Photo: Kyle Wilson · CC BY-SA 4.0Colwood has 0.5 jobs for every resident in work, so most leave town for work
Colwood counted 80% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns. Census day 2021 found 5.1% of Colwood’s labour force without a job, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. In 2020, a household at the middle of Colwood had $101,900 before tax, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900.
Colwood and work: the main findings
More people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 80% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 62%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 5.1% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 4.8%. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Household income at the median was $101,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
The Jobs & income grade for Colwood: A
Better than 88% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #31 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is household income; 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.
How many in Colwood were working in 2021
Of the 15 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Capital census division, 8 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. 65% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 62%. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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 Colwood
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 87% of Canadian towns.
Of the 15 other places of 2,500 or more in the Capital census division, 5 have a higher median. Set beside British Columbia’s towns, where the median is $86,900, Colwood sits 17% above. Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for 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).
The daily tide in Colwood runs outward
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 2 to 1. The job is inside the municipality for 14% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
86% of Colwood’s residents in work leave it to work; Langford takes the most
- Langford985
- Saanich380
- Sooke190
- Victoria175
- Metchosin165
- View Royal90
- Esquimalt70
- Highlands55
- Oak Bay40
- Juan de Fuca (Part 1)40
- Langford1,435
- Victoria1,325
- Saanich855
- Esquimalt635
- View Royal410
- North Saanich140
- Central Saanich135
- Metchosin85
- Sooke70
- Sidney50
Langford sends the largest group the other way, 985 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
On foot, by bike, bus or train: 11% of Colwood’s commuters
More people take transit to work here than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 5.2% against 2.3%. 85% drive to work, fewer than the 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Working at home: 20%, close to 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).
A commute like the middle of Canadian towns: 24.9 minutes from Colwood
Trips under 15 minutes: 29%, fewer than the 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. An hour or more: 2.6% of commuters, under the 6.3% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 22.2 minutes. The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes.
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.
44% more people are on EI in the Capital census division than in 2019
Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 7%. The highest month was January 2021: 15,570 people, 3 times the 2019 level. Roughly 3.2 in every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in the division draw EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the Capital census division, not by town. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Colwood grades A for walkability
Better than 87% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #106 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Colwood next to Canadian towns of 16,000 to 30,800: 28th of 379 on 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 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| 3 | Cap-Rouge Quebec | 17,139 | 81% | 4.3% | $126K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Oak Bay British Columbia | 18,626 | 80% | 7% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Fort St. John British Columbia | 24,383 | 76% | 8.9% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 26 | Stittsville Ontario | 19,753 | 78% | 8.7% | $149K | A |
| 27 | Squamish British Columbia | 28,578 | 83% | 6.8% | $112K | A |
| 28 | Colwood British Columbia | 22,794 | 80% | 5.1% | $102K | A |
| 29 | Petawawa Ontario | 19,606 | 71% | 6.3% | $102K | A |
| 30 | Cold Lake Alberta | 17,798 | 75% | 7.8% | $105K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 379 | Parc-Extension Quebec | 29,066 | 61% | 16% | $48K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Colwood, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Colwood and its neighbours: work and income
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colwood | 80% | 5.1% | $102K | 24.9 min | A | A |
| Langford 3.2 km | 81% | 6.2% | $93K | 24.3 min | A | A |
| View Royal 5.3 km | 78% | 5.6% | $97K | 22.1 min | A | A |
| New Songhees 1A 5.7 km | 67% | 16% | $59K | 23.4 min | D | A+ |
| Esquimalt 6.3 km | 78% | 7.9% | $76K | 21.7 min | B+ | A+ |
| Metchosin 7.2 km | 74% | 5.5% | $105K | 31.9 min | C+ | B− |
| Victoria 10 km | 79% | 8.1% | $68K | 21.2 min | B | A+ |
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 Colwood, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed 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.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in Colwood
How do people in Colwood get to work?
Driving takes 85% of commuters to work, 5.2% take public transit, 3.6% walk and 2.4% cycle, and on census day 20% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Colwood?
About 24.9 minutes on average, with 29% under a quarter-hour and 2.6% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Colwood work?
Only 14% work in Colwood itself; the rest go first to Langford (1,435) and Victoria (1,325).
How many jobs are there in Colwood?
Statistics Canada counted 492 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Colwood?
The 2021 census found 5.1% 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).
What is the average household income in Colwood?
Colwood’s middle household had $101,900 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
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).