Municipalities, Regional Districts and Development Regions
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No. 3 with a bullet
Wayne Moore - CASTANET Jan 21, 2016 / 5:00
If you were asked to name the three most populated cities in the Okanagan, you probably wouldn't hesitate. Kelowna, Vernon, then Penticton. And you would be correct - until now. According to BC Stats, population estimates for 2015 show West Kelowna has nudged past Penticton as the third most populated city in the Okanagan. Stats show West Kelowna with an estimated 2015 population of 34,484, an increase of 5.3 per cent over 2014. Penticton has seen a population decrease of 0.3 per cent to 33,964. "We are a growing municipality," said West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater. Penticton is one of just a handful of Okanagan municipalities (Enderby, Oliver, Peachland) whose estimated population has gone down. Vernon remains the second most populated at 40,497 (+3.4 per cent) while Kelowna is at 124,378 (+2.3 per cent). Figures also show Lake Country with the second highest growth among B.C. municipalities. Lake Country saw 7.6 per cent growth in 2015. That is second only to Burns Lake, with a growth of 7.7 per cent.Growth is important to communities as they prepare yearly budgets. A growing population means a growing tax base, which means more taxpayers to share the tax burden.
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