Photo: GoToVan from Vancouver, Canada · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Osoyoos are lower than in 76% of Canadian towns
Jobs were held by 74% of people aged 15 to 64 in Osoyoos in 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. Most commutes from Osoyoos take well under an hour: the average is 17.4 minutes, and 4.8% take 60 minutes or longer. 12% of the labour force in Osoyoos was out of work at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
The short version on work in Osoyoos
Lower incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $65,700 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
A local job centre
With 1,845 jobs based in Osoyoos and 1,345 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 17.4 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 4.8% 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.
Osoyoos grades B− for jobs and income
Better than 48% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #141 of 254 in British Columbia.
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.
Half the households in Osoyoos had more than $65,700 in 2020
5 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Okanagan-Similkameen census division have a higher median. Osoyoos’ median is 24% below the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900). Pandemic support paid in 2020, CERB first among it, is 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).
Every working day, Osoyoos’ workforce grows by 32%
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 2 to 1 in Osoyoos. 71% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
The length of the trip to work in Osoyoos
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 14.6 minutes. In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 64% 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.
885 people come into Osoyoos to work, most from Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen and Oliver
48% of the people who work in Osoyoos live outside it, 390 of them in Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen, 2 km away. The main destination the other way is Oliver, with 185.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Work and the working-age population of Osoyoos
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Okanagan-Similkameen census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting retirees, 39% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 56% in October 2026. Working or looking, 44% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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.
17% of commuters from Osoyoos go without a car
Transit takes 0.6% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The middle of British Columbia’s towns has 4.6% walking; here, 15% do. The car takes 82% of commuters here, under the 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the Okanagan-Similkameen census division, 27% more people receive EI than in 2019
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 15%. In February 2021 it reached 5,270, the most in the series and 2.6 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.5 are on EI.
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 Okanagan-Similkameen census division, Osoyoos included.
Osoyoos on foot: a A grade
Better than 88% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #101 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Osoyoos ranks: 358th of 699 Canadian towns of 4,000 to 7,700
| # | 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 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Smithers British Columbia | 5,627 | 83% | 6% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 18 | Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako British Columbia | 5,829 | 82% | 7.4% | $98K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 22 | Invermere British Columbia | 4,305 | 82% | 5.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 356 | Central Frederick Ontario | 5,895 | 76% | 12% | $71K | B− |
| 357 | Aldergrove Alberta | 5,311 | 70% | 15% | $95K | B− |
| 358 | Osoyoos British Columbia | 5,724 | 74% | 12% | $66K | B− |
| 359 | Grand Forks British Columbia | 4,308 | 73% | 6.6% | $62K | B− |
| 360 | Delta East Ontario | 6,186 | 73% | 11% | $97K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 699 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Osoyoos, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
The places around Osoyoos, side by side
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osoyoos | 74% | 12% | $66K | 17.4 min | B− | A |
| Electoral Area A, Okanagan-Similkameen 1.7 km | 76% | 8.4% | $81K | 16.4 min | A− | B |
| Osoyoos 1 16.3 km | 42% | 11% | $74K | 20.1 min | C | C+ |
| Oliver 18.9 km | 78% | 8.4% | $69K | 16.8 min | B+ | 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 Osoyoos, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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.
- 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 census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed 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.
- 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 Osoyoos
What is the average household income in Osoyoos?
Osoyoos’s middle household had $65,700 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Osoyoos get to work?
Driving takes 82% of commuters to work, 0.6% take public transit, 15% walk and 1.2% cycle, and on census day 12% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Osoyoos?
About 17.4 minutes on average, with 64% under a quarter-hour and 4.8% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Osoyoos work?
71% work in Osoyoos itself; of those who leave, the most go to Oliver (185), then Electoral Area C, Okanagan-Similkameen (45).
How many jobs are there in Osoyoos?
Some 1,845 people worked in Osoyoos at the 2021 census: 1.4 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 214 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Osoyoos?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 12% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Thompson-Okanagan economic region at 6.6% in October 2026.
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).