Photo: Ken Walker · CC BY 2.5Working-age people in Central Saanich have jobs more often than in 92% of Canadian towns
An hour or more each way is the commute for 2.6% of workers in Central Saanich; the average is 21.7 minutes. The median household in Central Saanich had $103,200 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Out of work in May 2021: 4.9% of Central Saanich’s labour force, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%.
The work numbers behind Central Saanich
More people in work than most towns
85% of people aged 15 to 64 had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; counting everyone 15 and over, retirees included, it was 59%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
4.9% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 4.8% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
At $103,200 before tax in 2020, the median household compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
A local job centre
With 6,165 jobs based in Central Saanich and 5,360 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 21.7 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 2.6% last an hour or longer. The trip to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs and income in Central Saanich earn A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on three measures together, #3 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; its weakest, trip times.
Graded against Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more; less unemployment and a shorter commute count in its favour.
How the grade works
Census 2021 measures, weighed equally against every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 people or more: the share of residents aged 15 to 64 in work, median household income (2020), the unemployment rate and the average commute. Each becomes a percentile; their average sets the letter.
85% of working-age people in Central Saanich have jobs
Of the 15 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Capital census division, 14 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 61% in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 62%. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 59%. May 2021, when the census was taken, was a pandemic spring; unemployment has come down since, as the Labour Force Survey records.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: people in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64, and the census unemployment rate (15 and over); the 25-to-54 rate is Statistics Canada’s own (98-10-0485). The Labour Force Survey and business counts are context, not grade inputs.
Household income in Central Saanich
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 88% of Canadian towns.
Of the 15 other places of 2,500 or more in the Capital census division, 4 have a higher median. Against the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900), Central Saanich’s median is 19% above. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes that year.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Workers pour into Central Saanich: 11% more on a working day
5,360 residents of Central Saanich had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 6,165 people had theirs in Central Saanich, wherever they lived.
34% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Commuting times in Central Saanich
Timed exactly, the average is 19.7 minutes (Statistics Canada). The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 35%, fewer than the 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting duration in five bands; our average uses each band’s middle (75 minutes for an hour or more), so it runs about two minutes above Statistics Canada’s own.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
4,343 people come into Central Saanich to work, most from Saanich and Victoria
- Saanich1,545
- Victoria715
- Langford410
- North Saanich400
- Sidney320
- Esquimalt180
- Colwood135
- East Saanich 290
- View Royal85
- Oak Bay70
- Victoria1,000
- Saanich920
- Sidney545
- North Saanich450
- Esquimalt180
- View Royal110
- Langford105
- Oak Bay80
- East Saanich 245
- Colwood30
70% of the people who work in Central Saanich live outside it, 1,545 of them in Saanich, 12 km away. Going the other way, Victoria is the biggest single destination (1,000).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Central Saanich work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
9.8% of commuters from Central Saanich go without a car
By bus, train or subway: 3.3%, much as in the middle of Canadian towns. By car, truck or van: 87% of commuters, much as in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. 27% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
EI claims in the Capital census division run 44% above their 2019 level
That is about 3.2 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 7%. At its peak, in January 2021, 15,570 people were on EI, 3 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Capital census division. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Central Saanich earns A− for walkability
Better than 81% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #125 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Central Saanich is 4th of 510 Canadian towns of 12,700 to 24,500 people for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 3 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 4 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| 5 | Cap-Rouge Quebec | 17,139 | 81% | 4.3% | $126K | A+ |
| 6 | Glebe-Dows Lake Ontario | 13,436 | 80% | 9.4% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 11 | Oak Bay British Columbia | 18,626 | 80% | 7% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Fort St. John British Columbia | 24,383 | 76% | 8.9% | $102K | A+ |
| 20 | Terrace British Columbia | 13,648 | 77% | 6.5% | $91K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 510 | Oakridge Ontario | 13,913 | 51% | 21% | $60K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Central Saanich, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Central Saanich and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Saanich | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | 21.7 min | A+ | A− |
| East Saanich 2 3.5 km | 72% | 12% | $58K | 20.9 min | C− | B |
| Highlands 7.5 km | 83% | 4.9% | $124K | 27.3 min | A | C− |
| Sidney 9.4 km | 84% | 4.7% | $77K | 19.8 min | A | A+ |
| North Saanich 10.5 km | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | 21.8 min | A+ | B |
| Saanich 11.9 km | 77% | 6.8% | $93K | 21.3 min | A | A+ |
| Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley 12.3 km | 75% | 7% | $95K | 28.1 min | B− | C |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Central Saanich, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Employment Insurance. Beneficiaries of Employment Insurance, month by month, for the census division rather than the town. Many jobless people don’t qualify, so it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Monthly, and only for metro areas and economic regions. It is the up-to-date rate we set beside the census’s 2021 snapshot.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. What the median household took in during 2020 before tax, as the census recorded it; an estimate built from income groups when the place is a neighbourhood.
- Trip times. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s average.
- Where people commute. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- Which towns we compare. Any town of 2,500 or more counts, and so does any city neighbourhood that size; the city as a whole and First Nations reserves don’t. The middle is the median.
Questions about work in Central Saanich
Where do people in Central Saanich work?
34% work in Central Saanich itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Victoria (1,000), then Saanich (920).
How many jobs are there in Central Saanich?
About 6,165 people had their usual place of work in Central Saanich at the 2021 census, 1.2 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 765 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Central Saanich?
The 2021 census found 4.9% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Victoria metro area, is 4.8% (October 2026).
How do people in Central Saanich get to work?
87% of commuters go by car, 3.3% take public transit, 4.5% walk and 2% cycle. On census day 27% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Central Saanich?
On average 21.7 minutes; 35% take under 15 minutes and 2.6% take an hour or longer.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, tables 98-10-0458 and 98-10-0459 (commuting) · Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0323 (EI beneficiaries) · Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (14-10-0459, 14-10-0462) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Business Counts (33-10-1176) · grades: TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).