PlaceDossier / BC places / Okanagan-Similkameen
Penticton
A city in the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District. 36,885 people lived here in 2021, up 9.3% from 2016.
Land and hazards
| Here | Rank in BC | |
|---|---|---|
| In the farmland reserve (ALR) | 18% | 88th of 267 |
| Burned by wildfire since 1996 | 0.2% | 164th of 215 |
| Years with a mapped wildfire since 1919 | 10 | most recent 2025 |
| Under mineral, placer or coal titles | 10.0% | 99th of 219 |
| Land area | 48 km² |
Shares of the land area, measured by us from the provincial maps. Fire perimeters before the 1950s are less complete. A title or a past fire somewhere in the area says nothing about a given lot: a property report checks the parcel itself.
Source: Agricultural Land Reserve polygons, Agricultural Land Commission (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Fire perimeters – historical, BC Wildfire Service (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Mineral, placer and coal tenures, Mineral Titles Branch (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
Water wells
62 water-supply wells on record; half are deeper than 91 m, and the median tested yield is 19 L/min. Wells here rank 12th of 296 for depth.
Source: Groundwater wells (GWELLS), Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia).
Climate
| Here | Rank in BC | |
|---|---|---|
| January mean temperature | -0.6 °C | |
| July mean temperature | 21 °C | 20th of 237 |
| Yearly precipitation | 346 mm | |
| Yearly snowfall | 59 cm | 159th of 237 |
Normals for 1981-2010 at the Penticton A station, about 4 km from the centre of the area. Elevation matters a lot in BC: a hillside lot can be much colder and snowier than the station.
Source: Climate normals 1981-2010, Environment and Climate Change Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada).
People and homes
| Here | BC | |
|---|---|---|
| Population, 2021 | 36,885 | 5,000,879 |
| Change since 2016 | +9.3% | +7.6% |
| Median age | 52 | 42.8 |
| Under 15 | 11.9% | 14.3% |
| 65 and over | 30.3% | 20.3% |
| Median household income (2020) | $68,000 | $85,000 |
| Homes owned by the people living in them | 63.3% | 66.8% |
| Single-detached houses | 40.3% | 42.4% |
| Movable dwellings (mobile homes and the like) | 3.6% | 2.5% |
| Built before 1961 | 15.3% | 12.5% |
| Needing major repairs | 5.7% | 5.8% |
| Median home value (owners' estimate) | $524,000 | $785,000 |
| Median monthly rent | $1,200 | $1,370 |
| Worked from home | 14.4% | 22.6% |
| Unemployment rate | 8.4% | 8.4% |
Bars: the dark bar is this place, the gold mark is BC.
Source: Census of Population 2021, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
Who lives here
| Here | BC | |
|---|---|---|
| Indigenous identity | 6.8% | 5.9% |
| Immigrants | 13.4% | 29.0% |
| Visible minority | 8.9% | 34.4% |
| No religion or a secular outlook | 55.0% | 52.1% |
Bars: the dark bar is this place, the gold mark is BC.
Shown for context, like the other census figures. We don't rank or score places on these.
Source: Census of Population 2021, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
Census figures are from 2021; the next census results start in 2027. Area boundaries are Statistics Canada's census subdivisions, which follow municipal and electoral area lines.