Doing Business in Kelowna - 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 International Airport.

Population Distribution

City	Distance	City	Distance
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

* Note: distance is in kilometres (1 km = 0.6 miles)

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 the table below.

Central Okanagan (RDCO) Access to Markets (2004 Projected Populations)

Canada	Population (000s)	Cumulative Population (000s)
British Columbia	4,196.40	4,196.40
Alberta	3,201.90	7,398.30
Yukon	31.20	7,429.50
Saskatchewan	995.40	8,424.90
Manitoba	1,170.30	9,595.20
United States	Population	Cumulative Population
Washington	6,203.79	15,798.99
Oregon	3,594.59	19,393.57
Idaho	1,393.26	20,786.84
Montana	926.87	21,713.70
California	35,893.80	57,607.50
Nevada	2,334.77	59,942.27
Utah	2,389.04	62,331.31
Arizona	5,743.83	68,075.14
Alaska	655.44	68,730.58

Central Okanagan Local Trading Area

Region Served	Regional Population	Cumulative Population	Major Centres	CentrePopulation	KM’s from Kelowna
Central Okanagan	161,057	161,057	Kelowna	105,621	n/a
Okanagan-Similkameen	80,190	241,247	Summerland Penticton	11,776 32,868	45 63
North Okanagan	77,464	318,711	Vernon	35,548	53
Columbia-Shuswap	50,899	369,610	Salmon Arm Revelstoke	16,466 7,911	119 192
Thompson-Nicola	124,618	494,228	Kamloops Merritt	81,699 7,496	169 267
Kootenay Boundary	33,156	527,384	Trail	7,816	357
Central Kootenay	57,019	553,904	Castlegar Nelson	7,755 9,784	344 388

Source: BC Stats, Population of BC Population Estimates & Projections, 2004
Source: BC Stats, BC Municipal Population Estimates, 2004
* 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.