Kelowna has found the fountain of youth.
Long known for being a retirement haven, the city has turned the corner to have a more diverse mix of all ages.
“We are changing,” said Krista Mallory, manager of the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission.
“The region is much different than it was 10 years ago. More and more families are moving here and youth are staying here. And that’s great because Kelowna needs youth to power our workforce and keep our economy going.”
Young families are attracted to Kelowna for job opportunities, lifestyle and standard of living.” class=”img-responsive” data-src=”https://www.kelownanow.com/files/files/images/young%20family.jpg” style =”margin: 5px;”/>
“In the past five years there was a 20% increase in the number of people age 65-plus,” pointed out Mallory.
“That’s slightly over the national rate of increase of 18.3%, so Kelowna still has a lot of retirees and seniors.”
But the increases in youth (newborn to 14 years of age) and adults (the so-called student and working age demo of those age 15 to 64) was much more dramatic.
“The Central Okanagan’s youth population is up 14%, which is three times the national average, and the number of adults is up 12.6%, which is over five times the national average,” said Mallory.
“We’re outpacing most other regions when it comes to growing our younger demographics. It’s rapid growth.”
Rapid growth can be both good and bad.
It’s good in that Kelowna has the vibrant economy and enviable lifestyle and standard of living lures retirees, families, young professionals and college and university students to move here to live, work, play, study and invest.
The city’s economy is highly developed with industries and employers from a cross-section of new and traditional sectors from high tech, information technology, aerospace, professional services and advanced manufacturing to construction, real estate, forestry, agriculture and wine, health care and government .
“People are moving here because there is work, they are relocating here with a remote job or they are starting their own business,” said Mallory.
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