Quick Business Stats

For more detailed statistics on each of the following please go to our Economic Profile.

Population
Labour Force
Major Employers List
Household Income
Proximity to Markets

Proximity to Markets

The city of Kelowna is the largest city in the Central Okanagan, and the major centre for trade and commerce. Convenient access from the valley to strategic markets is essential to the area’s diverse industrial base, especially tourism, agriculture and forestry. A number of highways lead to and from the area and extensive air access is available from Kelowna Airport.

Population Distribution

Vancouver	457	Salt Lake City	1,614
Seattle	579	San Francisco	1,872
Calgary	612	Winnipeg	1,970
Portland	826	Los Angeles	2,494
Saskatoon	1,233	Denver	3,215

* Distance is in kilometres (1 km = 0.6 mi)

Due to its central location, Kelowna and the Central Okanagan has a tremendous amount of access to not only key markets but also their population base as shown in Table 3.1.

Central Okanagan (RDCO) Access to Markets

Canada	Population	Cumulative Population
British Columbia	3,907,738	3,907,738
Alberta	2,974,827	6,882,565
Saskatchewan	978,933	7,861,498
Manitoba	1,119,583	8,981,081
Yukon	28,674	9,009,755
United States	Population	Cumulative Population
Washington	5,987,973	14,997,728
Oregon	3,472,867	18,470,595
Idaho	1,321,006	19,791,601
Montana	904,443	20,696,044
California	34,501,130	55,197,174
Nevada	2,106,074	57,303,248
Utah	2,269,789	59,573,037
Arizona	5,307,331	64,880,368
Alaska	634,892	65,515,260

Central Okanagan Local Trading Area

Region Served	Regional Population	Cumulative Population	Major Centres	CentrePopulation	KM’s from Kelowna
Central Okanagan	147,739	147,739	Kelowna	96,288	n/a
Okanagan-Similkameen	76,635	224,374	Summerland Penticton	10,713 30,985	45 63
North Okanagan	73,227	297,601	Vernon	33,494	53
Columbia-Shuswap	48,219	345,820	Salmon Arm Revelstoke	15,210 7,500	119 192
Thompson-Nicola	119,222	465,042	Kamloops Merritt	77,281 7,088	169 267
Kootenay Boundary	31,843	496,885	Trail	7,575	357
Central Kootenay	57,019	553,904	Castlegar Nelson	7,002 9,298	344 388

Source: 2001 Canada Census
* Distance is in kilometres (1 km = 0.6 mi)

For additional information regarding proximity and access to markets please download our Market section from our Economic Profile.