Photo: Andre Charland · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Gold River are lower than in 77% of Canadian towns
Unemployment in Gold River stood at 6.5% on census day 2021, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Gold River counted 70% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. For 13% of commuters in Gold River, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 25.1 minutes.
Jobs and income in Gold River: what the figures say
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 6.5% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 5.2% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
At $65,500 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
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 Gold River: C−
Better than 18% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is trip times; 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.
Work and the working-age population of Gold River
None of the 3 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Strathcona census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting those looking for work too, 50% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 46%. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 56% in October 2026. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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.
$65,500 a year: the median household in Gold River
Gold River’s median is 25% below the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900). 2 of the 3 other places of 2,500+ in the Strathcona census division have a higher median. Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
In and out of Gold River: the working day evens out
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
85 people come into Gold River to work, most from Campbell River and Electoral Area C, Strathcona
- Campbell River50
- Electoral Area C, Strathcona10
- Tsa Xana 1810
- Campbell River20
- Fort McMurray10
- Elkford10
- Fernie10
- Tahsis10
- Electoral Area C, Strathcona10
Of everyone working in Gold River, 27% come in from elsewhere; 50 make the 63 km trip from Campbell River. Campbell River is where the largest group of commuters out goes, 20 of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 17% of Gold River’s commuters
Only 11% 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 long the commute from Gold River takes
Timed exactly, the average is 22.5 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 53% of commuters, 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.
EI claims in the Strathcona census division are back near their 2019 level
Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4 receive EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 3%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 2,720 people on EI, 2.3 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 Strathcona census division, Gold River included.
The walkability of Gold River: A
Better than 93% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Work in and around Gold River
The nearest places to Gold River with figures are 63–71 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold River | 70% | 6.5% | $66K | 25.1 min | C− | A |
| Campbell River 62.6 km | 73% | 8.7% | $78K | 20.9 min | B− | A− |
| Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona 63.6 km | 72% | 10% | $88K | 28.9 min | C | C+ |
| Electoral Area C, Strathcona 69 km | 71% | 8.6% | $60K | 28.3 min | D | B |
| Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley 69.2 km | 76% | 7.5% | $86K | 27.6 min | B− | C+ |
| Tofino 70.9 km | 76% | 12% | $86K | 14 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 Gold River, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- 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. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- 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.
- 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 Gold River
How many jobs are there in Gold River?
The 2021 census found about 320 people with their usual workplace in Gold River, or 1 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 49 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Gold River?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 6.5% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Vancouver Island and Coast economic region at 5.2% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Gold River?
The census puts Gold River at $65,500 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Gold River get to work?
77% of commuters drive, 17% walk; 11% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Gold River?
The average commute is 25.1 minutes; 53% of trips take under 15 minutes and 13% an hour or more.
Where do people in Gold River work?
74% work in Gold River itself; of those who leave, the most go to Campbell River (20), then Fort McMurray (10).
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).