With 0.4 jobs for each resident in work, most of Skowkale commutes out
When the 2021 census was taken, 7.1% of people in Skowkale who wanted a job had none, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. The median household in Skowkale had $68,800 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. In Skowkale, 72% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%.
The work figures that set Skowkale apart
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 7.1% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 5.4%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
At $68,800 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
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, Skowkale grades C
Better than 28% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
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.
In and out of work in Skowkale
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Fraser Valley census division, 2 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 62% in work in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 39%. Counting retirees, 37% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. 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.
What households in Skowkale earn
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 70% of Canadian towns.
Skowkale’s median is 21% below the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900). 5 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Fraser Valley census division have a higher median. In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
More workers leave Skowkale each day than arrive
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 3 to 1. 7.3% 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.
93% of Skowkale’s residents in work leave it to work; Chilliwack takes the most
- Chilliwack125
- Abbotsford25
- Kent10
- Squiaala10
- Langley10
- Delta10
Of those coming in, Chilliwack supplies the most: 60.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 0% of Skowkale’s commuters
Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 94% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Only 17% worked at home on census day, against 21% 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).
The trip to work from Skowkale runs about as long as the middle of Canadian towns: 24.2 minutes
The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 49% of commuters, against 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. An hour or more: 11% of commuters, above the 6.3% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 22 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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 Fraser Valley census division run 46% above their 2019 level
That works out to around 4.6 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 5%. The highest month was July 2021: 14,860 people, 2.4 times the 2019 level.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of the Fraser Valley 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 Skowkale: C−
Better than 17% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How the places next to Skowkale compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skowkale | 72% | 7.1% | $69K | 24.2 min | C | C− |
| Chilliwack 1.3 km | 76% | 6.6% | $85K | 26.3 min | B− | B+ |
| Tzeachten 13 2.7 km | 75% | 6.5% | $63K | 26.9 min | C− | A+ |
| Electoral Area E, Fraser Valley 10 km | 68% | 6.9% | $73K | 31.8 min | D | D |
| Cultus Lake 12.8 km | 73% | 11% | $79K | 34.3 min | C− | B− |
| Electoral Area C, Fraser Valley 13.7 km | 67% | 5.4% | $71K | 42.9 min | D− | D− |
| Rosedale 14.3 km | 74% | 5.9% | $109K | 27.8 min | B | C |
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 Skowkale, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- 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.
- Trip times. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s 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. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
- A First Nations reserve. Skowkale’s figures are its own, though Statistics Canada rounds or suppresses some for small communities. A reserve has no overall grade and sits in no ranked list.
Questions about work in Skowkale
How long is the commute from Skowkale?
The average commute is 24.2 minutes; 49% of trips take under 15 minutes and 11% an hour or more.
Where do people in Skowkale work?
7.3% work in Skowkale itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Chilliwack (125), then Abbotsford (25).
How many jobs are there in Skowkale?
The 2021 census found about 90 people with their usual workplace in Skowkale, or 0.4 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 11 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Skowkale?
At the 2021 census 7.1% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Chilliwack metro area, gives 5.4% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Skowkale?
The median household in Skowkale had $68,800 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Skowkale get to work?
94% of commuters drive; 17% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
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).