Photo: SoftwareSimian · CC BY-SA 3.0Working-age people in Pemberton have jobs more often than in 90% of Canadian towns
Workers in Pemberton spend 25.2 minutes on the way to work on average, and 5.6% need an hour or more. Half the households in Pemberton had more than $100,300 in 2020, before tax, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. When the 2021 census was taken, 6.4% of people in Pemberton who wanted a job had none, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
The work figures that set Pemberton apart
More people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 84% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 79%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 6.4% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 6.9% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $100,300 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
More jobs than the typical town
1,290 people work in Pemberton and 1,240 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs & income in Pemberton: graded A
Better than 94% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #15 of 254 in British Columbia.
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.
In Pemberton, 84% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Working or looking, 85% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 63% in October 2026. 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.
How Pemberton’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 86% of Canadian towns.
Set beside British Columbia’s towns, where the median is $86,900, Pemberton sits 15% above. Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for 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).
As many come into Pemberton to work as leave
The job is inside the municipality for 52% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
648 people come into Pemberton to work, most from Electoral Area C, Squamish-Lillooet and Whistler
- Electoral Area C, Squamish-Lillooet380
- Whistler90
- Mount Currie55
- Lillooet30
- Squamish25
- Burnaby10
- Electoral Area D, Squamish-Lillooet10
- Nesuch 310
- Nequatque10
- Stryen 910
Of everyone working in Pemberton, 50% come in from elsewhere; 380 make the 1 km trip from Electoral Area C, Squamish-Lillooet. Outbound, Whistler takes the most: 500 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Without a car, 17% of Pemberton’s commuters get to work
More people cycle to work here than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 5.3% against 0.9%. 81% drive to work, fewer than the 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Home was the workplace for 20%, under the 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 1.5% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
Time on the road to work from Pemberton
The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 42% of commuters, against 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 23.1 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 Squamish-Lillooet census division run 34% above their 2019 level
April 2021 was the busiest month, with 4,290 people on EI, 4.2 times 2019’s average. That is about 3.7 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 6%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Squamish-Lillooet 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).
Everyday places on foot in Pemberton: A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #42 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Pemberton is 63rd of 795 Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,900
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 30 | Invermere British Columbia | 4,305 | 82% | 5.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 53 | Golden British Columbia | 4,433 | 78% | 7% | $87K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 58 | Rossland British Columbia | 4,355 | 77% | 11% | $96K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 61 | Hillcrest Management Area Saskatchewan | 3,004 | 74% | 8.3% | $148K | A |
| 62 | Highlands Alberta | 2,677 | 83% | 9.5% | $105K | A |
| 63 | Pemberton British Columbia | 3,620 | 84% | 6.4% | $100K | A |
| 64 | Elbow Park Alberta | 4,120 | 71% | 8.5% | $200K | A |
| 65 | High Prairie Alberta | 2,607 | 76% | 12% | $88K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 795 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Pemberton, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Work next door to Pemberton
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pemberton | 84% | 6.4% | $100K | 25.2 min | A | A+ |
| Electoral Area C, Squamish-Lillooet 1.2 km | 80% | 7.9% | $91K | 31.1 min | B | B |
| Mount Currie 9.8 km | 45% | 7.1% | $57K | 26.1 min | D− | 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 Pemberton, 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. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- 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. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- Where people commute. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not 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. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
Questions about work in Pemberton
What is the average household income in Pemberton?
The median household in Pemberton had $100,300 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Pemberton get to work?
By car: 81% of commuters, 1.5% take public transit, 9.9% walk and 5.3% cycle; on census day 20% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Pemberton?
25.2 minutes is the average trip, with 42% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 5.6% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Pemberton work?
52% work in Pemberton itself; of those who leave, the most go to Whistler (500), then Mount Currie (30).
How many jobs are there in Pemberton?
The 2021 census counted about 1,290 people working in Pemberton: 1 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 264 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Pemberton?
The 2021 census found 6.4% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Lower Mainland-Southwest economic region, is 6.9% (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).