Photo: starkerry · CC BY-SA 3.0Electoral Area G, Nanaimo has 0.3 jobs for every resident in work, so most leave town for work
At the 2021 census, 72% of Electoral Area G, Nanaimo’s 15-to-64s were in work; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. The median household in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo had $85,100 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Unemployment in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo stood at 9.5% on census day 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
Electoral Area G, Nanaimo and work: the main findings
Work near the middle
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 72% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 41%. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
9.5% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 5.2% 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.
Electoral Area G, Nanaimo earns B− for jobs and income
Better than 52% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #128 of 254 in British Columbia.
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.
Electoral Area G, Nanaimo is quieter on a working day than at night
About 6 residents leave for work for each person who comes in. Of those who commute, 14% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
86% of Electoral Area G, Nanaimo’s residents in work leave it to work; Parksville takes the most
Parksville sends the largest group the other way, 70 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Who in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo has a job
Of the 10 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Nanaimo census division, 4 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 56% in work in October 2026. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 45% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. Across all ages 15 and over the share in work falls to 41%: many residents are past working age. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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 G, Nanaimo earn
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 66% of Canadian towns.
Of the 10 other places of 2,500 or more in the Nanaimo census division, 4 have a higher median. The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Electoral Area G, Nanaimo is 2% below it. In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
6.6% of commuters from Electoral Area G, Nanaimo go without a car
Transit takes 1.3% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. 89% drive to work, more than the 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 20% against 21%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
Shorter than the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Electoral Area G, Nanaimo average 23.7 minutes
The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 43% of commuters, against 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. An hour or more: 6.4% of commuters, close to the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 21.2 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.
EI claims in the Nanaimo census division run 25% above their 2019 level
Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 1%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 7,290 people on EI, 2.7 times 2019’s average. That works out to around 3.7 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of the Nanaimo 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).
How walkable Electoral Area G, Nanaimo is: B−
Better than 48% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #198 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 686 Canadian towns of 5,900 to 11,400, Electoral Area G, Nanaimo comes 336th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | Revelstoke British Columbia | 9,464 | 77% | 10% | $97K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 37 | Fernie British Columbia | 7,086 | 78% | 9.4% | $107K | A |
| 38 | Coldstream British Columbia | 11,380 | 77% | 7.8% | $112K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 334 | Devon Alberta | 6,965 | 74% | 9.6% | $95K | B− |
| 335 | Brentwood Alberta | 7,369 | 72% | 12% | $87K | B− |
| 336 | Electoral Area G, Nanaimo British Columbia | 8,412 | 72% | 9.5% | $85K | B− |
| 337 | Lac-Deschênes Quebec | 9,742 | 74% | 9% | $100K | B− |
| 338 | Bostwick Ontario | 7,694 | 66% | 10% | $93K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 686 | Beasley Ontario | 6,338 | 49% | 17% | $47K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Electoral Area G, Nanaimo, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Work in the places around Electoral Area G, Nanaimo
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area G, Nanaimo | 72% | 9.5% | $85K | 23.7 min | B− | B− |
| Parksville 3.5 km | 75% | 6.7% | $67K | 20 min | B− | A |
| Qualicum Beach 5.2 km | 76% | 7.7% | $76K | 22 min | B | A− |
| Electoral Area F, Nanaimo 7.6 km | 72% | 9% | $69K | 24.3 min | C | C |
| Fairwinds 15.1 km | 70% | 9.7% | $93K | 26.9 min | C+ | 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 G, Nanaimo, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- 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. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- 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. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around 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 Electoral Area G, Nanaimo
How many jobs are there in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo?
Statistics Canada counted 186 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo?
The 2021 census found 9.5% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Vancouver Island and Coast economic region, is 5.2% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo?
At $85,100 before tax in 2020, the median household in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo get to work?
Driving takes 89% of commuters to work, 1.3% take public transit, 3.4% walk and 1.9% cycle, and on census day 20% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Electoral Area G, Nanaimo?
About 23.7 minutes on average, with 43% under a quarter-hour and 6.4% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo work?
Only 14% work in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo itself; the rest go first to Parksville (570) and Nanaimo (260).
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).