bcbusiness.ca January 2015 BCBusiness 45
12.97% $99,560 7.9 4% 6.59% 70.96% 20.31% 12.65% 54.21
12.47% $106,895 5.74% 6.35% 65.67% 22.21% 10.39% 52.96
13.04% $93,548 8.88% 6.77% 68.61% 13.31% 9.42% 52.05
11.45% $87,375 4.53% 6.11% 65.69% 28.44% 11.08% 50.43
13.75% $83,949 7.05% 8.00% 64.24% 16.58% 3.40% 49.62
12.53% $83,818 7.57% 8.22% 66.88% 14.38% 2.50% 47.56
12.53% $75,844 8.32% 6.82% 62.90% 11.50% 1.47% 47.46
13.57% $81,671 0.03% 7.20% 63.33% 12.95% 1.43% 45.40
13.18% $73,808 4.42% 9.24% 60.86% 18.05% 3.44% 45.16
12.97% $82,308 0.47% 8.41% 65.52% 15.93% 3.94% 44.64
12.76% $73,129 2.47% 8.97% 54.99% 16.87% 1.96% 42.78
10.63% $70,618 6.37% 7.77% 58.58% 15.80% 1.27% 42.57
5-Year
income
groWTh (30%)
average
household
income (20%)
5-Year
populaTion
groWTh (10%)
unemploY-
menT (15%)
labour
parTicipaTion
(10%)
people WiTh
degrees (10%)
people
using
TransiT (5%)
score
(100%)
inequality. According to Bruce Carter,
CEO of the Victoria Chamber of Com-
merce, the capital is divided between "a
large number of lower-paying, service-
sector jobs and a lot of higher-income
earners." That's made worse by Vic-
toria's rather high real estate prices,
Carter says, but some "people will
accept a tradeoff between salary and
quality of life to live here…. Our tech
sector certainly doesn't accept a trade-
off in terms of income, but they are here
for quality of life."
Kelowna, where homes are slightly
more affordable, also has a f lourish-
ing tech scene, with a new innovation
hub—the $35-million, 106,000-square-
foot Okanagan Centre for Innovation
in downtown Kelowna—slated for com-
pletion in 2016. And as always, there's
Kelowna's renowned wine industry,
which doubles as a draw for tourists: the
city itself is home to over 30 wineries,
while the surrounding Okanagan Valley
boasts over 200.
Sure, Kelowna could have better
public transit and, yes, there are a lot
of retirees moving to town—not always
a sign of a robust job market. But as one
of the fastest-growing cities outside of
Metro Vancouver, Kelowna is moving up.
The smart job seeker might want to hop
aboard the Okanagan elevator.
Category weights shown in brackets. Full methodology on p.55
Where Victoria residents work
SaLeS/
SeRviceS
17.07%
BuSineSS/
Finance
10.77%
Science
5.18%
gOveRnMent/
eDucatiOn/
ReLigiOn
8.32%
aRtS/
cuLtuRe/
SpORtS
2.54%
HeaLtH
6.10%
tRaDeS
6.79%
ManageMent
6.11%
OtHeR
1.81%
etc.
Data for residents over age 15 | Source: Environics Analytics, DemoStats 2014
