Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainMost of Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley works elsewhere: the town has 0.2 jobs for each resident in work
From Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley, the drive or ride to work averages 31.8 minutes, with 11% going an hour or longer. 6.9% of the labour force in Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley was out of work at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. The median household in Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley had $73,000 before tax in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900.
What the numbers say about work in Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley
Fewer people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 68% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 51%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 6.9% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 5.4% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $73,000 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 31.8 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.
Jobs & income in Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley: graded D
Better than 9% 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 E, Fraser Valley, 68% 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.
The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 56% of residents that age. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 51%: many residents are past working age. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 62% of the wider area’s adults in work. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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 in Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley earn
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 59% of Canadian towns.
5 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Fraser Valley census division have a higher median. Against the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900), Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley’s median is 16% below. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes that year.
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 E, Fraser Valley
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 28.5 minutes. In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Only 18% 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.
On a working day, Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley loses more workers than it gains
It sends out some 8 workers for every one it takes in. 7.3% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
93% of Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley’s residents in work leave it to work; Chilliwack takes the most
- Chilliwack275
- Abbotsford80
- Kent25
- Surrey25
- Mission10
- Langley10
Chilliwack sends the largest group the other way, 50 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley gets to work without a car for 1.7% of commuters
Only 12% 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%. The car is the way to work for 93% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the Fraser Valley census division, 46% more people receive EI than in 2019
For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.6 are on EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 5%. In July 2021 it reached 14,860, the most in the series and 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). For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of the Fraser Valley census division, Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley included.
The walkability of Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley: D
Better than 7% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley | 68% | 6.9% | $73K | 31.8 min | D | D |
| Tzeachten 13 9.2 km | 75% | 6.5% | $63K | 26.9 min | C− | A+ |
| Skowkale 10 km | 72% | 7.1% | $69K | 24.2 min | C | C− |
| Chilliwack 11.2 km | 76% | 6.6% | $85K | 26.3 min | B− | B+ |
| Rosedale 13.2 km | 74% | 5.9% | $109K | 27.8 min | B | C |
| Cultus Lake 14.5 km | 73% | 11% | $79K | 34.3 min | C− | B− |
| Kent 18 km | 67% | 7.1% | $79K | 26.9 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 Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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 census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed average.
- Where people commute. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- 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. 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. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- 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 Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley
What is the average household income in Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley?
At $73,000 before tax in 2020, the median household in Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley get to work?
Driving takes 93% of commuters to work, 1.7% walk, and on census day 12% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley?
About 31.8 minutes on average, with 18% under a quarter-hour and 11% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley work?
7.3% work in Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Chilliwack (275), then Abbotsford (80).
How many jobs are there in Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley?
In June 2026, 26 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Chilliwack metro area at 5.4%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 6.9%, against 9.9% 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).