 2,450 people working in Elkford: 2.4 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 66 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Elkford?
The 2021 census found 5.4% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Kootenay economic region, is 4.1% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Elkford?
The median household in Elkford had $119,300 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Elkford get to work?
By car: 69% of commuters, 24% take public transit and 4.6% walk; on census day 6.7% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Elkford?
27.7 minutes is the average trip, with 32% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 4.6% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Elkford work?
79% work in Elkford itself; of those who leave, the most go to Sparwood (125), then Fernie (55).
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).