The Tally · September 2026 edition
5,708businesses, counted one at a time.
That is every business I could find in the 83 Kootenay towns, counted 28 OCT 2026. I didn't estimate or guess any of it. Every entry is a front door you can walk up to, or a phone that rings.
As far as I can find, 58 of these 83 towns never had their businesses counted in public before. Start with the short version, or go straight to your own town.
Writing a grant or a report? How the count is made, with sources and downloads.
The short version
Six things the count shows
Tap any card to see where the number comes from.
- 5,708businesses across 83 Kootenay towns, searchable by trade and by town.
- 13towns of 500 or more people where I found no doctor, clinic or pharmacy.
- 125times a town relies on just one business for an everyday trade.
- 46%of businesses in Radium Hot Springs mostly serve visitors. In Trail, it's 1%.
- 68%of businesses have a website. Salons and tradespeople are the least likely.
- 6,846businesses with staff in the official count. The List also names the one-person shops it leaves out.
Now showing the whole region. It has 5,708 businesses across 83 towns.
Start here: choose your town
Pick a town and every number on this page changes to match it. Tap the same town again to go back to the whole region.
The whole region, counted
Here are four numbers about the Kootenays as a whole. Pick a town above and all four change to match it.
Businesses listed
5,708
on the List across all 83 towns
For its size
–
Pick a town above to see how many businesses it has for every 1,000 people.
Have their own website
69%
3,930 of 5,708 have a site of their own. The rest you can find here.
at least this many, since I can only count sites I've found
Towns counted
83
every town with at least one business on the List, big or small
Every town, ranked
Every town in the region, in one list. Tap any town to see its numbers.
Bigger towns have more businesses. No surprise there. The surprise is that for most of these places, this is the first business count anyone has published.
What the region is made of
The kinds of business the Kootenays actually has, biggest group first. A business that fits two groups is counted in both, so these can add up to more than the total above.
Counted straight from the List, 28 OCT 2026. Population figures come from the Statistics Canada 2021 Census. I didn't estimate anything on this page.
What's missing, and where
Most towns have the everyday basics. In 15 towns of 500 or more people, three or more are missing, and people drive to the next town for them.
Towns short on everyday services, biggest first
- Warfield1,753 people
Has 2 of 10
In town: childcare and a gas station.
For everything else, the nearest town is Trail, about 5 km away.
Still checking: grocery store.
- Windermere1,511 people
Has 3 of 10
In town: a grocery store, childcare and a gas station.
For everything else, the nearest town is Invermere, about 5 km away.
Still checking: doctor or clinic and mechanic.
- Radium Hot Springs1,339 people
Has 3 of 10
In town: a grocery store, a gas station and a mechanic.
For everything else, the nearest town is Invermere, about 15 km away.
Still checking: bank or credit union.
- Christina Lake1,329 people
Has 6 of 10
Missing: dentist, bank or credit union and veterinarian.
For those, the nearest town is Grand Forks, about 15 km away.
Still checking: hardware store.
- Montrose1,013 people
Has 2 of 10
In town: childcare and a gas station.
For most of everything else, the nearest town is Fruitvale, about 5 km away.
Still checking: mechanic.
- Canal Flats802 people
Has 5 of 10
In town: a grocery store, childcare, a gas station, a mechanic and a vet.
For everything else, the nearest town is Invermere, about 40 km away.
Still checking: doctor or clinic.
Show 9 more townsShow fewer towns
- Fairmont Hot Springs781 people
Has 2 of 10
In town: a grocery store and a gas station.
For most of everything else, the nearest town is Invermere, about 25 km away.
- Genelle756 people
Has 3 of 10
In town: a grocery store, childcare and a gas station.
For everything else, the nearest town is Castlegar, about 15 km away.
- Edgewater720 people
Has 2 of 10
In town: a grocery store and a gas station.
For everything else, the nearest town is Invermere, about 25 km away.
Still checking: childcare and mechanic.
- Greenwood702 people
Has 4 of 10
In town: a grocery store, a doctor or clinic, a gas station and a bank or credit union.
For most of everything else, the nearest town is Midway, about 10 km away.
- Wynndel692 people
Has 2 of 10
In town: a grocery store and a gas station.
For everything else, the nearest town is Creston, about 10 km away.
- Midway651 people
Has 6 of 10
Missing: childcare, bank or credit union and veterinarian.
For most of those, the nearest town is Grand Forks, about 25 km away.
Still checking: mechanic.
- Procter568 people
Has 0 of 10
None of the ten are in town.
For most of everything else, the nearest town is Nelson, about 30 km away.
Still checking: grocery store and gas station.
- Bonnington555 people
Has 0 of 10
None of the ten are in town.
Still checking: mechanic.
- Jaffray510 people
Has 3 of 10
In town: childcare, a gas station and a hardware store.
For everything else, the nearest town is Fernie, about 20 km away.
Still checking: grocery store and mechanic.
Missing one or two: Rossland (veterinarian) · Kaslo (dentist) · Sparwood (veterinarian) · Elkford (hardware store and veterinarian) · Fruitvale (hardware store) · Salmo (dentist and bank or credit union).
All ten, right in town: Cranbrook, Castlegar, Nelson, Fernie, Creston, Kimberley, Trail, Invermere, Grand Forks and Nakusp.
The ten: grocery store, pharmacy, doctor or clinic, dentist, childcare, gas station, mechanic, bank or credit union, hardware store and veterinarian. Distances are straight lines between towns, so the drive is longer. Know one I missed? Add it.
When one business is the whole trade
In 37 towns, an everyday trade rests on a single business. It happens 118 times across the region. A few of them:
- Castlegar, bakeries: Crumbs Bakery Cafe is the only one on the List.
- Kimberley, plumbers: Eagle Plumbing & Mechanical Ltd. is the only one on the List.
- Kimberley, dentists: Caron Denture Clinic Ltd is the only one on the List.
- Kimberley, pharmacies: Shoppers Drug Mart is the only one on the List.
- Kimberley, lawyers & notaries: Stringam Law is the only one on the List.
- Kimberley, mechanics: K Town Custom Auto is the only one on the List.
Why it mattersWhen that owner retires, the town loses the trade. Across Canada, 76% of small business owners plan to leave within ten years, and only 9% have a plan for who takes over (Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 2023).
Room for one more
These towns have a trade, but far fewer than their population would suggest. For someone thinking of opening a business, that is a head start.
- CrestonContractors & builders: one for every 2,792 people. Across the region, one for every 299.
- KimberleyMechanics: one for every 8,115 people. Across the region, one for every 1,364.
- KimberleyPlumbers: one for every 8,115 people. Across the region, one for every 1,649.
- SparwoodElectricians: one for every 4,148 people. Across the region, one for every 913.
- RosslandHVAC & heating: one for every 4,140 people. Across the region, one for every 969.
What each town runs on
Some towns live on visitors, and others hardly see them. Most towns also have a trade or two they have far more of than the rest of the region.
Businesses that mostly serve visitors
Known for: Motels, Hotels & lodges
Known for: Campgrounds & RV Parks, Restaurants
- Midway20%
Known for: Hotels & lodges, Landscaping & lawn care
- Kaslo18%
Known for: Vacation Rentals, Museums & Galleries
- Nakusp17%
Known for: Convenience Stores, Vacation Rentals
- Windermere17%
Known for: Cafes & coffee, Non-profits & Charities
- Rossland14%
Known for: B&Bs & Guesthouses, Sporting goods & outdoor gear
- Fernie13%
Known for: Photographers & Video, Marketing & Advertising
- Nelson10%
Known for: Kids stores, Clothing & boutiques
Known for: Arenas & rec centres, Kids activities & classes
- Elkford6%
Known for: Cleaning services, Hair salons & barbers
Known for: Repair Services, Arts, music & lessons
Known for: Home builders, Insurance brokers
- Creston5%
Known for: Farms & farm stands, Feed & farm supply
- Sparwood5%
Known for: Butchers & meat, Mining & Forestry
Known for: Nail salons, Couriers & Delivery
Known for: Arenas & rec centres, HVAC & heating
Known for: Apartments & rentals, Print & signage
- Trail1%
Known for: Funeral & Cremation, Car dealerships
Why it mattersA town that leans on one kind of customer feels a bad season harder. When half the main street serves visitors, a slow tourist year hits all of it at once.
“Serve visitors” counts hotels, lodges, B&Bs, rentals, campgrounds, guides, ski, golf and marinas. “Known for” is a trade that makes up at least twice as big a share of the town as of the whole region. Towns with 40 or more businesses on the List. More on these measures.
The small town that wins
In Kaslo, one business for every 9 people.
It has 122 businesses and 1,049 residents, going by the 2021 census. No other Kootenay town of 250 people or more has more businesses per person. All 122 are on the List. A couple of tiny places do beat it. But with a few dozen people each, they are too small to rank fairly. You'll meet one of them further down the page.
Who you can find online
About 7 in 10 businesses have a website. Salons and tradespeople are the least likely to have one.
The four kinds of business least and most likely to have a website. All 16 kinds.
By town: Panorama (100%), Salmo (91%) and Fernie (88%) have the most businesses online. Argenta (18%), Midway (39%) and Wynndel (45%) have the fewest.
What those websites are like
In September I visited the front page of all 3,873 business websites, once each, and counted what I found. I only publish totals, never a business's name.
94%
are set up to read well on a phone
96%
use a secure address (https)
105
didn't work at all: no answer, a security warning, or an error
12%
let you book or order online
Most are built on WordPress (39%), Wix (12%) and Squarespace (8%).
Why it mattersMost people check a business online before they call or drive over. A business with no website, or one that breaks on a phone, loses those people to one that works.
Your town against the next one
Pick two towns and see what each one has, side by side. A zero means nothing of that kind is on the List there yet. If you're thinking of opening one, that's worth a long look.
Every kind of business below has at least one listing in both towns. The numbers show which town has more of each.
Odds and ends
Small things the count turned up that did not fit anywhere else.
The busiest streets on the List
The streets with the most businesses on them, anywhere in the Kootenays.
Columbia Ave, Castlegar197
Baker St, Nelson127
Cranbrook St N, Cranbrook105
Canyon St, Creston70
2nd Ave, Fernie67
298 businesses have “Kootenay” right in their name.
The tiniest places throw the rates off, in the best way. Ainsworth Hot Springs has 13 businesses and 20 residents. It's too small to rank fairly, but too good to leave out.
The List beside the official count
Statistics Canada counts businesses with staff on payroll. The List counts every business you can find, staff or not, and names each one.
East Kootenay
- People
- 65,896
- Businesses on the List
- 2,489
- Official count, with staff
- 2,967
Central Kootenay
- People
- 62,509
- Businesses on the List
- 2,495
- Official count, with staff
- 2,640
Kootenay Boundary
- People
- 33,152
- Businesses on the List
- 738
- Official count, with staff
- 1,239
The two counts overlap, but they are not the same thing. The official count counts each store of a chain on its own, and it includes companies with staff but no shop or phone you could find. For a district or a town, it never shows the one-person businesses, like a hairdresser working from home. The List does, by name. The List is thinnest in Kootenay Boundary, where I'm still adding businesses.
Using these numbers
Put them in a grant, a plan, a school project or a news story. Just credit The Kootenay List and link back.
Copy this to credit it
The Kootenay List. (2026). The state of Kootenay business, September 2026 edition [Data set]. Kootenay Made Digital. https://kootenaylist.ca/stats
Take the numbers with you
- towns.csv 7 KB
One row per town: district, 2021 population, businesses, per 1,000 people, websites, phones, addresses, kinds of business, spread and visitor share.
- trades-by-town.csv 172 KB
How many businesses of each kind are in each town. The table behind every gap on this page.
- study.json 186 KB
Everything on this page in one file, with the sources for every outside figure.
Free to reuse under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. The September 2026 files never change, so a citation always points at the numbers you used.
How the Tally is made: where every business comes from, how sure each number is, and what this count can't tell you.