Photo: jasonwoodhead23 · CC BY 2.0Households in Fort St. John earn more than those in 87% of Canadian towns
In Fort St. John, 76% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. The average trip to work from Fort St. John is 17.1 minutes; 6.2% of commuters spend an hour or more getting there. Out of work in May 2021: 8.9% of Fort St. John’s labour force, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
What sets Fort St. John apart on jobs and income
Higher incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $101,700 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
More jobs than the typical town
8,680 people work in Fort St. John and 8,075 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 17.1 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 6.2% 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.
Fort St. John earns A+ for jobs and income
Better than 96% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #9 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.
What households earned in Fort St. John: $101,700 in 2020
2 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Peace River census division have a higher median. That puts Fort St. John 17% above the median of British Columbia’s towns, $86,900. Pandemic support paid in 2020, CERB first among it, is part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Every working day, Fort St. John’s workforce grows by 7%
8,075 residents of Fort St. John had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 8,680 people had theirs in Fort St. John, wherever they lived.
The job is inside the municipality for 79% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Time on the road to work from Fort St. John
Timed exactly, the average is 16.2 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 67%, more than the 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns.
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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
2,309 people come into Fort St. John to work, most from Electoral Area C, Peace River and Electoral Area B, Peace River
Of everyone working in Fort St. John, 27% come in from elsewhere; 1,185 make the 4 km trip from Electoral Area C, Peace River. Going the other way, Electoral Area C, Peace River is the biggest single destination (860).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Fort St. John work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Who in Fort St. John has a job
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Peace River census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
In October 2026, 65% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. 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.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 5.7% of Fort St. John’s commuters
Home was the workplace for 9%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 0.6%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. Nearly everyone drives: 93% of commuters go by car, truck or van.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
11% more people are on EI in the Peace River census division than in 2019
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.4 receive EI. The highest month was April 2021: 3,610 people, 2.4 times the 2019 level.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Peace River census division. 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, Fort St. John grades A−
Better than 77% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #141 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
11th of 355: where Fort St. John ranks among Canadian towns of 17,100 to 32,900
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| 3 | Woolwich Ontario | 31,382 | 82% | 6.2% | $115K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | Oak Bay British Columbia | 18,626 | 80% | 7% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 9 | L'Ancienne-Lorette Quebec | 17,876 | 84% | 4.4% | $86K | A+ |
| 10 | Val-Bélair Quebec | 30,003 | 84% | 4.3% | $96K | A+ |
| 11 | Fort St. John British Columbia | 24,383 | 76% | 8.9% | $102K | A+ |
| 12 | Sainte-Julie Quebec | 30,981 | 84% | 4.7% | $107K | A+ |
| 13 | Swift Current Saskatchewan | 18,154 | 81% | 7.3% | $79K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 26 | Squamish British Columbia | 28,578 | 83% | 6.8% | $112K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 355 | Parc-Extension Quebec | 29,066 | 61% | 16% | $48K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Fort St. John, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Work in and around Fort St. John
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort St. John | 76% | 8.9% | $102K | 17.1 min | A+ | A− |
| Electoral Area C, Peace River 4.4 km | 76% | 7.6% | $124K | 22.4 min | A | D |
| Taylor 13.4 km | 70% | 12% | $105K | 25.2 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 Fort St. John, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless 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.
- 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 Fort St. John
How do people in Fort St. John get to work?
93% of commuters drive, 0.6% take public transit, 4.6% walk and 0.5% cycle; 9% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Fort St. John?
The average commute is 17.1 minutes; 67% of trips take under 15 minutes and 6.2% an hour or more.
Where do people in Fort St. John work?
Most stay: 79% work in Fort St. John. The rest go first to Electoral Area C, Peace River (860) and Prince George (280).
How many jobs are there in Fort St. John?
The 2021 census found about 8,680 people with their usual workplace in Fort St. John, or 1.1 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 1,509 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Fort St. John?
The 2021 census found 8.9% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Northeast economic region, is 5.1% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Fort St. John?
The census puts Fort St. John at $101,700 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
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).