Photo: Ruth Hartnup from Vancouver, Canada · CC BY 2.0Whistler has higher household incomes than 85% of Canadian towns
Jobs were held by 71% of people aged 15 to 64 in Whistler in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. From Whistler, the drive or ride to work averages 17.5 minutes, with 3.3% going an hour or longer. In May 2021, unemployment in Whistler reached 18%, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Whistler: what the figures say
More unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 18% 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
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $99,100 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
A local job centre
With 5,675 jobs based in Whistler and 4,435 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 17.5 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 3.3% last an hour or longer. 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Whistler: A−
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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 Whistler were working in 2021
A smaller share in work than in 68% of Canadian towns.
Working or looking, 81% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. For the wider area, the Labour Force Survey had 63% in work in October 2026. 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.
$99,100 a year: the median household in Whistler
Against the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900), Whistler’s median is 14% above. 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 a working day Whistler gains 20% in workers
4,435 residents of Whistler had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 5,675 people had theirs in Whistler, wherever they lived.
For every resident who leaves Whistler for work, about 4 people come in. Of those who commute, 90% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
The length of the trip to work in Whistler
Timed exactly, the average is 16.1 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 57%, more 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
1,701 people come into Whistler to work, most from Squamish and Pemberton
30% of the people who work in Whistler live outside it, 630 of them in Squamish, 44 km away. Outbound, Pemberton takes the most: 90 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Whistler work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
Leaving the car at home: 29% of commuters in Whistler
The car takes 68% of commuters here, under the 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. 23% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 11% of commuters, above the 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. More people cycle to work here than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 7.5% against 0.9%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
34% more people are on EI in the Squamish-Lillooet census division than in 2019
Over the year to August 2026, the count fell by 6%. The highest month was April 2021: 4,290 people, 4.2 times the 2019 level. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 3.7 are on EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Not measured by town: EI beneficiaries (the Squamish-Lillooet 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 Whistler: A
Better than 88% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #102 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 555 Canadian towns of 10,600 to 20,400, Whistler comes 67th on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | ||||||
| 65 | Carignan Quebec | 12,618 | 84% | 5.2% | $122K | A |
| 66 | Brooks Alberta | 17,537 | 72% | 8.8% | $91K | A− |
| 67 | Whistler British Columbia | 15,090 | 71% | 18% | $99K | A− |
| 68 | Les Rapides Quebec | 15,090 | 75% | 7.6% | $134K | A− |
| 69 | Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine Quebec | 12,427 | 77% | 12% | $75K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 555 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Whistler, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Around Whistler: jobs, pay and the commute
No closer places have figures: these lie 26–45 km from Whistler.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whistler | 71% | 18% | $99K | 17.5 min | A− | A |
| Pemberton 26.4 km | 84% | 6.4% | $100K | 25.2 min | A | A+ |
| Electoral Area C, Squamish-Lillooet 27.2 km | 80% | 7.9% | $91K | 31.1 min | B | B |
| Mount Currie 32.8 km | 45% | 7.1% | $57K | 26.1 min | D− | A− |
| Squamish 43.8 km | 83% | 6.8% | $112K | 27.6 min | A | A |
| Electoral Area D, Squamish-Lillooet 45 km | 76% | 6.2% | $124K | 37.2 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 Whistler, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- 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. It counts only people who wanted work and had none in May 2021, as a share of those working or searching; students and retirees who weren’t looking stay out of both sides.
- 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. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed average.
- Where people commute. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Whistler
How many jobs are there in Whistler?
About 5,675 people had their usual place of work in Whistler at the 2021 census, 1.3 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 1,021 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Whistler?
At the 2021 census 18% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Lower Mainland-Southwest economic region, gives 6.9% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Whistler?
The median household in Whistler had $99,100 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Whistler get to work?
68% of commuters go by car, 11% take public transit, 11% walk and 7.5% cycle. On census day 23% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Whistler?
On average 17.5 minutes; 57% take under 15 minutes and 3.3% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Whistler work?
90% work in Whistler itself; of those who leave, the most go to Pemberton (90), then Vancouver (85).
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).