Grand Forks, BC

What Grand Forks BC is made of: the communities whose institutions are here, the sectors its 453 businesses sit in, the franchises already on the ground, and the services a newcomer could start.

453 businesses on file · 85 trades · 32 sectors · census population 4,110 · registry population 4,110 · built from geonet.kelowna on 2026-10-07

Businesses453
85% carry coordinates
Specialised in12
trades above the national pattern
Best suited toSeniors
on the census signals below
Franchise brands17
already operating here

Visiting rather than moving? The free guidebook for Grand Forks BC → — the free guidebook for this region: why go, what to see, what is open when it rains.

1

The local economy

What the business base is made of, what it is specialised in against the national pattern, and what that mix implies. This is the part a development office would read first.

Composition, not health. geonet records what trades exist and where; it does not record formation, closure, employment or revenue, so none of those appear here. What makes this economics rather than a directory is the NAICS coding: it lets the local mix be read against the BLS survival curves and against the 323 industry groups this research has screened.

The two biggest markets here

Every industry group on this page links through to its NAICS page, and to the screened market report where this research has one — that is what the trait-to-NAICS coding buys.

Business density110.2
businesses per 1,000 residents, against the 2021 census count of 4,110
Breadth of the base319
broad — 62 industry groups, top three 19.2%
Survival the mix implies57.4%
at five years, against 51.4% for all private establishments
Coded to NAICS62.3%
of which 73% unambiguous

What this city is specialised in

Location quotient is this city's share of a trade divided by the same share across 10 CA metro tables. Above 1.25 is the conventional threshold for a local specialisation.

The base against the entry screen

Businesses by the entry signal of the industry group they sit in, from the /markets screen. A large "structure decides" share means most local trades are ones where being better than the incumbent does not by itself win. A trade is matched to the screened record at whatever level the research wrote it — the same code, a broader one, or a narrower one. Where a group holds several screened sub-markets the count is shown, because no single one of them speaks for the whole group.

Enter
26.6%
75 businesses
Caution
46.5%
131 businesses
Structure decides
27%
76 businesses
Not screened
0%
0 businesses

How to read the survival figure

Each sector's five-year establishment survival rate, weighted by how many of this city's businesses sit in that sector. It is a property of the MIX, not of these businesses — it says what survival this composition would imply at US private-sector rates, because no Canadian equivalent series exists.

Weighted over 91.8% of the coded base — public administration carries no curve. Source: Business Employment Dynamics — Table 7, Survival of private sector establishments by opening year, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And what it does not measure

A "mixed" trait is one that genuinely spans codes — "computers" covers systems design, repair and supply. The clear share is how much of this reading rests on unambiguous coding. Business density also reflects how completely the directory covers a place, not only how many businesses are in it — so it compares poorly between a city the register knows well and one it does not.

2

Who lives here, and who the city is for

The census: the only figures on this page that count people rather than businesses, and the three cohort readings they make possible.

The register says what trades exist. The census says who lives here — and it is the only thing on this page that counts people. Figures are Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population for Grand Forks, City (CY), the municipality proper, and every comparison is against the population-weighted average of all 5,161 census subdivisions in Canada.

Population4,110
census 2021
Median age56
against 42.1 nationally
Immigrants9.1%
against 23.2% nationally
Median rent$900
against $1,175 nationally

Who the city is for

Three readings, each built from real numbers against real benchmarks. This is not an index. Every signal is shown with its own value, its benchmark and which way it points, and the band simply counts how many point the same way — so a reader who disagrees with one signal can drop it and still use the rest.

Seniors

strong

Is this a place to grow old, and is the care here?

Residents 65 and over 34.8% ▲19%
Residents 85 and overthe group that needs care rather than the group that is merely retired 5.4% ▲2.3%
Median age 56 years ▲42.1 years
Low income among 65+against a 15% reference, not a national figure 19.4% ▼15%
Medical clinics per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register 0.49 –
Pharmacies per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register 0.73 –
Nursing and elderly care operatorscounted in the register, which lists few of them 0 –
Median rent 900 $/mo ▲1175 $/mo

A high share of over-65s says other people made this choice; it does not by itself say the care exists. The register lists clinics and pharmacies but has no category for a hospital at all, so the one thing a family would most want — distance to an emergency department — is still missing.

Students and young adults

thin

Is there a reason to be here between 19 and 25, and can they afford it?

Residents 20 to 24 3.8% ▼6%
Residents 15 to 19the cohort arriving next 4.7% ▼6%
Renter householdsa rental market is what makes a place possible to move to 25.9% ▼33.2%
Median rent 900 $/mo ▲1175 $/mo
Unemployment rateMay 2021, mid-pandemic — high everywhere in this census 6.6% ▲10.4%
Degree holders in the adult populationagainst a 32% reference 11.2% ▼32%
Drinking places and recreationfrom the register 4 –

Post-secondary institutions in the city are listed further down this page; where there are none, a high 20-to-24 share usually means work rather than study.

Newcomers and other-language speakers

thin

Is there already a community here, and has anyone built anything for it?

Immigrants in the population 9.1% ▼23.2%
Arrived 2016 to 2021a recent arrival means the route here is current, not historical 0.5% ▼3.7%
Speak a non-official language at home 2.2% ▼12.7%
Languages spoken at home above the reporting floor 0 –
Community institutions in the register 1 –
Non-permanent residentsstudents and work-permit holders 1.8% ▼3.7%

The census counts speakers; the business register shows whether a community has built anything — a church, a society, a credit union, a grocer. Both columns appear in the language table below, and the interesting rows are the ones where they disagree.

What is spoken at home, and whether anyone built for it

Where the census and the business register disagree. A language spoken by hundreds with no institution behind it is a gap in local provision — or a gap in the register. An institution with no matching language usually means an older community that has shifted to English at home.

No non-official language reaches the reporting floor here. In a place this size the census suppresses small counts, so this means "none large enough to publish", not "none".

The rest of the profile

CharacteristicHereCanada
Residents 65 and over 34.8% 19%
Residents 85 and over 5.4% 2.3%
Residents 20 to 24 3.8% 6%
Arrived 2016 to 2021 0.5% 3.7%
Non-permanent residents 1.8% —
Speak a non-official language at home 2.2% 12.7%
Renter households 25.9% 33.2%
Spending 30% or more on shelter 17.9% 20.6%
Participation rate 50.8% 63.7%
Unemployment rate 6.6% 10.4%
Median household income, 2020 61600 $ —
Median after-tax household income, 2020 56800 $ —
Prevalence of low income (LIM-AT) 14.9% —
Bachelor degree or higher 11.2% —

The one thing to keep in mind

Census day was 11 May 2021, so income is for 2020 and the labour figures were taken during the pandemic — Toronto's 13.9% unemployment rate is a May 2021 reading, not a current one. Census 2021 count for the census subdivision, which is the municipality proper. It will differ from the figure in wander.regions, which is sometimes a metropolitan population.

Source: Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population — 98-401-X2021005 — Canada, provinces, territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, Statistics Canada, under the Open Government Licence – Canada. National comparison: Population-weighted across all 5,161 census subdivisions in the 2021 Census Profile. Median rent and median age are weighted means of local medians, which is an approximation, not a national median.

3

The communities the register shows

A community appears in the business register before it appears in prose — a national church, a society, a credit union, a newspaper. Those are counted as institutions, and they are what suggests residents. A restaurant serving a cuisine is counted separately as trade, because every city has those and they say nothing about who lives nearby. The ranking is by institutions.

CommunityInstitutions WorshipTrade Where it shows
Indigenous 1 — —
Boundary Metis Association
Polish — — 1
Russian — — 1
Danish — — 1
4

Where the communities are

Streets, not neighbourhood names. The data knows that Greek institutions sit on one street and Greek restaurants on another; it does not know the word "Greektown", so it does not use it.

5

What the city is made of

Every business on file, grouped by the sector it trades in. This is the economic-development view: where the 453 businesses actually are, and the specific trades inside each sector.

SectorBusinesses ShareWhat is in it
Business 41 9.1% government (23) · association (7) · consulting (5) · accounting (3) · irrigation (1)
Living 35 7.7% place of worship (12) · furniture (7) · daycare (5) · cleaning (3) · appliances (3) · veterinary (3) · apartment (1) · janitor (1)
Automotive 29 6.4% autos (13) · auto repair (9) · auto parts (2) · motorcycle (1)
Retail 26 5.7% gifts (8) · department store (6) · convenience (4) · photography (4) · flowers (3) · jeweler (1)
Construction 23 5.1% excavating (4) · electrician (4) · home builder (3) · general contractor (3) · carpet (2) · siding (1) · machinery (1) · roofing (1)
Travel 19 4.2% motel (11) · hotel (4) · travel agent (2) · orchard (1)
Beauty 19 4.2% hair stylist (13) · dentist (3) · barber (2)
Health 17 3.8% chiro (3) · health foods (2) · optical (2) · medical clinic (2) · pharmacy (1) · fitness club (1) · physician (1)
Living & Home 16 3.5% greenhouse (1)
Dining 15 3.3% restaurant (12) · pizza (2) · pubs (1)
Finance 13 2.9% insurance (8) · bank (1)
Construction & Realty 13 2.9%
Education 12 2.6% school (11) · library (1)
Logistics 8 1.8% railroad (2) · storage (2) · towing (1)
Entertainment 6 1.3% museum (2) · games (1) · music instruments (1) · video (1)
Tech 6 1.3% computers (6)
Athletic Sports 6 1.3%
Retail Goods 5 1.1% coffee (1)
Food 4 0.9% baker (2) · grocer (1) · ice cream (1)
Realty 4 0.9% real estate (4)
6

The franchises already here

Brands from a register of 2,024 franchise systems, matched into this city by name. A high count is a signal in both directions: the territory works, and it may be taken.

6 of these brands are a single common word — Metro, Avenue, Budget — so their counts include businesses that merely share the word. They are marked rather than dropped.

BrandCategory HereWorldwide
Curves For Women fitness 1 10,000
Dairy Queen fastfood 1 5,900
Hertz Rent A Car car 1 7,000
Home Hardware home 1 1,000
Kal Tire auto 1 200
NAPA Auto Parts auto 1 18,000
Panago Pizza pizza 1 155
Petro Canada fuel 1 1,512
Royal Canadian Legion club 1 160
Shell Canada fuel 1 2,100
U-Haul car 1 13,700
Limited name only retail 6 —
CIBC name only bank 2 —
Greyhound name only travel 1 —
Manor name only retail 1 —
Progressive name only supermarket 1 150
Sears name only inc 1 2,300
7

Real estate as a local trade

Four unrelated jobs share the name: selling existing homes, owning and letting them, managing them for someone else, and building new ones. For anyone weighing a move or a licence these are the counts — and the ownership question goes to /property, which answers it building by building.

Real estate is a local job market in its own right, and four unrelated trades get the same name. Counts are businesses filed under each trade in the register, which lists a brokerage once however many agents work there — so this measures firms, not licensees.

Selling homes

5312
4 firms · LQ 0.61

Offices of agents and brokers — the resale market, and the biggest single trade in most Canadian cities.

Named in the register
  • Border Country Realty — 347 Market Ave
  • Castlegar Realty — 217 Central Ave
  • Copper Ridge Development
  • Davy Harry — 215 Central Ave

Owning and letting

5311
1 firms · LQ 0.45

Lessors of real estate: the buildings themselves, filed under the building rather than the owner.

Named in the register
  • Kettle River Villa — 2126 68th Ave

Building new homes

2361
7 firms · LQ 1.3

Residential builders and the general contractors who work for them.

Named in the register
  • Cantex Engineering and Constr — 390 Industrial Way
  • D Onions Holdings — 1547 Donaldson
  • Granby Post and Beam Homes — Granby Rd
  • Hardy Mountain Construction — 3415 Hardy Mountain Rd
  • Jamesfield Construction — 7434 Valley Heights Dr
  • MAINSTREAM MECHANICAL LTD — 2081 Perkins
  • Ted Goulah Home Repair Service — 221 75th Ave

Who actually owns it

The full property record →

From the /property research for this city, which asks a different question: not who trades in property here, but who owns it. An owner is named there only where a document says so. Title $11.06 a search; the flood buyouts are itemised in council and provincial records.

Landowners

  • City of Grand Forks — 216.8 ha across 359 parcels — 42.3% of the city's titled area
  • Interfor Corporation — the sawmill at 570 68th Avenue, a short-line railroad, and 3,226 ha of active harvest authority within about 25 km
  • Maywood Fibre Corp — 4,210 ha under a single Forestry Licence to Cut (A95640)
  • Jackass Logging Ltd. — 671 ha across four active harvest authorities within about 25 km
  • West Boundary Community Forest Inc. — 46 ha across two active Forestry Licences to Cut (A96962 and A97511)
  • Private owners — 286.0 ha across 1,455 parcels — 55.9% of the titled area

Homebuilders

  • Bergum Contracting Ltd. — Licence 21680, in good standing
  • Matharoo Construction Ltd. — Licence 23098, in good standing
  • M.S.C. Enterprises Ltd. — Licence 23271, in good standing
  • Grandis Construction Corp. — Licence 36001, in good standing
  • Kootenay Boundary Homes Ltd. — Licence 41962, in good standing
  • Twin Ridge Developments Ltd. — Licence 40659, in good standing

Commercial landlords

  • City of Grand Forks — 359 parcels, 216.8 ha, plus the electrical utility, the airport and the slag piles
  • Interfor Corporation — the sawmill site and the short-line railway
  • Private commercial and industrial owners — $117,970,450 of Business and other assessment; 108 commercial and industrial properties inside the diked area

10 marquee buildings examined, 9 with an owner established.

On "how many doors"

How many doors a landlord holds is not in any of this. The register files an apartment building under the building, not its owner, and carries no unit count; there is no open dataset of Canadian landlords by portfolio. Where this research has established ownership it is in the /property record for the city, building by building, which is a different and much slower exercise.

8

Work where you go to them

The Ultimate 411 half of local: everything where the customer does not have to come to you.

A shop needs the customer to walk in. These 157 services do the opposite — the mobile mechanic, the mobile groomer, the bookkeeper, the junk haul — and they are the ones a person can start without a lease. 0 of them already match a trait filed in this city's register.

The 157 Service=1 rows in search.local: work where the provider travels to the customer. "present" counts businesses already filed under that exact trait name; a blank is a coverage gap, not proof of absence, because the two vocabularies were built separately.

home services

Short-Term Rental TurnoverAppliance InstallationBabyproofing & Safety InstallsCarpet & Upholstery CleaningDeep CleaningDrywall RepairErrand RunningExterior PaintingFence & Deck StainingFurniture AssemblyGarden Weeding & MaintenanceGrocery Pickup & DeliveryGutter CleaningHandyman (General Repairs)Hedge & Shrub TrimmingHouse CleaningHouse SittingInterior PaintingJunk Removal & Dump RunsLandscape Design & PlantingLawn MowingFall Leaf CleanupMove-In / Move-Out CleaningMoving Help (Labour Only)Moving with TruckOffice CleaningPersonal ShopperPressure WashingMove Things Around the HouseSnow Shovelling & RemovalPacking & UnpackingTV & Picture MountingWardrobe StylingWindow Cleaning

events

BartenderDesignated Driver (Your Car)CateringTents, Tables & ChairsFloristFuneral & Celebration of Life ArrangementsGame-Day Bus or VanBook a Pub for Your GroupKaraoke Machine RentalParty Bus & Group ShuttlePub Crawl HostTaxi to the PubSports & Game PhotographyStag & Doe / Jack & Jill PlanningTailgate Party SetupTrivia Night HostVenue SourcingBig-Game Watch Party SetupWedding OfficiantWedding Planner / Coordinator

pets

Aquarium & Terrarium CleaningCatio (Cat Patio) BuildChicken Coop BuildDog House BuildDog TrainingDog WalkingHome Pet BoardingLost Pet SearchMobile Dog GroomingOvernight Pet SittingBuild & Install a Pet DoorPet Cages & EnclosuresPet Fencing & Dog RunsPet PhotographyPet-Proofing Your HomePet Sitting & Dog WalkingPet TaxiYard Poop Scooping

luxury

Chauffeur & Luxury CarDJ & Sound Gear RentalDJEvent PhotographerEvent PlannerLive MusiciansHair & Makeup ArtistMatchmakerPersonal ConciergePortrait & Headshot PhotographerPrivate ChefVideographerVIP / Social Club MembershipWedding PhotographerYacht & Boat Charter

healthcare

Wheelchair-Accessible TransportGrab Bars, Ramps & Home AccessibilityLight Housekeeping for SeniorsCooking & Meal Prep for SeniorsMedical Appointment EscortMedication & Appointment RemindersMobility Equipment RentalRespite Care for Family CaregiversSenior CompanionshipTech Help for SeniorsWalking Companion

sporting goods

Bike Tune-UpBorrow a Bike or E-BikeBorrow Camping GearBorrow Golf ClubsBorrow Hockey GearBorrow Ice SkatesBorrow a Kayak, Canoe or PaddleboardBorrow Skis, Poles & Ski BootsBorrow a Snowboard & Snow BootsSkate SharpeningSki & Snowboard Tuning

sports

Backyard Rink BuildLocal Fishing GuideGolf CaddieFind Players for a Pickup GamePrivate Sports LessonJoin or Build a Rec League TeamBook Ice, Courts & FieldsWorkout & Sports BuddyRoommates Who Also Like Sports

business

BookkeepingStart a Local BusinessCareer Coaching & RésumésFind a Local ManufacturerFind Local Work / Contract GigsLocal Advertising PlacementPrototype & Small-Batch ProductionTranslation & InterpretationWebsite & Online Presence

outdoors

Brush & Land ClearingChainsaw Rental (from a local owner)Firewood (Cut, Split & Delivered)Log Bucking & Cutting (Chainsaw)Portable SawmillingSmall-Lot Logging & Land ClearingStump GrindingTree FellingWood Splitting

construction

CarpenterElectricianHeating & Cooling (HVAC)Mobile MechanicPlumberRoof RepairSmall Engine RepairWelder / Metal Fabrication

travel

Airport Transfer & Car ServiceCorporate & Business TravelCruise BookingFamily Travel for a WeddingBereavement / Funeral TravelLeisure Travel PlanningLocal Tour Guide

tools

Camera & Lens RentalGenerator RentalLog Splitter RentalParty Equipment RentalPower Tool RentalTrailer & Truck Rental
9

Schools and colleges

wander.schools is a post-secondary table — universities and colleges. K-12 public and private schools are not in it, and only 7 of its 1,686 rows carry coordinates, so these are listed and not mapped.

In the business register

Where schooling shows up as a business rather than an institution — which is where K-12, tutoring and childcare appear.

school 11daycare 5
10

Health and care

What a person moving a parent here would ask first. The register files clinics and pharmacies; it has no category for a hospital at all, so hospitals are matched by name and the limit is stated rather than hidden.

Medical clinics2
Pharmacies1
Dental practices3

Matched on the name "hospital"

  • HOSPITAL AUXILIARY THRIFT SHOP — 7239 2 Street
  • SUNSHINE VALLEY ANIMAL HOSPITAL — 7480 4 Street 5
  • Boundary Hospital — 7649 22nd St
  • K D M Veterinary Hospital — 40378 Tantalus Rd

geonet carries no 'hospital' trait, so these are matched on the business name. A distance-to-hospital figure needs a source that states hospital locations.

11

Mayor & politics

Who holds office here and who is asking to, from the official lists on /politics: the council, the riding’s Member of Parliament and the provincial member. Each name opens its row there.

Mayor
7 on council
Member of Parliament
Helena Konanz ✉️ · Conservative
Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay
Member of the Legislative Assembly
Donegal Wilson · Independent
Boundary-Similkameen
On the ballot
12 candidates
votes 2026-10-17

Everyone who represents Grand Forks BC, and everyone running →

Realtors in Grand Forks BC — the brokerages and licensed agents to call →

12

What this record cannot tell you

Named in full, because the gaps are the part most likely to be misread as an answer.

  • Census figures are 2021, taken on 11 May 2021: income is for 2020 and the labour figures were measured mid-pandemic, so the unemployment rate on this page is a 2021 reading rather than a current one.
  • wander.schools is now readable, but it holds universities and colleges only and 1,679 of its 1,686 rows have no coordinates. K-12 public and private schools need a separate source — in Ontario the Ministry of Education school finder, in British Columbia the provincial school list. wander.citytowns, hotels and territories remain denied to the ru user.
  • No 'hospital' trait exists in geonet; distance to a hospital needs an external source such as StatCan's Open Database of Healthcare Facilities.
  • 14.6% of businesses here carry no coordinates, so a map or address lookup would miss them. Postal codes reach 91.6%.

Built from

  • geonet.kelowna — the local business register
  • wander.regions — city name, population, metro
  • search.local — trait vocabulary and the come-to-you services
  • search.cozfranchises — 2,024 franchise brands