Photo: Larry LaRose · CC BY-SA 3.0Colebrook ranks among the highest-earning Canadian towns by household income
In May 2021, unemployment in Colebrook reached 8.8%; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. On average, people in Colebrook spend 30.4 minutes getting to work, next to 26 for the middle of Canadian towns. 80% of people aged 15 to 64 in Colebrook had a job at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%.
Work in Colebrook: the figures worth knowing
More people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 80% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 56%. In work ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $148,300 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 30.4 minutes; the middle of Canadian towns is 26. Getting to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Colebrook grades A− for jobs and income
Better than 78% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #64 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 Colebrook
Of the 95 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Greater Vancouver census division, 83 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 61% of residents that age. Counting retirees, 56% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 63% in October 2026. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at 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.
Before tax, the median household in Colebrook had $148,300
One of the 95 other places of 2,500+ in the Greater Vancouver census division has a higher median. That puts Colebrook 71% above the median of British Columbia’s towns, $86,900. 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).
Before tax, 2020: higher than in almost any Canadian town.
Without a car, 3.8% of Colebrook’s commuters get to work
Working at home: 22%, close to the middle of Canadian towns. The car is the way to work for 93% of commuters.
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
January 2021 was the busiest month, with 117,570 people on EI, 3.3 times 2019’s average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.6 receive EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 4%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Not measured by town: EI beneficiaries (the Greater Vancouver 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).
Colebrook grades C+ for walkability
Better than 43% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #209 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Colebrook next to Canadian towns of 2,500 to 4,900: 198th of 795 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Mount Royal Alberta | 2,758 | 83% | 12% | $188K | A+ |
| 2 | Central River Heights Manitoba | 2,736 | 84% | 5.4% | $137K | A+ |
| 3 | Crescentwood Manitoba | 3,060 | 87% | 5% | $123K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 30 | Invermere British Columbia | 4,305 | 82% | 5.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 53 | Golden British Columbia | 4,433 | 78% | 7% | $87K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 58 | Rossland British Columbia | 4,355 | 77% | 11% | $96K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 196 | Gold Bar Alberta | 2,685 | 73% | 12% | $104K | A− |
| 197 | Jackson Heights Alberta | 4,195 | 74% | 11% | $111K | A− |
| 198 | Colebrook British Columbia | 3,617 | 80% | 8.8% | $148K | A− |
| 199 | Waterville Quebec | 2,643 | 84% | 4.9% | $74K | A− |
| 200 | Avonmore Alberta | 2,971 | 74% | 12% | $102K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 795 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,724 | 43% | 30% | $51K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Colebrook, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
The work picture around Colebrook
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colebrook | 80% | 8.8% | $148K | 30.4 min | A− | C+ |
| Panorama Ridge 2.1 km | 72% | 8.8% | $115K | 32.4 min | C+ | A |
| Strawberry Hill 3.4 km | 72% | 9.4% | $92K | 34.5 min | C | A+ |
| Sullivan 4.8 km | 75% | 7.8% | $116K | 32.8 min | B− | A |
| Newton 5 km | 72% | 8.6% | $94K | 34.5 min | C | A+ |
| Crescent Heights 6.5 km | 69% | 8% | $131K | 31.6 min | C+ | B |
| Anderson Walk 6.9 km | 75% | 7.8% | $99K | 29.8 min | B− | 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 Colebrook, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- In work. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- 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. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- 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.
- 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.
- Neighbourhood figures. We add up Colebrook’s dissemination areas for its census figures. Flows between places and timed averages exist only for the whole municipality: see Surrey’s page.
Questions about work in Colebrook
What is the unemployment rate in Colebrook?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Vancouver metro area at 6.7%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 8.8%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Colebrook?
The median household in Colebrook had $148,300 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Colebrook get to work?
By car: 93% of commuters, 3.8% take public transit; on census day 22% of those in work worked from home.
How many jobs are there in Colebrook?
Statistics Canada counts jobs for whole municipalities only; Surrey has the total and the commuting flows.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · 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).