REGIONAL
POPULATION (2024)
176,617
UNEMPLOYMENT
RATE (MAY 2025)
6.7%
TOP EMPLOYERS BY
INDUSTRY (2023)
Health care &
social assistance
16.3%
Retail trade
11.8%
Educational services
8.9%
FORECAST
EMPLOYMENT
GROWTH, 2024-34
4,300
BUILDING PERMIT
VALUES (2024)
$501.6
MILLION
HOUSING STARTS
(2024)
104
VALUE OF MAJOR
PROJECTS PLANNED
OR UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
(Q4 2024)
$5
BILLION
BUSINESS
INCORPORATIONS
(2024)
860
SOURCES: B.C. L ABOUR
MARKET OUTLOOK , STATISTICS
CANADA AND B.C. STATS.
K O O T E N AY
INVEST in BC 2 0 2 5 43 Official Publication of the BC Economic Development Association in special partnership with BCBusiness.
BOT
TOM
LEFT
TO
RIGHT:
EDISON
MOTORS;
LEFT:
KOOTENAY
ROCKIES
TOURISM/MITCH
WINTON
beverage giant Lavazzo for $215 million.
That same year, Nelson's Pacific Insight
Electronics, a designer of LED interior
lighting systems for cars, was acquired by
Methode Electronics Corp. of Chicago for
$144 million. Software developer Fulcrum
Management Solutions, better known by
its platform name, ThoughtExchange, hails
from Rossland. All three organizations still
operate in the region.
Boasting no big cities—the largest
is Cranbrook, population 22,000—the
Kootenay region is nonetheless well
endowed with prospective entrepreneurs
with drive and skills. Many of them are
migrants from larger centres in search
of a quieter, more affordable lifestyle
amid outstanding natural beauty and
recreational opportunities. Sporting
