Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainSpallumcheen’s household incomes are higher than in 66% of Canadian towns
The average trip to work from Spallumcheen is 24.2 minutes; 6.5% of commuters spend an hour or more getting there. At the 2021 census, 78% of Spallumcheen’s 15-to-64s were in work, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 6.1% of Spallumcheen’s labour force, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
What Spallumcheen’s work numbers say
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 6.1% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 6.6% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
More jobs than the typical town
With 1,585 jobs based in Spallumcheen and 1,445 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. 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.
Spallumcheen grades B+ for jobs and income
Better than 71% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #80 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.
Work and the working-age population of Spallumcheen
Of the 8 other places of 2,500 people or more in the North Okanagan census division, 7 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 57% were working. In October 2026, 56% of the wider area’s adults had a job, on the Labour Force Survey’s count. Add those looking for a job to those with one, and 61% of residents 15 and over were in the labour force. 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.
Each working day, Spallumcheen’s workforce swells by 7%
Of those who commute, 14% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
1,381 people come into Spallumcheen to work, most from Vernon and Armstrong
87% of the people who work in Spallumcheen live outside it, 600 of them in Vernon, 17 km away. The main destination the other way is Armstrong, with 475.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Household income in Spallumcheen: $85,200 at the median
Spallumcheen’s median is 2% below the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900). Of the 8 other places of 2,500 or more in the North Okanagan census division, 2 have a higher median. 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).
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 8.7% of Spallumcheen’s commuters
Driving takes 88% of commuters to work; the middle of British Columbia’s towns has 87%. Working at home: 20%, close to the middle of Canadian towns. Few ride transit: 1.2%, 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).
The length of the trip to work in Spallumcheen
Timed exactly, the average is 21.9 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 36%, fewer than the 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.
EI claims in the North Okanagan census division run 25% above their 2019 level
The count topped out in February 2021 at 4,850 people, 2.5 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4.3 are on EI. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 8%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the North Okanagan census division, not by town. 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 Spallumcheen: B−
Better than 46% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #205 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
201st of 697: where Spallumcheen ranks among Canadian towns of 4,100 to 7,900
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 199 | Saint-Joseph-du-Lac Quebec | 7,391 | 82% | 5.3% | $94K | B+ |
| 200 | Minto Manitoba | 5,830 | 76% | 10% | $80K | B+ |
| 201 | Spallumcheen British Columbia | 5,843 | 78% | 6.1% | $85K | B+ |
| 202 | Orford Quebec | 5,698 | 80% | 3.9% | $99K | B+ |
| 203 | Saint-Pie Quebec | 6,085 | 84% | 5.2% | $80K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 697 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Spallumcheen, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Spallumcheen and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spallumcheen | 78% | 6.1% | $85K | 24.2 min | B+ | B− |
| Armstrong 3.5 km | 80% | 6.8% | $78K | 21.8 min | A− | B+ |
| Electoral Area B, North Okanagan 12 km | 75% | 6.4% | $83K | 19.6 min | A− | C+ |
| Electoral Area C, North Okanagan 13.7 km | 76% | 8% | $105K | 22.9 min | A | B− |
| Electoral Area D, Columbia-Shuswap 16 km | 74% | 7.2% | $70K | 30.3 min | C− | C+ |
| Enderby 16.8 km | 69% | 7.1% | $59K | 23.5 min | D | A |
| Vernon 17.5 km | 74% | 8.2% | $74K | 19.8 min | B | 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 Spallumcheen, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. The share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- 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. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured 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. 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 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Spallumcheen
How do people in Spallumcheen get to work?
88% of commuters drive, 1.2% take public transit, 6.5% walk and 1% cycle; 20% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
How long is the commute from Spallumcheen?
The average commute is 24.2 minutes; 36% of trips take under 15 minutes and 6.5% an hour or more.
Where do people in Spallumcheen work?
14% work in Spallumcheen itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Armstrong (475), then Vernon (465).
How many jobs are there in Spallumcheen?
The 2021 census found about 1,585 people with their usual workplace in Spallumcheen, or 1.1 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. Statistics Canada counted 273 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Spallumcheen?
The 2021 census found 6.1% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Thompson-Okanagan economic region, is 6.6% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Spallumcheen?
At $85,200 before tax in 2020, the median household in Spallumcheen compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
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).