City of Penticton sees an increase in newcomers from Alberta, Metro Vancouver

While a majority of the newest residents in Penticton are from Metro Vancouver, the city has recently seen a spike in arrivals from BC’s neighbouring province.

According to data collected by the City through the Welcome Home program, which gets newcomers to fill out a form upon moving to the city, 30% of respondents in 2024 came from Metro Vancouver.

The form also saw 25% of respondents come from the BC Interior/Northern BC and the percentage of respondents from Alberta jumped from 13% in 2022 to 25% in 2024. The fourth largest group was 7% from Ontario, a decrease from 12.5% in 2022.

More than half of the respondents from Alberta said the weather and access to outdoor recreation in Penticton was one of the reasons why they chose to move.

“Our ‘Welcome Home’ program shines a light on some fascinating migration trends we have been seeing in Penticton in recent years,” said Blake Laven, director of development services.

“The pandemic saw a growth in remote workers moving here from the Lower Mainland and now we’re seeing an increase in newcomers arriving from Alberta, who are choosing Penticton for its climate and outdoor recreational opportunities. We’re also seeing a number of international arrivals, with the top countries being the US, Australia and India.”

A majority of the city’s newest residents from Alberta (32%) said they moved to Penticton for a job. Secondly, 31% said they were retired and 16% said they were remote workers.

More than half (55%) of the city’s newcomers from Alberta live in apartments, 18% are in houses and 18% are in townhouses/duplexes.

The majority (45%) are retired, while 36% moved to Penticton for a job and 9% are remote workers.

Of those that moved to Penticton from Metro Vancouver in 2024, 87% live in a house and 73% purchased their home. Of that group, 40% are retired, 27% moved to the city for a job and 27% are remote workers.

An overwhelming majority of respondents from Metro Vancouver (80%) said they moved to Penticton for a more affordable lifestyle.

Since the City began collecting this data, the type of housing newcomers live in has shifted.

In 2022, 42% stated they lived in a house and 34% said they lived in an apartment or condo.

By the end of 2024, 32% of newcomers were living in apartments/condos and 30% were living in houses.

The age groups moving to the city have also seen a shift as 2022 saw 56% of newcomers between the ages of 31-65, while the majority of newcomers in 2024 were children up to age 18.

More stats of newcomers to the community can be found online at this link.