BC Business
The largest city in the Okanagan Valley, Kelowna often wins praise for its natural beauty and geographical attractions. What else would you expect from a place with neighbourhood names like Big White and Lake Country? In fact, it's reasonable to think you've arrived in some kind of Merlot-fuelled paradise when...
The largest city in the Okanagan Valley, Kelowna often wins praise for its natural beauty and geographical attractions. What else would you expect from a place with neighbourhood names like Big White and Lake Country? In fact, it’s reasonable to think you’ve arrived in some kind of Merlot-fuelled paradise when you drop in on the perfectly manicured orchards and fields that overlook Okanagan Lake.
But with its population of some 206,000, Canada’s 10th-busiest airport and two post-secondary schools, Kelowna is far more than a tourist destination.
The city is so appealing that many international students attending UBC Okanagan, the region’s preeminent university, make a home there. About 73 percent of the school’s students come from outside the region (including 16 percent from abroad), and UBCO estimates that almost half stay after graduation. That might have something to do with how steadily Kelowna has added residents. Now the province’s ninth-largest community, the city saw its population grow an impressive 10 percent from 2012 through 2017.
Some of the Thompson-Okanagan’s biggest companies work in the infrastructure and transport industries, such as KF Aerospace Ltd., the aircraft maintenance giant, one of Kelowna’s largest private employers. The region also keeps 24 percent of B.C.’s agricultural workers busy, according to WorkBC, and Kelowna businesses like BC Tree Fruits Cooperative and Sun-Rype Products Ltd. are a big reason why. But those sectors only account for about 8 percent of the city’s employment, with retail and health care supplying the bulk of jobs.
At the centre of Kelowna’s picturesque downtown is a giant statue of a bear, fitting given the proximity to mountains and forests, and the fact that the city is named after the Interior Salish word for grizzly bear. Downtown is a mixture of new buildings and old factories, sawmills and canneries that have been renovated into museums, retail spaces and pubs. Even newer structures, like the 22-year-old library and 17-year-old arts centre, were designed with a nod to local history.
Kelowna is known for its searing summers, and while that comes with more than 2,000 hours of sunshine and only 23 centimetres of rain a year, it can also mean crippling wildfires. In the past decade, the city has seen 13 blazes of 30 or more hectares. Still, the economy is holding strong, and with the population influx showing no signs of slowing down, Kelowna has become one of the hottest (pun intended) real estate markets in the province.
PEOPLEPopulation: 206,041Household age (0-45, 45-64, 64+): 31%, 39%, 30% University grads: 19.4%Average household income: $98,260Average household income under 45: $93,300Five-year income growth, 2012-17: 19.4%Five-year population growth: 10%
HOUSINGAverage detached home price: $725,000Average condominium price: $322,189Average monthly rent for a two-bedroom: $1,151Average annual household spending on shelter: $21,078
WORKKey industries: Retail and commercial services; construction; health care; professional and financial services; hospitality and tourismNotable employers: BC Tree Fruits Cooperative; Interior Health Authority; KF Aerospace Ltd.; Okanagan College; Sun-Rype Products Ltd.; School District 23; UBC OkanaganRegional unemployment: 7.5% (February)
BUSINESSTotal value of building permits issued in 2017: $696,000,000Change from 2016: 30%Average processing time for a building permit: n/aCost of a business licence: $127-$3,000Business property tax rate: $14.70 per $1,000 of assessed valueAverage office lease rate per sq. ft./year: $18Average retail lease rate: $12-$40
QUALITY OF LIFEMajor post-secondary institutions: Centre for Arts & Technology; Okanagan College; Sprott Shaw College; UBC Okanagan; Vancouver Career CollegeMajor recreational amenities: Prospera Place arena; five museums; nine art galleries; eight parks; two skating rinks; water park; downhill and cross-country skiing Key annual events: Canadian Culinary Championships; Okanagan Wine Festival (spring and fall); 3×3 Canada Quest, Center of Gravity sport and music festival; Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival; Big White Winter RallyAverage annual household spending on recreation: $5,502Residents who walk or bike to work: 4.5%