Photo: tuchodi from Fort St. John, BC, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Electoral Area B, Peace River has 0.5 jobs for every resident in work, so most commute out
The 2021 census found 72% of working-age people in Electoral Area B, Peace River employed; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%. In 2020, a household at the middle of Electoral Area B, Peace River had $93,400 before tax, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. For 23% of commuters in Electoral Area B, Peace River, the trip to work lasts an hour or more; the average is 37.5 minutes.
What stands out about work in Electoral Area B, Peace River
Less unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 7.2% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 5.1% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 37.5 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 23% take an hour or more. 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.
On jobs and income, Electoral Area B, Peace River grades C−
Better than 25% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #215 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is household income; 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.
In and out of work in Electoral Area B, Peace River
None of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Peace River census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 67% of residents that age. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 65% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. 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.
Time on the road to work from Electoral Area B, Peace River
Timed exactly, the average is 40.5 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Only 22% get to work within a quarter-hour, 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.
Each working day, more people leave Electoral Area B, Peace River for work than come in
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 4 to 1. Of those who commute, 33% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
67% of Electoral Area B, Peace River’s residents in work leave it to work; Fort St. John takes the most
Of those coming in, Fort St. John supplies the most: 80.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How Electoral Area B, Peace River’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 79% of Canadian towns.
Against the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900), Electoral Area B, Peace River’s median is 7% above. 5 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Peace River census division have a higher median. 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).
6.7% of commuters from Electoral Area B, Peace River go without a car
By car, truck or van: 90% of commuters, against 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Working at home: 31% here, 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 0.6%, 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).
In the Peace River census division, 11% more people receive EI than in 2019
That is about 4.4 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. The count topped out in April 2021 at 3,610 people, 2.4 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Not measured by town: EI beneficiaries (the Peace River 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).
Electoral Area B, Peace River on foot: a C+ grade
Better than 38% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #216 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Electoral Area B, Peace River is 528th of 682 Canadian towns of 4,100 to 7,800
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 526 | Spruce Cliff Alberta | 6,691 | 69% | 13% | $74K | C− |
| 527 | Southwest Middlesex Ontario | 6,468 | 74% | 9.8% | $80K | C− |
| 528 | Electoral Area B, Peace River British Columbia | 5,814 | 72% | 7.2% | $93K | C− |
| 529 | Deer Lake Newfoundland and Labrador | 5,319 | 58% | 17% | $63K | C− |
| 530 | Waterloo Quebec | 5,714 | 74% | 6.9% | $59K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 682 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Electoral Area B, Peace River, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Work in the places around Electoral Area B, Peace River
Distances here run 28–41 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Electoral Area B, Peace River.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area B, Peace River | 72% | 7.2% | $93K | 37.5 min | C− | C+ |
| Electoral Area C, Peace River 28 km | 76% | 7.6% | $124K | 22.4 min | A | D |
| Fort St. John 29.4 km | 76% | 8.9% | $102K | 17.1 min | A+ | A− |
| Taylor 40.7 km | 70% | 12% | $105K | 25.2 min | B | B+ |
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 B, Peace River, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- 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. 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.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own 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. 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. 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.
- 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 B, Peace River
How many jobs are there in Electoral Area B, Peace River?
About 435 people had their usual place of work in Electoral Area B, Peace River at the 2021 census, 0.5 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 328 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Electoral Area B, Peace River?
The census put unemployment at 7.2% in May 2021, where the middle of Canadian towns was 9.9%. More recently, in October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had the Northeast economic region at 5.1%.
What is the average household income in Electoral Area B, Peace River?
The census puts Electoral Area B, Peace River at $93,400 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Electoral Area B, Peace River get to work?
90% of commuters go by car, 0.6% take public transit and 6.1% walk. On census day 31% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Electoral Area B, Peace River?
On average 37.5 minutes; 22% take under 15 minutes and 23% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Electoral Area B, Peace River work?
Only 33% work in Electoral Area B, Peace River itself; the rest go first to Fort St. John (370) and Electoral Area C, Peace River (120).
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).