Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainElectoral Area E, North Okanagan’s household incomes are lower than in 97% of Canadian towns
For 25% of commuters in Electoral Area E, North Okanagan, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 40.2 minutes. Jobs were held by 62% of people aged 15 to 64 in Electoral Area E, North Okanagan in 2021, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 15% of Electoral Area E, North Okanagan’s labour force, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Electoral Area E, North Okanagan at work: what stands out
Fewer people in work than most towns
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 62% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 46%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 15% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 6.6% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $53,900 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 40.2 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 25% last an hour or longer. 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.
Electoral Area E, North Okanagan grades D− for jobs and income
Behind almost every Canadian town on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; its weakest, trip times.
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 Electoral Area E, North Okanagan
None of the 9 other places of 2,500 people or more in the North Okanagan census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 46% were working. In October 2026, 56% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. 54% 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.
Electoral Area E, North Okanagan households: $53,900 a year at the median
Every other place of 2,500 or more in the North Okanagan census division has a higher median. Electoral Area E, North Okanagan’s median is 38% below the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900). Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Commuting times in Electoral Area E, North Okanagan
Timed exactly, the average is 40.1 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 27%, 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.
2.8% of commuters in Electoral Area E, North Okanagan walk, cycle or take transit
By car, truck or van: 89% of commuters, against 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 13% against 21%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How EI claims in the North Okanagan census division have moved since 2019
The highest month was February 2021: 4,850 people, 2.5 times the 2019 level. Roughly 4.3 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 8%.
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). Figures for EI beneficiaries are published for the North Okanagan census division as a whole, not for Electoral Area E, North Okanagan alone.
How walkable Electoral Area E, North Okanagan is: D
Better than 12% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How the places next to Electoral Area E, North Okanagan compare on work
The nearest places to Electoral Area E, North Okanagan with figures are 19–44 km away.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area E, North Okanagan | 62% | 15% | $54K | 40.2 min | D− | D |
| Electoral Area D, North Okanagan 19.2 km | 71% | 14% | $79K | 30 min | C− | C− |
| Lumby 23.9 km | 70% | 8.8% | $77K | 29.1 min | C− | A+ |
| Coldstream 41.4 km | 77% | 7.8% | $112K | 21.9 min | A | B− |
| Electoral Area C, North Okanagan 42.4 km | 76% | 8% | $105K | 22.9 min | A | B− |
| Electoral Area B, North Okanagan 44.4 km | 75% | 6.4% | $83K | 19.6 min | A− | 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 E, North Okanagan, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- 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 surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- In work. How many residents held a job in May 2021, set against how many were 15 to 64. It reads a little high where many people work past 65, since below the municipality the census gives no breakdown of workers by age.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Electoral Area E, North Okanagan
What is the unemployment rate in Electoral Area E, North Okanagan?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Thompson-Okanagan economic region at 6.6%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 15%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Electoral Area E, North Okanagan?
Before tax, half the households in Electoral Area E, North Okanagan had more than $53,900 in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900.
How do people in Electoral Area E, North Okanagan get to work?
89% of commuters drive, 2.8% take public transit; 13% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Electoral Area E, North Okanagan?
The average commute is 40.2 minutes; 27% of trips take under 15 minutes and 25% 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).