Prince George economy, jobs and housing
Prince George is northern BC's service, health and education centre, with deep roots in forestry, rail and resource industries. Here's what the numbers say.
What these numbers tell you
Compare figures for the same period and geographic area. A regional employment estimate and a city census figure measure different populations; monthly changes do not always describe a longer-term trend.
Terms explained
- CPI
- Consumer Price Index, a measure of changes in consumer prices.
- Seasonally adjusted
- Regular seasonal patterns have been accounted for to make periods easier to compare.
- Unemployment rate
- The share of people in the labour force who are unemployed.
Jobs
Unemployment, Cariboo region
6.2%
September 2026. BC: 6.7%
Employed, Cariboo region
84.8k
+8.2k on a year earlier
Participation rate, city
66.3%
2021 Census. BC: 63.3%
Largest industry
Health care
6,205 workers, 15.4% of the labour force
Unemployment rate
The Labour Force Survey does not publish city-level estimates for Prince George; the cariboo economic region is the smallest geography available. Monthly values are three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted.
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, as of September 2026. Report a data problem
Unemployment by year
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, as of 2025. Report a data problem
Inflation
Consumer prices, change from a year earlier. British Columbia 3.0%, Canada 3.0% in August 2026. There is no Prince George index; BC is the smallest area Statistics Canada publishes monthly.
Source: Statistics Canada, table 18-10-0004-01, Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted (all-items, 2002 = 100), as of August 2026. Report a data problem
Where people work
Labour force aged 15+ living in the city, by industry (NAICS sectors), 2021 Census.
Show the table
| Industry | Workers | Men+ | Women+ | Share | BC share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 6,205 | 1,210 | 4,995 | 15.4% | 12.3% |
| Retail trade | 4,920 | 2,365 | 2,555 | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| Construction | 3,475 | 2,925 | 555 | 8.6% | 9.0% |
| Educational services | 3,185 | 915 | 2,270 | 7.9% | 7.4% |
| Manufacturing | 3,045 | 2,565 | 485 | 7.6% | 5.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,965 | 1,270 | 1,690 | 7.4% | 7.0% |
| Public administration | 2,670 | 1,275 | 1,395 | 6.6% | 5.5% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 2,505 | 2,055 | 450 | 6.2% | 5.5% |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 1,920 | 1,000 | 920 | 4.8% | 9.2% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 1,905 | 935 | 970 | 4.7% | 4.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,430 | 1,190 | 240 | 3.6% | 3.1% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting | 1,285 | 1,025 | 260 | 3.2% | 2.3% |
| Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services | 1,280 | 745 | 535 | 3.2% | 4.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 930 | 310 | 620 | 2.3% | 3.7% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 625 | 260 | 365 | 1.6% | 2.3% |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | 545 | 255 | 290 | 1.4% | 2.3% |
| Information and cultural industries | 530 | 240 | 285 | 1.3% | 2.7% |
| Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 450 | 375 | 75 | 1.1% | 1.0% |
| Utilities | 335 | 215 | 115 | 0.8% | 0.6% |
| Management of companies and enterprises | 45 | 10 | 30 | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile (25% sample data), as of 2021. Report a data problem
British Columbia
- Sales and service occupations26.0% 10,465
- Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations21.7% 8,745
- Business, finance and administration occupations14.6% 5,895
- Occupations in education, law and social, community and government services13.2% 5,330
- Health occupations8.5% 3,425
- Natural and applied sciences and related occupations6.3% 2,525
- Occupations in manufacturing and utilities4.5% 1,830
- Natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations2.4% 980
- Occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport1.8% 735
- Legislative and senior management occupations0.8% 325
Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile, as of 2021. Report a data problem
What drives the local economy
Health care and social assistance is the city's largest employer group, reflecting Prince George's role as the referral centre for northern BC's hospitals and health services. Retail, construction, education and manufacturing follow.
Forestry built the modern city. Sawmills, pulp mills and wood-product plants line the rivers and the BCR industrial site. Rail yards, trucking, the airport and wholesale distribution make Prince George a transport hub for the north.
Resource industries are more important here than in BC as a whole: agriculture, forestry, mining, and oil and gas together employ 4.3% of city workers, against 3.3% province-wide.
Housing
Average 2-bedroom rent, 2025
$1,422
+46% since 2020
Rental vacancy, 2025
4.4%
Apartments, 6+ units
Housing starts, 2025
422
Prince George area (CA)
Median home value, 2021
$400,000
Owner-estimated, 2021 Census
Average rent
Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Rental Market Survey, via Statistics Canada table 34-10-0133 and 34-10-0128, as of October 2025. Report a data problem
Rental vacancy rate
Around 3% is often described as a balanced rental market.
Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Rental Market Survey, via Statistics Canada table 34-10-0133 and 34-10-0128, as of October 2025. Report a data problem
Housing starts
2026 covers 8 months so far.
Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Starts and Completions Survey, via Statistics Canada table 34-10-0155, as of 2026-08. Report a data problem
Building permits
Source: City of Prince George Open Data, Building Permit Applications, updated . Report a data problem
For sale prices, see the BC Northern Real Estate Board monthly statistics and BC Assessment property values. We don't republish those figures here.
Crime severity
Crime severity index, 2025
193.8
BC: 92.4
Violent crime severity, 2025
224.1
BC: 98.0
The crime severity index weights each offence by its seriousness; Canada 2006 = 100. It is not a count of crimes.
Source: Statistics Canada, table 35-10-0063, Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, police services in British Columbia, as of 2025. Report a data problem
Sources
- Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile
- Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey tables 14-10-0462 and 14-10-0464
- Statistics Canada table 18-10-0004
- CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada tables 34-10-0133 and 34-10-0128
- CMHC Starts and Completions Survey via Statistics Canada table 34-10-0155
- City of Prince George Open Data
- Statistics Canada table 35-10-0063
How these figures are gathered
Live figures are fetched from these providers and cached briefly on our server. Provisional real-time data can be revised by the source. When a source is down we say so rather than guess.
- Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile
- Industry, occupation, participation
- Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey tables 14-10-0462 and 14-10-0464
- Cariboo economic region and BC
- Statistics Canada table 18-10-0004
- Consumer price index, BC and Canada
- CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada tables 34-10-0133 and 34-10-0128
- Average rents and vacancy, Prince George CA
- City of Prince George Open Data
- Building permit applications (live)
- Statistics Canada table 35-10-0063
- Crime severity index, police services in BC
