Photo: Visit-World. com Author: www.visit-world.com · CC BY-SA 3.0Gibsons has 1.8 jobs for every resident in work
7.5% of the labour force in Gibsons was out of work at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Commutes from Gibsons average 21.8 minutes, and 7.1% take an hour or more. The median household in Gibsons had $70,000 before tax in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900.
Work in Gibsons, in a few figures
More people in work than most towns
With 80% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, it has 52% of all adults employed. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $70,000 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 21.8 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 7.1% 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.
Jobs & income in Gibsons: graded B
Better than 65% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #94 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; its weakest, household income.
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.
How many in Gibsons have a job: 80% of 15-to-64s
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Sunshine Coast census division, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 56%. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 52% were working. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 63% 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.
Household income in Gibsons
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 66% of Canadian towns.
Against the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900), Gibsons’ median is 19% below. Of the 6 other places of 2,500 or more in the Sunshine Coast census division, 5 have a higher median. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Workers pour into Gibsons: 54% more on a working day
Each resident commuting out of Gibsons is matched by about 3 coming in. The job is inside the municipality for 57% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
How long the commute from Gibsons takes
Trips under 15 minutes: 47%, more than the 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 20.4 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.
1,388 people come into Gibsons to work, most from Electoral Area E, Sunshine Coast and Electoral Area F, Sunshine Coast
- Sechelt175
- Electoral Area F, Sunshine Coast125
- Sechelt (Part)50
- Roberts Creek40
- Vancouver20
- West Vancouver20
- Burnaby10
- Saanich10
Of everyone working in Gibsons, 68% come in from elsewhere; 475 make the 2 km trip from Electoral Area E, Sunshine Coast. The main destination the other way is Sechelt, with 175.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Gibsons gets to work without a car for 20% of commuters
The middle of British Columbia’s towns has 4.6% walking; here, 13% do. The car takes 75% of commuters here, under the 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Working at home: 26% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. By bus, train or subway: 4.9%, against 3.5% 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).
40% more people are on EI in the Sunshine Coast census division than in 2019
Roughly 3.6 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 7%. At its peak, in January 2021, 1,110 people were on EI, 2.7 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: the Sunshine Coast 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, Gibsons grades A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #36 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 720 Canadian towns of 3,600 to 6,900, Gibsons comes 242nd on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 2 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | South Tuxedo Manitoba | 3,629 | 85% | 6.8% | $110K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Smithers British Columbia | 5,627 | 83% | 6% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako British Columbia | 5,829 | 82% | 7.4% | $98K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Invermere British Columbia | 4,305 | 82% | 5.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 240 | Discovery Ridge Alberta | 4,256 | 69% | 14% | $142K | B+ |
| 241 | Warwick Quebec | 4,939 | 79% | 5.2% | $68K | B+ |
| 242 | Gibsons British Columbia | 5,090 | 80% | 7.5% | $70K | B |
| 243 | South Walkerville Ontario | 6,129 | 67% | 18% | $86K | B |
| 244 | Lake of Bays Ontario | 4,105 | 80% | 11% | $90K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 720 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Gibsons, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
The work picture around Gibsons
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibsons | 80% | 7.5% | $70K | 21.8 min | B | A+ |
| Electoral Area E, Sunshine Coast 2.3 km | 77% | 6.1% | $86K | 21.4 min | A− | B+ |
| Electoral Area F, Sunshine Coast 4 km | 76% | 6.9% | $80K | 24.8 min | B− | B+ |
| Roberts Creek 8.6 km | 87% | 7.4% | $83K | 23.5 min | A | B− |
| Bowen Island 12 km | 88% | 6.1% | $112K | 30.6 min | A | 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 Gibsons, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- 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. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- 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. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- 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. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in Gibsons
How do people in Gibsons get to work?
By car: 75% of commuters, 4.9% take public transit, 13% walk and 1.9% cycle; on census day 26% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Gibsons?
21.8 minutes is the average trip, with 47% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 7.1% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Gibsons work?
Most stay: 57% work in Gibsons. The rest go first to Sechelt (175) and Electoral Area F, Sunshine Coast (125).
How many jobs are there in Gibsons?
Statistics Canada counted 276 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Gibsons?
The 2021 census found 7.5% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Lower Mainland-Southwest economic region, is 6.9% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Gibsons?
The census puts Gibsons at $70,000 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).