Photo: Ursus sapien · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Port Coquitlam have higher incomes than those in 87% of Canadian towns
Commutes from Port Coquitlam average 31.5 minutes, and 10% take an hour or more. At the 2021 census, 76% of Port Coquitlam’s 15-to-64s were in work, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In May 2021, unemployment in Port Coquitlam reached 8.1%, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Port Coquitlam and work: the main findings
Higher incomes than most towns
The median household had $102,000 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 31.5 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 10% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Port Coquitlam: B−
Better than 47% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #144 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.
The median household in Port Coquitlam had $102,000 in 2020
Of the 95 other places of 2,500 or more in the Greater Vancouver census division, 38 have a higher median. Set beside British Columbia’s towns, where the median is $86,900, Port Coquitlam sits 17% above. Incomes here are 2020’s and include the pandemic payments, CERB among them, that propped up the lower end.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Time on the road to work from Port Coquitlam
Timed exactly, the average is 28.2 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Only 25% 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.
In and out of Port Coquitlam: the working day evens out
The job is inside the municipality for 29% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
71% of Port Coquitlam’s residents in work leave it to work; Coquitlam takes the most
- Coquitlam3,765
- Maple Ridge2,430
- Surrey1,935
- Pitt Meadows730
- Vancouver725
- Burnaby725
- Port Moody650
- Langley470
- Mission385
- New Westminster300
- Coquitlam3,330
- Vancouver2,545
- Burnaby2,380
- Surrey1,100
- Port Moody760
- Maple Ridge700
- New Westminster650
- Richmond510
- Pitt Meadows455
- Delta400
In the other direction the biggest source is Coquitlam, with 3,765.
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 Port Coquitlam
Of the 95 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Greater Vancouver census division, 62 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 63% were working. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 63% in October 2026. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 68%. The census was taken on 11 May 2021, mid-pandemic, when lockdowns had pushed unemployment up and sent many to work from 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.
Without a car, 12% of Port Coquitlam’s commuters get to work
Driving to work is about as common as in the middle of British Columbia’s towns, at 86%. 21% worked at home on census day, about the same as in the middle of Canadian towns. More people take transit to work here than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 8% against 2.3%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Greater Vancouver census division run 63% above their 2019 level
The highest month was January 2021: 117,570 people, 3.3 times the 2019 level. That works out to around 3.6 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 4%.
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). Nobody publishes EI beneficiaries for Port Coquitlam alone, so this card uses the figure for the Greater Vancouver census division.
Port Coquitlam grades A for walkability
Better than 94% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #85 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 47,400 to 91,400, Port Coquitlam ranks 31st of 57 for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Langford British Columbia | 59,664 | 81% | 6.2% | $93K | A |
| 2 | St. Albert Alberta | 74,621 | 77% | 9.1% | $118K | A |
| 3 | Grande Prairie Alberta | 71,160 | 73% | 12% | $103K | A |
| 4 | Prince George British Columbia | 85,944 | 73% | 9.4% | $88K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 66,624 | 80% | 7.5% | $86K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 29 | Wood Buffalo Alberta | 81,611 | 74% | 8.7% | $183K | B− |
| 30 | Sault Ste. Marie Ontario | 81,182 | 66% | 13% | $73K | B− |
| 31 | Port Coquitlam British Columbia | 67,724 | 76% | 8.1% | $102K | B− |
| 32 | Quinte West Ontario | 50,385 | 69% | 11% | $81K | C+ |
| 33 | New Tecumseth Ontario | 50,739 | 76% | 9.6% | $105K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 57 | Chomedey Quebec | 81,813 | 69% | 12% | $66K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Port Coquitlam, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Work in the places around Port Coquitlam
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Coquitlam | 76% | 8.1% | $102K | 31.5 min | B− | A |
| Coquitlam 4.4 km | 73% | 9% | $92K | 32.9 min | C | A+ |
| Port Moody 6.9 km | 78% | 7.1% | $116K | 33 min | B | A |
| Fraser Heights 7.1 km | 70% | 8.4% | $122K | 30.8 min | C+ | A− |
| Pitt Meadows 7.1 km | 81% | 6.4% | $104K | 30.8 min | B+ | A |
| Birdland 8 km | 71% | 9.6% | $99K | 33.7 min | C | A+ |
| Port Mann 8.3 km | 68% | 11% | $102K | 35.1 min | C− | 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 Port Coquitlam, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- In work. People in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64 (2021 Census). The census doesn’t cross work with age below the municipality, so this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood has; retirees don’t weigh on it.
- Unemployment. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
- Household income. Half of households had more than this before tax in 2020, half less, counting every source of income. For a neighbourhood we estimate the median from the income brackets of its dissemination areas.
- 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 Port Coquitlam
What is the average household income in Port Coquitlam?
The census puts Port Coquitlam at $102,000 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Port Coquitlam get to work?
86% of commuters go by car, 8% take public transit, 3.2% walk and 1% cycle. On census day 21% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Port Coquitlam?
On average 31.5 minutes; 25% take under 15 minutes and 10% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Port Coquitlam work?
Only 29% work in Port Coquitlam itself; the rest go first to Coquitlam (3,330) and Vancouver (2,545).
How many jobs are there in Port Coquitlam?
About 19,080 people had their usual place of work in Port Coquitlam at the 2021 census, 1 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 2,394 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Port Coquitlam?
The 2021 census found 8.1% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Vancouver metro area, is 6.7% (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).