Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainElectoral Area H, Nanaimo has 0.5 jobs for every resident in work, so most leave town for work
At the 2021 census, 65% of Electoral Area H, Nanaimo’s 15-to-64s were in work, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Commutes from Electoral Area H, Nanaimo average 28.1 minutes, and 4.5% take an hour or more. Median household income in Electoral Area H, Nanaimo was $69,200 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
Electoral Area H, Nanaimo and work: the main findings
Fewer people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 65% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 39%. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $69,200 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. 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 Electoral Area H, Nanaimo: D
Better than 9% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #244 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.
How many in Electoral Area H, Nanaimo were working in 2021
None of the 10 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Nanaimo census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 39%. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 56% of the wider area’s adults in work. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 44%. 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.
Household income in Electoral Area H, Nanaimo
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 68% of Canadian towns.
The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Electoral Area H, Nanaimo is 20% below it. 7 of the 10 other places of 2,500+ in the Nanaimo census division have a higher median. CERB and the other emergency payments of 2020 are counted in these incomes, which lifted the lower ones 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).
Each working day, more people leave Electoral Area H, Nanaimo for work than come in
For every person who comes in to work, about 3 residents travel out. The job is inside the municipality for 26% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
74% of Electoral Area H, Nanaimo’s residents in work leave it to work; Parksville takes the most
Coming the other way, Nanaimo sends the most (60).
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: 5.8% of Electoral Area H, Nanaimo’s commuters
The car is the way to work for 90% of commuters. Home was the workplace for 18%, under the 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).
Commuting times in Electoral Area H, Nanaimo
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 25.9 minutes. 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.
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
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number fell by 1%. At its peak, in January 2021, 7,290 people were on EI, 2.7 times the 2019 average. That is about 3.7 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division.
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). Electoral Area H, Nanaimo doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Nanaimo census division.
The Walkability grade for Electoral Area H, Nanaimo: C
Better than 34% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #220 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Where Electoral Area H, Nanaimo sits among Canadian towns of 3,400 to 6,500
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 18 | Invermere British Columbia | 4,305 | 82% | 5.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 670 | Lac du Bonnet Manitoba | 3,592 | 57% | 9.4% | $85K | D |
| 671 | Richmond County, Subdivision A Nova Scotia | 4,305 | 65% | 15% | $61K | D |
| 672 | Electoral Area H, Nanaimo British Columbia | 4,815 | 65% | 13% | $69K | D |
| 673 | West Alexander Manitoba | 5,161 | 59% | 11% | $53K | D |
| 674 | Parkdale Alberta | 4,029 | 60% | 20% | $64K | D |
| … | ||||||
| 728 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Electoral Area H, Nanaimo, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Electoral Area H, Nanaimo and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area H, Nanaimo | 65% | 13% | $69K | 28.1 min | D | C |
| Electoral Area F, Alberni-Clayoquot 18.4 km | 68% | 9.3% | $73K | 17.4 min | B− | D |
| Qualicum Beach 18.6 km | 76% | 7.7% | $76K | 22 min | B | A− |
| Electoral Area E, Alberni-Clayoquot 19 km | 77% | 5.4% | $80K | 20.9 min | B+ | 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 H, Nanaimo, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- Trip times. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s average.
- 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. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t 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.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Electoral Area H, Nanaimo
What is the unemployment rate in Electoral Area H, Nanaimo?
The census put unemployment at 13% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Vancouver Island and Coast economic region at 5.2%.
What is the average household income in Electoral Area H, Nanaimo?
Electoral Area H, Nanaimo’s middle household had $69,200 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Electoral Area H, Nanaimo get to work?
Driving takes 90% of commuters to work, 3.7% walk and 2.1% cycle, and on census day 18% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Electoral Area H, Nanaimo?
About 28.1 minutes on average, with 24% under a quarter-hour and 4.5% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Electoral Area H, Nanaimo work?
26% work in Electoral Area H, Nanaimo itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Parksville (140), then Qualicum Beach (140).
How many jobs are there in Electoral Area H, Nanaimo?
In June 2026, 128 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
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).