Photo: James Blake aka Webgeer at en.wikipedia · CC BY 2.0Households in Powell River earn less than those in 74% of Canadian towns
Unemployment in Powell River stood at 7.7% on census day 2021, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns. Getting to work from Powell River takes 14.7 minutes on average, an hour or more for 3%. Of Powell River’s residents aged 15 to 64, 71% were employed when the 2021 census was taken, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Powell River: what the figures say
Lower incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $66,900 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
A local job centre
4,390 people work in Powell River and 3,800 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 14.7 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 3% 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, Powell River grades B−
Better than 49% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #140 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.
Before tax, the median household in Powell River had $66,900
That puts Powell River 23% below the median of British Columbia’s towns, $86,900. 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).
A working day adds 13% to the people at work in Powell River
Each resident commuting out of Powell River is matched by about 2 coming in. Of those who commute, 88% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Commuting times in Powell River
Timed exactly, the average is 13.3 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 72% 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.
1,035 people come into Powell River to work, most from Electoral Area B, qathet and Electoral Area C, qathet
- Logan Lake110
- Electoral Area C, qathet75
- Electoral Area B, qathet45
- Electoral Area D, qathet30
- Electoral Area A, qathet25
- Sliammon 125
- Victoria20
- Vancouver15
- Nanaimo Town 110
- Nanaimo River10
Of everyone working in Powell River, 24% come in from elsewhere; 380 make the 5 km trip from Electoral Area B, qathet. Going the other way, Logan Lake is the biggest single destination (110).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
In Powell River, 71% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
A smaller share in work than in 67% of Canadian towns.
Counting retirees, 47% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 56% in work in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 51%. Census day was 11 May 2021, in the pandemic’s third wave: unemployment ran high and many worked from home, so these figures describe that spring rather than today.
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.
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 11% of Powell River’s commuters
By car, truck or van: 87% of commuters, much as in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Only 12% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 2%, 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).
EI claims in the Powell River census division run 21% above their 2019 level
The highest month was February 2021: 950 people, 2.4 times the 2019 level. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.2 receive EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 11%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: the Powell 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).
The walkability of Powell River: A−
Better than 78% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #135 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
249th of 552: where Powell River ranks among Canadian towns of 10,500 to 20,200
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Oak Bay British Columbia | 18,626 | 80% | 7% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 247 | Yonge-Eglinton Ontario | 12,424 | 77% | 12% | $95K | B− |
| 248 | Bridlewood Alberta | 12,547 | 73% | 11% | $110K | B− |
| 249 | Powell River British Columbia | 14,947 | 71% | 7.7% | $67K | B− |
| 250 | Elder Mills Ontario | 16,790 | 72% | 12% | $146K | B− |
| 251 | Streetsville Ontario | 13,535 | 74% | 12% | $110K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 552 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Powell River, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
How the places next to Powell River compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powell River | 71% | 7.7% | $67K | 14.7 min | B− | A− |
| Electoral Area B, qathet 4.7 km | 72% | 5.4% | $65K | 16.4 min | B− | C− |
| Electoral Area C, qathet 13.1 km | 64% | 13% | $65K | 24.6 min | D | C+ |
| Electoral Area D, qathet 19.1 km | 60% | 15% | $55K | 20.9 min | D | 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 Powell River, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
Questions about work in Powell River
How long is the commute from Powell River?
On average 14.7 minutes; 72% take under 15 minutes and 3% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Powell River work?
88% work in Powell River itself; of those who leave, the most go to Logan Lake (110), then Electoral Area C, qathet (75).
How many jobs are there in Powell River?
About 4,390 people had their usual place of work in Powell River at the 2021 census, 1.2 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 613 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Powell River?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 7.7% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Vancouver Island and Coast economic region at 5.2% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Powell River?
Powell River’s middle household had $66,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Powell River get to work?
87% of commuters go by car, 2% take public transit, 6.8% walk and 2.1% cycle. On census day 12% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
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).