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Living in Port Alberni

In Port Alberni, tenants pay an average rent of €813 a month (2025) and unemployment is 9.9% (2021).

Port Alberni's population was 19,526 at the end of 2022. The unemployment rate was 9.9% at the end of 2021. The foreign population count was 1,795 at the end of 2021.

Last checked 2026-10-1019 sources

Population19,526people31 Dec 2022Official source · Statistics Canada
Median gross salary3,050EUR/month31 Dec 2020Official source · Statistics Canada
Average rent813.3EUR/month31 Dec 2025Official source · Average Rent by Bedroom Type by Census Subdivision
Unemployment rate9.9%country median 8.4% — 18% aboveOfficial source · Statistics Canada
Recorded crime19,277incidents per 100,000country median 4,873 — 296% aboveOfficial source · Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, police services in British Columbia (Table 351001-0084-01)
PM2.5, annual mean5.67µg/m³31 Dec 2024Nearest stationOfficial source · Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), NAPS

Higher unemployment than 66% of Canadian cities that publish it, more recorded crime than any other Canadian city that publishes it and dirtier air than 84% of Canadian cities that publish it.

Which Canada-wide rules apply when you move to Port Alberni?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in CanadaNational rates and thresholds that apply in Port Alberni.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

The share of renter households spending 30% or more on housing reached 21.5% at the end of 2021. At the end of 2021, the dwelling count totalled 8,919.

What recurs every month3 published recurring costs, € per month
Port Alberni recurring monthly costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€50
Transport pass€30
Mobile plan, 10 GB€24
MetricValuePeriodSource
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited49.79 EUR/month30 Sept 2026Bell Fibe 500 home internet3Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB24.27 EUR/month30 Sept 2026Public Mobile 50GB plan9Official · national market
Monthly transport pass29.89 EUR/month13 Sept 2026BC Transit / City of Port Alberni2Official
Households spending over 30% of income on rent21.5 %31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada13Official
Dwellings8,919 dwellings31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada11Official
Main residence dwellings8,451 dwellings31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada14Official
Average monthly rent (two-bedroom)831.1 EUR/month31 Oct 2023CMHC Urban Rental Market Survey — Average Rents in Urban Centres (CSD table), October 20234Official
Average monthly rent (whole dwelling)813.3 EUR/month31 Dec 2025Average Rent by Bedroom Type by Census Subdivision1Official

Is Port Alberni a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile
Remote worker43%strong on work, weak on safety · range 34–52%
Skilled employee50%strong on work, weak on education · range 41–59%
Student30%strong on cost, weak on education · range 20–40%
Family36%strong on housing, weak on education · range 27–45%
Retirement47%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 36–58%

Work and income

For Port Alberni, the employment rate was 46.7% at the end of 2021. Port Alberni recorded 51.9% in labour force participation at the end of 2021.

What is the typical salary in Port Alberni?

The median gross salary is about 3,050 EUR/month (2020). The regional series (home-region basis, 2020) is a separate labelled row in the table.

City-scope median, gross, before tax and social contributions.

  • Median gross salary: 3,050 EUR/month · Statistics Canada15
  • Median gross salary (regional): 2,157 EUR/month · 2026-09-17 · www150.statcan.gc.ca19

What is the unemployment rate in Port Alberni?

The unemployment rate is 9.9 % (2021). Source: Statistics Canada16

Unemployment across cities in CanadaUnemployment in Port Alberni is 9.9%. Of 515 cities with data, 125 have unemployment of 6 to under 8%.

Unemployment rate (%)

MetricValuePeriodSource
Employment rate46.7 %31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada14Official
Median gross salary3,050 EUR/month31 Dec 2020Statistics Canada15Official
Median gross salary (regional)2,157 EUR/month31 Dec 2020www150.statcan.gc.ca19Official
Unemployment rate9.9 %country median 8.4%31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada16Official

What does a salary buy in Port Alberni?

Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.

Port Alberni median gross pay: €3,050 (Statistics Canada, 2020-12-31).
Left over each month€1,478of €2,395 take-home
  • Rent
  • Transport
  • Internet
  • Mobile
  • Left over
Line-by-line breakdown and sources
Each month€
Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions; euro amounts at the ECB average for 2026-08.€2,395
Rentaverage rent of a whole dwelling · official · Average Rent by Bedroom Type by Census Subdivision · 2025-12-31− €813
Public transport pass€30 · official · BC Transit / City of Port Alberni · 2026-09-13− €30
Utilities, 85 m²not published for this city—
Internet€50 · official · Bell Fibe 500 home internet · 2026-09-30− €50
Mobile plan€24 · official · Public Mobile 50GB plan · 2026-09-30− €24
Left overbefore the bill this city does not publish€1,478
Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Port Alberni Salary needed to live in Port Alberni

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Port Alberni. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

Job Bank and public employment services — Public employment service

Government of Canada

Job SearchMigrant Support
Open official service
Open the Canada service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Port Alberni. Sources checked through 12 Aug 2026.

Safety

How safe is Port Alberni?

Police recorded about 19,277 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, police services in British Columbia (Table 351001-0084-01)6

Recorded crime across major citiesPort Alberni highlighted among comparable cities
Recorded crime across major cities with Port Alberni highlighted

recorded incidents per 100k residents

Winnipeg7,894
Edmonton7,108
Halifax6,020
Vancouver5,438
Calgary4,796
London4,743
Québec4,630
Ottawa4,298
Hamilton4,257
Toronto4,177
Gatineau3,756
Montreal3,674
MetricValuePeriodSource
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents19,277 incidents per 100,000country median 4,87331 Dec 2025Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, police services in British Columbia (Table 351001-0084-01)6Official

Mobility and administration

MetricValuePeriodSource
Distance to the nearest major airport32 km3 Aug 2026OurAirports8Official
Nearest major airport (IATA code)XQU3 Aug 2026OurAirports8Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Port Alberni. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.

Country-level information

IRCC newcomer language-learning services finder — State Language Course

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

For newcomers to Canada.

English, FrenchFree
Open official information
Open the full Canada section
National programme information is not treated as proof of a course location in Port Alberni.

Find courses near Port Alberni

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Port Alberni?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 5.7 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³.

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

  • PM2.5 — annual mean: 5.67 µg/m³ · Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), NAPS5
Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

PM2.5 across cities in CanadaAnnual PM2.5 in Port Alberni is 5.7 µg/m³. Of 123 cities with data, 46 have annual PM2.5 of 3 to under 4 µg/m³.

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

MetricValuePeriodSource
PM2.5 — annual mean5.67 µg/m³31 Dec 2024Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), NAPS5Official · nearest-station reading
Monthly extreme high temperatureJan 11.63 · Feb 13.99 · Mar 19.17 · Apr 22.9 · May 28.27 · Jun 30.17 · Jul 33.26 · Aug 33.52 · Sep 30.36 · Oct 21.11 · Nov 14.01 · Dec 11.87 °C31 Dec 2001NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center7Official · coordinate grid
Monthly extreme low temperatureJan -13.72 · Feb -8.17 · Mar -6.25 · Apr -2.13 · May -0.18 · Jun 3.87 · Jul 6.12 · Aug 6.27 · Sep 3.69 · Oct -2.55 · Nov -11.42 · Dec -11.37 °C31 Dec 2001NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center7Official · coordinate grid
Average temperature by monthJan 3.19 · Feb 2.95 · Mar 4.32 · Apr 6.59 · May 10.24 · Jun 12.5 · Jul 15.1 · Aug 15.35 · Sep 12.97 · Oct 8.88 · Nov 5.08 · Dec 2.62 °C31 Dec 2001NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center7Official · coordinate grid

Population and city profile

An area of 19.7 km² comprised Port Alberni at the end of 2021. Port Alberni counted 8,450 households at the end of 2021. The median age was 49.2 years at the end of 2021.

How many people live in Port Alberni?

The published population was 19,526 people in 2022. Source: Statistics Canada12

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Area19.66 km²31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada14Official
City area19.66 km²31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada17Official
Foreign-resident share9.99 %31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada10Official
Foreign residents1,795 people31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada10Official
Population density928.9 people/km²31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada17Official
Population19,526 people31 Dec 2022Statistics Canada12Official
Population over time22 published observations, 2001–2022

Population rose 5.7% between 2001 and 2022, from 18,468 to 19,526.

Additional context

MetricValuePeriodSource
Residents born abroad10 %31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada13Official
Households8,450 households31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada14Official
Labour force participation rate51.9 %31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada14Official
Median age49.2 years31 Dec 2021Statistics Canada18Official

Alternatives for people set on Port Alberni

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Blainville as a Port Alberni alternative in the same country

A move, not a commute, at 3777 km, better on 5 of 6 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0.

  • Recorded crime, per 100k: 2,099 Blainville vs 19,277 Port Alberni−89%
  • Residents: 62,700 Blainville vs 19,526 Port Alberni+221%
  • Unemployment: 5.6% Blainville vs 9.9% Port Alberni−44%
  • Median gross pay, city: €3,813 Blainville vs €3,050 Port Alberni+25%
  • Median gross pay, region: €2,789 Blainville vs €2,157 Port Alberni+29%
  • Foreign residents: 11.7% Blainville vs 10.0% Port Alberni+17%
Full comparisonMore about Blainville

Alternative cities in Canada

Other cities in Canada to compare with Port Alberni, nearest in population first.

All Canada cities
Steinbach19,494 residentsQuispamsis19,454 residentsMont-Saint-Hilaire19,436 residentsCorner Brook19,333 residentsBeaconsfield19,759 residentsBible Hill19,806 residents

How does Port Alberni compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Port Alberni's.

Open the full comparison

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Port Alberni when the national insurance or residence conditions are met.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide
Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Put Port Alberni's key facts on your site — a card with this page's figures and a link back, free under CC BY 4.0.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Port Alberni?

The published population was 19,526 people in 2022. Source: Statistics Canada.

Is the air quality good in Port Alberni?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 5.7 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), NAPS.

How safe is Port Alberni?

Police recorded about 19,277 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, police services in British Columbia (Table 351001-0084-01).

What is the typical salary in Port Alberni?

The median gross salary is about 3,050 EUR/month (2020). The regional series (home-region basis, 2020) is a separate labelled row in the table. Source: Statistics Canada.

What is the unemployment rate in Port Alberni?

The unemployment rate is 9.9 % (2021). Source: Statistics Canada.

What is the typical salary around Port Alberni?

The median gross salary is 2,157 EUR/month. Source: www150.statcan.gc.ca.

Is Port Alberni a good place to live?

Port Alberni may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Port Alberni, Canada: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety [ImmigrationDB compilation; version e129a433e7cd9b87cb7b1bf56e64705e]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/ca/port-alberni/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_port-alberni-canada-population-rent-salary-jobs-safety_bab4e1cb9860,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Port Alberni, Canada: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {e129a433e7cd9b87cb7b1bf56e64705e},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/ca/port-alberni/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
Markdown citation
[Port Alberni, Canada: population, rent, salary, jobs, safety](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/ca/port-alberni/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version e129a433e7cd9b87cb7b1bf56e64705e; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown
  1. Average Rent by Bedroom Type by Census Subdivision www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca · checked 2026-10-08
  2. BC Transit / City of Port Alberni bctransit.com · checked 2026-09-15
  3. Bell Fibe 500 home internet bell.ca · checked 2026-09-15
  4. CMHC Urban Rental Market Survey — Average Rents in Urban Centres (CSD table), October 2023 CMHC Urban Rental Market Survey · assets.cmhc-schl.gc.ca · checked 2026-09-18
  5. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), NAPS data-donnees.az.ec.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-05
  6. Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, police services in British Columbia (Table 351001-0084-01) www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-09-28
  7. NASA POWER / NASA Langley Research Center power.larc.nasa.gov · checked 2026-08-05
  8. OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
  9. Public Mobile 50GB plan publicmobile.ca · checked 2026-09-15
  10. Statistics Canada www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-03
Show 9 more sources
  1. Statistics Canada www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-07
  2. Statistics Canada www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-03
  3. Statistics Canada www12.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-07
  4. Statistics Canada api.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-07
  5. Statistics Canada www12.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-09-13
  6. Statistics Canada www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-03
  7. Statistics Canada www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-03
  8. Statistics Canada www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-07
  9. www150.statcan.gc.ca www150.statcan.gc.ca · checked 2026-08-27

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