Kamloops City Guide

Kamloops sits at the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers in south-central British Columbia, serving as the administrative centre for the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. Incorporated in 1893, the city grew after the Canadian Pacific Railway arrived in 1886 and Canadian National followed in 1912. With a 2021 population of 97,902 it is the twelfth largest municipality in BC; the census agglomeration reached 117,795, ranking 36th among Canadian metro areas. The landscape is semi-arid Thompson Plateau - golden grasslands dotted by ponderosa pines and sagebrush. Annual precipitation averages about 280mm and the city records approximately 2,000 sunshine hours per year. A regional university, a tertiary hospital, and Trans-Canada Highway access make Kamloops one of BC Interior's most self-contained cities. Average home prices hover near $550,000. Entry-level detached homes in core neighbourhoods run $450,000-$600,000; benchland construction in Sahali and Aberdeen starts around $650,000 and reaches well over $1 million. Browse all Kamloops listings, market trends, or best neighbourhoods.

Kamloops offers diverse housing across its varied terrain. Core neighbourhoods - South Kamloops, Brocklehurst, and North Shore - contain post-war bungalows and updated ranchers typically in the $450,000-$600,000 range. Sahali and Aberdeen benchlands offer executive homes with Thompson Valley views, with new construction from $650,000 to over $1 million. Westsyde provides newer single-family homes and acreage properties popular with families. Condominiums and townhomes are concentrated in South Kamloops, Sahali, and the North Shore, serving first-time buyers, retirees, and TRU's more than 25,000 students. Rental demand is driven by the university population and healthcare workers at Royal Inland Hospital, with the 2022 Gaglardi Tower expansion sustaining strong occupancy near downtown. See our market trends.

Kamloops is Canada's Tournament Capital, hosting more than 100 tournaments each year at the Tournament Capital Centre and Sandman Centre. The Sandman Centre is also home ice for the Kamloops Blazers WHL franchise. The 40km Rivers Trail connects downtown and the North Shore along both Thompson Rivers. Kenna Cartwright Nature Park has over 40km of trails and is among BC's largest municipal parks. The Kamloops Bike Ranch is the largest municipal bike park in Canada. The region has 10 championship golf courses and 3 more within 30km of downtown - the highest per-capita count in Canada - plus 100-plus freshwater lakes within one hour. The city maintains 82 parks covering 1,350 hectares. Five microbreweries, three distilleries, two cideries, and three wineries operate locally. The Western Canada Theatre, Kamloops Art Gallery, and Kamloops Symphony Orchestra anchor the cultural calendar alongside the annual BC Interior Provincial Exhibition in August. Sun Peaks Resort, approximately 55km northeast, is Canada's second-largest ski resort by skiable terrain.

Kamloops is a major hub on the Trans-Canada Highway, with Highway 5 the Coquihalla providing a fast southern route to the Lower Mainland. The Canadian Pacific (1886) and Canadian National (1912) railways both run through the city; Kamloops North station is the first stop on VIA Rail's eastbound The Canadian transcontinental service. Kamloops Airport YKA operates daily and is served by Air Canada, WestJet, and Pacific Coastal Airlines, connecting to Vancouver multiple times daily, with links to Calgary and seasonal routes to Edmonton. Most international connections go through Vancouver. BC Transit runs 14 routes across the city. The Route 1 University-Downtown-Aberdeen corridor and Route 2 North Shore-Downtown are the busiest. The system includes U-PASS for TRU students, handyDART accessible service, and Health Connections routes to Logan Lake, Merritt, Lytton, and Revelstoke.

Thompson Rivers University serves more than 25,000 students at its main Sahali benchland campus, a Williams Lake campus, and through Open Learning. TRU offers over 140 on-campus programs and 60-plus Open Learning programs across trades, certificates, and degrees, with co-op, field school, and undergraduate research opportunities. Established in 1970, TRU is a dual-sector research university and one of the city's largest employers. School District No. 73 Kamloops-Thompson operates over 50 schools serving more than 18,000 students. Secondary schools include Kamloops Senior Secondary (South Kamloops), Sa-Hali Secondary (Sahali-Aberdeen), NorKam Secondary (North Shore), and Westsyde Secondary. Programs include the International Baccalaureate, Kamloops Open Online Learning, a Trades and Transitions program, French immersion, and Indigenous Education programming.

Royal Inland Hospital at 311 Columbia Street is one of two Interior Health tertiary referral hospitals for the Thompson Cariboo Shuswap region, offering 24-hour emergency and trauma, surgery, neurosciences, cardiology, nephrology, and oncology. The Phil and Jennie Gaglardi Tower opened in summer 2022, and the hospital became Interior Health's first fully digital facility in June 2021. Aberdeen Mall is the largest retail centre in the BC Interior. The city operates the Tournament Capital Centre, multiple aquatic centres, ice rinks, and an extensive parks network. Cultural venues include the Kamloops Museum and Archives, Western Canada Theatre, Kamloops Art Gallery, and Kamloops Symphony Orchestra.