Fruitvale has 0.4 jobs for every resident in work, so most commute out
Median household income in Fruitvale was $83,000 in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. Unemployment in Fruitvale stood at 7% on census day 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Fruitvale counted 75% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Where Fruitvale stands out on work
Work near the middle
In work at the 2021 census: 75% of people aged 15 to 64, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, and 52% of everyone 15 and over. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 7% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 4.1% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
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 Fruitvale earn B−
Better than 54% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is household income; 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.
In and out of work in Fruitvale
Of the 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Kootenay Boundary census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 52% were working. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 54% in October 2026. 56% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. 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.
More of Fruitvale’s workers leave each day than arrive
About 3 residents leave for work for each person who comes in. Of those who commute, 15% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
85% of Fruitvale’s residents in work leave it to work; Trail takes the most
Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary 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.
Earnings at home in Fruitvale: households
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 62% of Canadian towns.
Fruitvale’s median is 4% below the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900). One of the 5 other places of 2,500+ in the Kootenay Boundary census division has a higher median. Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for 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).
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 3.8% of Fruitvale’s commuters
Home was the workplace for 7.5%, under the 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 95% of commuters.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
A commute like the middle of Canadian towns: 24.6 minutes from Fruitvale
In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 24%, fewer than the 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 4.4% take an hour or more, against 6.3%. Timed exactly, the average is 22.2 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.
EI claims in the Kootenay Boundary census division run 33% above their 2019 level
That works out to around 4.5 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 1%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 1,740 people on EI, 2.5 times 2019’s 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 Kootenay Boundary census division, Fruitvale included.
Getting around Fruitvale on foot earns B+
Better than 66% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Work in the places around Fruitvale
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruitvale | 75% | 7% | $83K | 24.6 min | B− | B+ |
| Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary 1.5 km | 75% | 6.1% | $96K | 22.4 min | A− | C+ |
| Montrose 4.9 km | 73% | 4.4% | $94K | 18.7 min | A− | C+ |
| Trail 10.6 km | 69% | 7.9% | $68K | 15.1 min | C+ | A− |
| Warfield 14.8 km | 72% | 7.1% | $89K | 17.5 min | A− | B− |
| Electoral Area B (Lower Columbia-Old-Glory), Kootenay Boundary 14.8 km | 65% | 8.8% | $83K | 22.2 min | C+ | B− |
| Rossland 18.4 km | 77% | 11% | $96K | 18.3 min | A | 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 Fruitvale, 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. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- Trip times. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- 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. 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.
- 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.
- 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 Fruitvale
Where do people in Fruitvale work?
Only 15% work in Fruitvale itself; the rest go first to Trail (415) and Castlegar (50).
How many jobs are there in Fruitvale?
The 2021 census found about 280 people with their usual workplace in Fruitvale, or 0.4 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 51 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Fruitvale?
The census put unemployment at 7% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Kootenay economic region at 4.1%.
What is the average household income in Fruitvale?
The census puts Fruitvale at $83,000 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Fruitvale get to work?
95% of commuters drive, 3.8% walk; 7.5% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Fruitvale?
The average commute is 24.6 minutes; 24% of trips take under 15 minutes and 4.4% an hour or more.
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).