About West Kelowna

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West Kelowna is located on the central, western hillsides of Okanagan Lake in British Columbia's beautiful Southern Interior Region, at the junction of Highways 97 and 97C. The community is the main gateway to the Okanagan from the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and the US Pacific Northwest. 

West Kelowna has a diverse economy, which includes agriculture, construction, finance, food and retail services, light industry, lumber manufacturing, technology, tourism and world renowned wineries. More than 2,200 business licences are issued annually.

The Greater Westside economic region has a population of more than 52,000 people, with 36,078 living in the City of West Kelowna, an estimated 10,000 residing in Westbank First Nation (based on projections since the 2020 national census), over 5,671 in Peachland (BC Stats, 2018) and approximately 2,000 in the surrounding rural areas.

The Greater Westside is part of the larger Central Okanagan Regional District and Economic region with a population of 208,852 (BC Stats, 2018) residents.

Population

West Kelowna has an estimated population of 36,496 (BC Stats, 2020) residents, living in more than 12,500 homes located within an area of 123.53 km2 (Stats Canada). The municipality is the fourth largest city by population in the Okanagan. The community continues to grow rapidly with a population increase of 5.7% between the 2011 and 2016 censuses (Stats Canada).

The City of West Kelowna serves more than 53,500 people, providing arenas, indoor pool, parks and recreational programs and RCMP detachment to neighbouring jurisdictions. The City of West Kelowna's fire department also provides response and prevention services to Westbank First Nation.

The City of West Kelowna is a partner in regional services with Westbank First Nation, District of Peachland and Regional District of Central Okanagan including regional parks, transit, the Waste Transfer Station on Asquith Road and Westside Wastewater Treatment Plant on Gellatly Road.