ExecutivePulse
Official Canadian Data

Kootenay, British Columbia

Economic region · Population 176,982
17 Sources Updated September 02, 2026
176,982
Population
$85,000
Median Income (CAD) · BC provincial
$84,000 national
5.5%
Unemployment
$429.1B
Provincial GDP (CAD)
84,100
Total Employment
43%
Bachelor's+ · BC provincial
39% national

Demographics & Population

Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population

Household Income

Source: Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population
Median Household Income
$85,000
Poverty Rate (LIM-AT)
12.1%
Low Income Measure, after tax · British Columbia 2024 · Canada: 12.5%
Median Income Comparison (CAD)
British Columbia$85,000
National$84,000

Community Snapshot

Source: Statistics Canada · 2021 Census of Population
176,982
Population (2025 estimate)
2,211,694
Total Dwellings (2021 Census, BC provincial)
Total Employment
84,100
Unemployment Rate StatCan LFS 2024 annual
5.5% +0.1 pts YoY
Avg Annual Wage British Columbia (provincial), SEPH 2025
$67,877 CAD
Industry Sectors
10
Age Distribution
0-14: 13.1% (23,236 residents) 15-54: 47.6% (84,170 residents) 55-64 (near retirement): 13.4% (23,731 residents) 65+: 25.9% (45,845 residents) 46.3 Avg Age
0-14: 23,236
15-54: 84,170
55-64: 23,731
65+: 45,845
Visible Minority Composition
South Asian 1.2%
Filipino 0.8%
Chinese 0.6%
Black 0.5%
Japanese 0.4%
Latin American 0.4%
Not a visible minority(complement) 95.3%
"Visible minority" is a Statistics Canada classification defined by the Employment Equity Act and refers to "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." "Not a visible minority" is the complement to the total visible minority population. Top 6 groups shown; smaller groups are included in totals but not charted.
Indigenous Identity
7.4% identify as Indigenous
Métis 4.1%
First Nations 3%
Indigenous responses, n.i.e. 0.1%
Multiple Indigenous responses 0.1%
Inuit 0.1%
Indigenous identity per Statistics Canada Census 2021 (Table 98-10-0293): First Nations (North American Indian), Métis, and Inuk (Inuit), plus multiple and other Indigenous responses. Counts use census random rounding, so categories may not sum exactly to the total.
British Columbia's median household income sits 1% above the Canadian national median across 176,982 residents with a senior-skewed age structure (65+: 25.9%, 0-14: 13.1%). British Columbia has 2,211,694 total dwellings and has experienced a population change of 7.6% since the previous census.
Source: Statistics Canada 2021 Census of Population via CensusMapper.ca
Key Takeaways
  • Income near the national median: Median household income tracks the Canadian median, indicating a broad-based consumer market.
  • Aging population: Seniors (65+) outnumber youth (0-14); succession and senior-services demand.
  • Educated workforce: Bachelor's+ attainment of 43% supports knowledge-economy positioning.

Educational Attainment

Source: Statistics Canada · Table 37-10-0130 · British Columbia province-wide (ages 25-64) · Reference year 2025
95%
High School+
Canada: 93%
+2.0 pts
43%
Bachelor's+
Canada: 39%
+4.0 pts
16%
Graduate+
Canada: 14%
+2.0 pts

Economy & Industry

Statistics Canada · Labour Force Survey · Provincial GDP

$429.1B
Provincial Gross Domestic Product (CAD)
Source: Statistics Canada · Provincial Economic Accounts
84,100
Total Employment
$67,877
Avg Wage (CAD) · provincial
$85,000
Median Income (BC prov.)
84,100
Total Employment
Source: StatCan Labour Force Survey
$67,877
Average Annual Wage (CAD) · British Columbia (provincial)
Source: Statistics Canada · Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (14-10-0223), 2025. Payroll employees only. Published for provinces and territories; StatCan publishes no economic-region earnings.

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Statistics Canada · Labour Force Survey
Top industries by employment in Kootenay.
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top Sectors
1Health care and social assistance
13,900 18.9%
2Wholesale and retail trade
13,300 18%
3Construction
9,900 13.4%
4Accommodation and food services
8,300 11.3%
5Manufacturing
5,800 7.9%
6Educational services
5,800 7.9%
7Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas
5,300 7.2%
8Professional, scientific and technical services
4,600 6.2%
9Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing
3,500 4.7%
10Information, culture and recreation
3,300 4.5%
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Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Health care and social assistance employs 13,900 workers (18.9% of the tracked sectors).
  • tracked sectors", which claimed a regional, sector-weighted figure. It is neither: it is the SEPH all-industries aggregate for the parent province. ##}}
  • Average wage: $67,877 CAD for payroll employees across British Columbia in 2025. StatCan publishes these earnings for provinces and territories only, so the provincial figure stands in for the region.
  • Diversified base: Top 5 sectors are Health care and social assistance, Wholesale and retail trade, Construction, Accommodation and food services, and Manufacturing.
Source: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey.

Kootenay's Top Sectors by Workforce Share

Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of the top sectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey · NAICS supersectors

Housing & Rental Market

Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0133 (Rents) - Table 34-10-0127 (Vacancy) - Reference year 2025

Note: figures are single-year vintages. StatCan and CMHC do not publish ACS-style rolling 5-year housing averages, the long-form Census of Population every 5 years (2016, 2021) plays the equivalent precision role.

CMHC Average Rents by Bedroom

20.8%
Annual Rent (2BR) as % of Median Household Income - Affordable
30% threshold = "cost-burdened" (CMHC / HUD convention). Computed from $1,472 average 2BR rent × 12 / $85,000 household income.
Bachelor
$828/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,052/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,472/mo
3+ Bedroom
$1,805/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,125/mo), rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Note: CMHC Rental Market Survey figures cover the metropolitan area (CMA/CA) within this economic region, not the full region. CMHC surveys urban centres only.

Vacancy & Housing Stock

Source: Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0127 · CMHC Rental Market Survey
4%
CMHC Vacancy Rate (apartment structures of 6+ units)
Near the 3% balanced-market benchmark.
Total Dwellings British Columbia (provincial)
2,211,694
Avg 2BR Rent
$1,472/mo
Median Home Value British Columbia (provincial)
$785,000
Vacancy Rate
4%
Key Takeaways
  • Affordable rental market: Annual 2BR rent eats 20.8% of median household income, well below the 30% cost-burdened threshold; supports talent attraction.
Source: CMHC RMS rent data and StatCan median household income.

Broadband & Connectivity

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)

Broadband Coverage

Source: ISED National Broadband Data · share of locations with 50/10 Mbps available · British Columbia province-wide
47% Coverage
Below-average broadband coverage across British Columbia, significant connectivity gaps. Statistics on 50/10 Mbps availability are published for locations without a breakdown below the province, so this is the province-wide share and not this region's own.

Industry Concentration

Location Quotient: industries where Kootenay over- or under-indexes vs. the Canadian national average

Economic-region employment basis: NAICS supersector Location Quotients from Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey (Table 14-10-0466), computed vs. the national employment share. The spider chart plots 9 broad supersectors for cross-region comparability; the ranked list shows every concentrated sector, including resource industries not among the chart's fixed axes.

Concentrated Industries
Source: Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0466 · NAICS supersector employment (Labour Force Survey), LQ computed vs. the national employment share.
Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas
4.67x
5,300
Accommodation and food services
1.78x
8,300
Construction
1.52x
9,900
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas concentrates at 4.67x the national norm, signature-sector territory.
  • Cluster depth: 3 sectors register LQ >= 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single sector.
Source: StatCan Labour Force Survey (Table 14-10-0466), NAICS supersector employment.

Workforce & Labour

Labour force composition from Statistics Canada population estimates and employment data

Source: StatCan Table 17-10-0137
107,901
Working Age (15-64)
Employment rate: 78% of working-age population (15-64) 78% Employment Rate

Labour Summary

Source: StatCan LFS + Population Estimates
Total Employment
84,100
Avg Annual Wage British Columbia (provincial), SEPH 2025
$67,877 CAD
Working Age Pop
107,901
Youth (0-14)
23,236
Seniors (65+)
45,845

Dependency & Aging

Source: StatCan population estimates
26%
Seniors (65+) Share
Senior population exceeds youth, aging workforce risk. Succession planning and talent attraction recommended.
Youth / Senior Ratio
51:100

Aging Workforce

Source: StatCan 17-10-0150 · Population estimates by economic region, age
22%
55-64 of working-age (15-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0416 NOC 2021 broad categories (2025 - province-level)
Management / Professional
58.1%
Sales & Service
22.1%
Trades / Transport
15.5%
Natural Resources
1.5%
Manufacturing
2.8%
Bars scaled 2x for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 2,946,200 employed workers across British Columbia. Economic Region-level occupation data is not published by StatCan; this provincial breakdown is the closest available proxy.

Commute

Source: StatCan 2021 Census Table 98-10-0458
Mean Commute 4.3 min below national avg
19.4 min

Work From Home

Source: StatCan 2021 Census Table 98-10-0456
Worked At Home vs 24.3% national
15.4%
Census 2021 long-form: percent of employed labour force aged 15+ whose place of work is "at home".
Key Takeaways
  • Working-age base: 107,901 residents aged 15-64 (61% of population) form the labour pool.
  • Employment rate: 78% of working-age residents are employed (84,100 workers).
  • Succession risk: Seniors (65+) outnumber youth (0-14); plan for retirements alongside attraction strategy.
  • Educated workforce: Bachelor's+ attainment of 43% supports knowledge-economy positioning.
Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 + Labour Force Survey.

AI Insights

Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 17 Canadian data sources.

Sample AI Insight

Kootenay's industrial base is anchored by Health care and social assistance with 13,900 workers, followed by Wholesale and retail trade and Construction. The region skews older: seniors outnumber youth, which has implications for succession planning and workforce transition strategy.

Illustrative example

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Data Sources

All data from official Canadian government APIs. Updated from official Canadian government data.

Statistics Canada Census 20212021
StatCan Labour Force Survey2025
StatCan LFS Unemployment Rate (14-10-0393)2024
StatCan SEPH Average Weekly Earnings (14-10-0223, provincial)2025
StatCan GDP Tables2024
CMHC Rental Market2025
CRTC Broadband Data2025
CensusMapper.ca2021
StatCan Education (37-10-0130)2025
StatCan Population (17-10-0150)2025
StatCan Top Occupations (14-10-0416)2025
StatCan Commute (98-10-0457/0458)2021
StatCan Place of Work (98-10-0455/0456)2021
StatCan Low Income (11-10-0135)2024
StatCan Visible Minority (98-10-0352)2021
StatCan Indigenous Identity (98-10-0293)2021
StatCan Population and Dwelling Counts (98-10-0001, provincial)2021

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for Kootenay, British Columbia, from Statistics Canada.

What is the population of Kootenay, British Columbia?

176,982 (Statistics Canada, Population Estimates, Table 17-10-0150).

What is the median household income in Kootenay, British Columbia?

$85,000 (Statistics Canada, Census 2021, British Columbia provincial).

What is the unemployment rate in Kootenay, British Columbia?

5.5% (Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0393).