Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainFewer of Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley’s 15-to-64s are in work than in 81% of Canadian towns
Of everyone in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley working or looking for work in May 2021, 5.4% were unemployed; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. Getting to work from Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley takes 42.9 minutes on average, an hour or more for 25%. Half the households in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley had more than $71,100 in 2020, before tax, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns.
The short version on work in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley
Fewer people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 67% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 43%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 5.4% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 6.9%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $71,100 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 42.9 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 25% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley: D−
Better than 5% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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 Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley, 67% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Fraser Valley census division, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 43%: many residents are past working age. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 63% in work in October 2026. Counting those looking for work too, 46% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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 Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 64% of Canadian towns.
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 or more in the Fraser Valley census division, 5 have a higher median. The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley is 18% below it. Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up 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).
The length of the trip to work in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 41.8 minutes. In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Only 15% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 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.
More workers leave Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley each day than arrive
255 residents of Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 160 people had theirs in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley, wherever they lived.
Each person commuting in is matched by about 2 residents going out. Of those who commute, 13% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
87% of Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley’s residents in work leave it to work; Mission takes the most
- Chilliwack30
- Kelowna15
- Harrison Hot Springs10
- Kent10
- Abbotsford10
- Mission10
- Holachten 810
- Langley10
- Burnaby10
- Roberts Creek10
- Mission60
- Abbotsford40
- Surrey25
- Chilliwack20
- Coquitlam20
- Electoral Area G, Fraser Valley15
- Chehalis 510
- Langley10
- Vancouver10
- Maple Ridge10
Coming the other way, Chilliwack sends the most (30).
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 Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Without a car, 0% of Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley’s commuters get to work
The car is the way to work for 97% of commuters. 24% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, 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).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
EI claims in the Fraser Valley census division run 46% above their 2019 level
Roughly 4.6 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 5%. At its peak, in July 2021, 14,860 people were on EI, 2.4 times the 2019 average.
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). Behind EI beneficiaries sits data gathered across the Fraser Valley census division, with Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley one part of it.
Walking in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley earns D−
Better than 2% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Next to Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley | 67% | 5.4% | $71K | 42.9 min | D− | D− |
| Chilliwack 13.3 km | 76% | 6.6% | $85K | 26.3 min | B− | B+ |
| Skowkale 13.7 km | 72% | 7.1% | $69K | 24.2 min | C | C− |
| Harrison Hot Springs 14 km | 66% | 8.3% | $76K | 29 min | D | A− |
| Kent 14.3 km | 67% | 7.1% | $79K | 26.9 min | C− | A− |
| Tzeachten 13 16.3 km | 75% | 6.5% | $63K | 26.9 min | C− | A+ |
| Rosedale 16.8 km | 74% | 5.9% | $109K | 27.8 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 Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- 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. The share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- 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. Only people with a usual place of work are in it: those who work from home or have no fixed site are not. Home and work are both counted by municipality.
- Employment Insurance. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
Questions about work in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley
How long is the commute from Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley?
42.9 minutes is the average trip, with 15% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 25% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley work?
Only 13% work in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley itself; the rest go first to Mission (60) and Abbotsford (40).
How many jobs are there in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley?
The 2021 census counted about 160 people working in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley: 0.6 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 28 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley?
The census put unemployment at 5.4% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Lower Mainland-Southwest economic region at 6.9%.
What is the average household income in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley?
Before tax, half the households in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley had more than $71,100 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley get to work?
By car: 97% of commuters; on census day 24% of those in work worked from home.
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).