Photo: The original uploader was Damieng at English Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Squamish top those of 94% of Canadian towns
The 2021 census found 83% of working-age people in Squamish employed, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. Jobs located in Squamish: 5,340, for 7,510 residents with a usual workplace. Census day 2021 found 6.8% of Squamish’s labour force without a job, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
The work figures that set Squamish apart
More people in work than most towns
With 83% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, it has 72% of all adults employed. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 6.8% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 6.9%. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $111,900 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
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 Squamish: graded A
Better than 89% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #28 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.
How many in Squamish were working in 2021
A larger share in work than in 86% of Canadian towns.
Counting those looking for work too, 77% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 63% in October 2026. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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.
Before tax, the median household in Squamish had $111,900
Against the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900), Squamish’s median is 29% above. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes 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).
More workers leave Squamish each day than arrive
For every person who comes in to work, about 5 residents travel out. The job is inside the municipality for 64% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
36% of Squamish’s residents in work leave it to work; Whistler takes the most
Coming the other way, Vancouver sends the most (80).
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: 12% of Squamish’s commuters
The middle of British Columbia’s towns has 0.9% cycling; here, 4.4% do. The car takes 85% of commuters here, under the 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. 27% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 1.9% 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).
At 27.6 minutes, commutes from Squamish are close to the middle of Canadian towns
13% spend an hour or longer getting to work; the middle of British Columbia’s towns has 6.3%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 25 minutes. In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. A quarter-hour or less for 48% 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.
34% more people are on EI in the Squamish-Lillooet census division than in 2019
The count topped out in April 2021 at 4,290 people, 4.2 times the 2019 average. Roughly 3.7 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI. Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 fell by 6%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the Squamish-Lillooet 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).
How walkable Squamish is: A
Better than 86% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #111 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Squamish next to Canadian towns of 20,000 to 38,600: 20th of 293 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Whitehorse Yukon | 34,129 | 82% | 5.6% | $112K | A+ |
| 3 | Arcola East Saskatchewan | 33,823 | 79% | 7.7% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Fort St. John British Columbia | 24,383 | 76% | 8.9% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 18 | Val-d'Or Quebec | 33,353 | 81% | 4.5% | $76K | A |
| 19 | Middlesex Centre Ontario | 21,689 | 79% | 7.7% | $125K | A |
| 20 | Squamish British Columbia | 28,578 | 83% | 6.8% | $112K | A |
| 21 | Colwood British Columbia | 22,794 | 80% | 5.1% | $102K | A |
| 22 | Westmount Quebec | 20,377 | 77% | 7.7% | $118K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 27 | Fairview British Columbia | 33,969 | 86% | 6.9% | $83K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 33 | Cranbrook British Columbia | 22,703 | 76% | 7.4% | $81K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 293 | Parc-Extension Quebec | 29,066 | 61% | 16% | $48K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Squamish, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
How Squamish compares with the places nearby
Squamish has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 4–43 km out.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squamish | 83% | 6.8% | $112K | 27.6 min | A | A |
| Electoral Area D, Squamish-Lillooet 4.1 km | 76% | 6.2% | $124K | 37.2 min | B− | B |
| Lions Bay 30.8 km | 93% | 6.1% | $139K | 31.4 min | A | B+ |
| Electoral Area F, Sunshine Coast 41.2 km | 76% | 6.9% | $80K | 24.8 min | B− | B+ |
| Bowen Island 43.4 km | 88% | 6.1% | $112K | 30.6 min | A | B |
| West Vancouver 43.5 km | 70% | 9.4% | $105K | 26.3 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 Squamish, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- 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. Built from the census table that pairs each worker’s home municipality with their workplace municipality. A job here means someone who usually works in the municipality, local or not.
- 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.
- 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 Squamish
What is the unemployment rate in Squamish?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 6.8% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Lower Mainland-Southwest economic region at 6.9% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Squamish?
Squamish’s middle household had $111,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Squamish get to work?
By car: 85% of commuters, 1.9% take public transit, 5.5% walk and 4.4% cycle; on census day 27% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Squamish?
27.6 minutes is the average trip, with 48% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 13% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Squamish work?
64% work in Squamish itself; of those who leave, the most go to Whistler (630), then Vancouver (365).
How many jobs are there in Squamish?
The 2021 census counted about 5,340 people working in Squamish: 0.7 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 1,222 businesses with employees in June 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).