Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

What Yellowknife is made of: the communities whose institutions are here, the sectors its 946 businesses sit in, the franchises already on the ground, and the services a newcomer could start.

946 businesses on file · 91 trades · 33 sectors · census population 20,340 · registry population 20,340 · built from geonet.yellowknife on 2026-10-07

Businesses946
5% carry coordinates
Specialised in12
trades above the national pattern
Best suited tono cohort stands out
on the census signals below
Franchise brands27
already operating here

Visiting rather than moving? The free guidebook for Yellowknife → — 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 density46.5
businesses per 1,000 residents, against the 2021 census count of 20,340
Breadth of the base388
broad — 68 industry groups, top three 25.2%
Survival the mix implies56.2%
at five years, against 51.4% for all private establishments
Coded to NAICS58.7%
of which 58.4% 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.

Thin against the national pattern

Common trades that are under-represented here. For someone deciding what to open, this is the more useful half of the table — though a gap can mean unmet demand or a market that does not work here, and this does not tell you which.

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
36.6%
203 businesses
Caution
41.6%
231 businesses
Structure decides
21.8%
121 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 88.5% 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 Yellowknife, City (CY), the municipality proper, and every comparison is against the population-weighted average of all 5,161 census subdivisions in Canada.

Population20,340
census 2021
Median age35.2
against 42.1 nationally
Immigrants16.4%
against 23.2% nationally
Median rent$1,820
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

thin

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

Residents 65 and over 7.8% ▼19%
Residents 85 and overthe group that needs care rather than the group that is merely retired 0.5% ▼2.3%
Median age 35.2 years ▼42.1 years
Low income among 65+against a 15% reference, not a national figure 5.4% ▲15%
Medical clinics per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register 0.15 –
Pharmacies per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register 0.25 –
Nursing and elderly care operatorscounted in the register, which lists few of them 0 –
Median rent 1820 $/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

moderate

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

Residents 20 to 24 6.4% –6%
Residents 15 to 19the cohort arriving next 5.9% –6%
Renter householdsa rental market is what makes a place possible to move to 43.1% ▲33.2%
Median rent 1820 $/mo ▼1175 $/mo
Unemployment rateMay 2021, mid-pandemic — high everywhere in this census 5.8% ▲10.4%
Degree holders in the adult populationagainst a 32% reference 32.2% –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 16.4% ▼23.2%
Arrived 2016 to 2021a recent arrival means the route here is current, not historical 3.2% ▼3.7%
Speak a non-official language at home 7.4% ▼12.7%
Languages spoken at home above the reporting floor 3 –
Community institutions in the register 1 –
Non-permanent residentsstudents and work-permit holders 1.7% ▼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.

Spoken most often at homeSpeakers ShareCommunity in the register Institutions
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) 400 2% Filipino 0
Punjabi (Panjabi) 120 0.6% South Asian 0
Vietnamese 105 0.5% Vietnamese 0

The rest of the profile

CharacteristicHereCanada
Residents 65 and over 7.8% 19%
Residents 85 and over 0.5% 2.3%
Residents 20 to 24 6.4% 6%
Arrived 2016 to 2021 3.2% 3.7%
Non-permanent residents 1.7% —
Speak a non-official language at home 7.4% 12.7%
Renter households 43.1% 33.2%
Spending 30% or more on shelter 15.8% 20.6%
Participation rate 79% 63.7%
Unemployment rate 5.8% 10.4%
Median household income, 2020 148000 $ —
Median after-tax household income, 2020 126000 $ —
Prevalence of low income (LIM-AT) 4.3% —
Bachelor degree or higher 32.2% —

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 — 5
trade on 50 St (3)
Metis Heritage Association
Chinese — — 2
Italian — — 1
French — — 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.

Indigenous

trade on 50 St (3)
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 946 businesses actually are, and the specific trades inside each sector.

SectorBusinesses ShareWhat is in it
Business 150 15.9% government (64) · association (40) · consulting (18) · accounting (14) · real estate (1)
Construction 66 7% general contractor (22) · plumbing (13) · electrician (8) · painting (6) · carpet (4) · machinery (3) · home builder (3) · heating and cooling (2)
Living 62 6.6% place of worship (17) · apartment (16) · cleaning (8) · janitor (5) · daycare (5) · veterinary (3) · laundry (2) · fire safety (2)
Travel 43 4.5% bnb (11) · motel (10) · travel agent (7) · airline (3) · hotel (3)
Dining 39 4.1% restaurant (24) · pizza (9) · pubs (3) · diner (2) · bistro (1)
Education 33 3.5% school (21) · library (10) · garden (2)
Retail 30 3.2% gifts (11) · convenience (4) · jeweler (4) · flowers (4) · photography (2) · office equipment (2) · toys (1) · department store (1)
Law 25 2.6% mediator (6)
Living & Home 25 2.6%
Health 24 2.5% pharmacy (4) · physician (3) · medical clinic (3) · chiro (2) · optical (1)
Automotive 19 2% autos (9) · tires (2) · auto repair (2)
Finance 18 1.9% insurance (7) · bank (6) · mortgage (1) · loans (1) · real estate (1)
Logistics 17 1.8% truck transportation (8) · storage (2) · towing (1)
Beauty 14 1.5% hair stylist (8) · dentist (6)
Manufacturing 14 1.5% industrial supplier (11) · fabrication (3)
Entertainment 13 1.4% video (4) · video producer (3) · games (2) · music instruments (1) · amusement (1)
Tech 12 1.3% computers (10) · telecom (2)
Food & Beverage 10 1.1%
Realty 10 1.1% real estate (10)
Construction & Realty 9 1%
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.

8 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
Canadian Tire retail 2 455
U-Haul car 2 13,700
Wal-Mart retail 2 6,500
Boston Pizza pizza 1 250
Co-operators insurance 1 —
Foto Source retail 1 —
Fountain Tire auto 1 —
Hollywood Video video 1 2,700
IKON Office Solutions retail 1 400
Petro Canada fuel 1 1,512
Pizza Hut pizza 1 10,000
Royal Bank bank 1 —
Royal Canadian Legion club 1 160
Salvation Army retail 1 —
Shell Canada fuel 1 2,100
Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy 1 927
St. John retail 1 —
Super 8 economyhotel 1 —
Superior Propane fuel 1 —
Limited name only retail 6 —
Manor name only retail 4 —
Coach name only luggage 2 —
CIBC name only bank 1 —
Reitmans name only retail 1 343
SAAN name only retail 1 140
ScotiaBank name only bank 1 —
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
12 firms · LQ 0.93

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

Named in the register
  • Bellanca Development — 5201 50 Ave #804
  • Bromley and Son — 5007 50th Ave #200
  • Clark Shane — 4701 Franklin Ave
  • Coe Marie — 4917 48th St
  • England Diane — 3541 Mcdonald Dr #2
  • Home and Investment Center — 321 Old Airport Rd #D
  • Mc Pherson Mortgage Brokerage — 42 Bromley Dr
  • Mercredi Consulting — 5204 50th Avenue 201
  • Nova Construction — 4501 50th Ave
  • Polar Pandas Development — 4910 50 Ave #25
  • Raven Resources — 5004 54 St
  • Stewart Weir Mac Donald — 5004 50 Ave

Owning and letting

5311
16 firms · LQ 3.66

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

Named in the register
  • 831491 Northwest Territories — 5116 51 St #A
  • Birchwood Developments — Yellowknife, NT ;X1A 2N4
  • Bowling Green — Yellowknife, NT ;X1A 2R1
  • Char Developments — 902 Williams Avenue
  • Ciara Manor — 4402 School Draw Ave #214
  • Forrest Drive Manor — Yellowknife, NT
  • Humford Developments — 1000 Gitzel Street
  • Mac Kenzie Management — 5011 48 St
  • Midwest Property Management — 110-5302 51 Street
  • NWT Community Services — 5004 54 Street
  • Polar Developments — 5300 49 Street
  • Range Lake Manor Apartments — 110-492 Range Lake Road
  • T C Group of CO — 5022 49 St #260
  • Yellowknife Dairies Rentals — 4915 49th St

Building new homes

2361
27 firms · LQ 2.56

Residential builders and the general contractors who work for them.

Named in the register
  • Brazeau Repairs — 100 Kam Lake Rd
  • Camco Construction — 102 Eithen Dr
  • Clark Builders — 4920 52 St #906
  • Dowland Contracting — Old Airport Rd
  • Homes North — 3815 Dretzleff Rd
  • Jobies Enterprises — 4704 Hamilton Dr
  • K and K Contracting — 3 Mandeville Dr
  • Karpan Konstruction — 4917 48 St #200
  • Nahanni Construction — 100 Nahanni Dr
  • Nuna Logistics — 5107 48 St #104
  • Pcl Constructors Northern — 336 Old Airport Rd
  • R K Contracting — 5113 55 St
  • Taurus Contractors — 4813 54 Ave
  • Treeline Construction — 5 Ellesmere Dr

Financing it

5222
2 firms · LQ 2.25

Mortgage brokers and non-bank lenders.

Named in the register
  • Banque DE Developpement Du — 4912 49 St
  • Canada Mortgage and Housing — 5201 50 Ave #806

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 21daycare 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 clinics3
Pharmacies4
Dental practices6

Matched on the name "hospital"

  • Stanton Regional Hospital — 550 Byrne Rd
  • Great Slave Animal Hospital — 129 Kam Lake Rd
  • Stanton Hospital Eye Clinic — 4916 47 St

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
9 on council
Member of Parliament
Rebecca Alty ✉️ · Liberal
Northwest Territories
Member of the Legislative Assembly
Frame Lake
On the ballot
23 candidates
votes 2026-10-19

Everyone who represents Yellowknife, and everyone running →

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.
  • 95.2% of businesses here carry no coordinates, so a map or address lookup would miss them. Postal codes reach 89.7%.

Built from

  • geonet.yellowknife — 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