Photo: UBC Micrometeorology · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Delta top those of 92% of Canadian towns
Jobs were held by 77% of people aged 15 to 64 in Delta in 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. Workers in Delta spend 30.1 minutes on the way to work on average, and 7.6% need an hour or more. When the 2021 census was taken, 7.3% of people in Delta who wanted a job had none; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
Work in Delta, in a few figures
Less unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 7.3% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 6.7% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $107,900 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
A local job centre
With 41,890 jobs based in Delta and 33,780 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 30.1 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 7.6% 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.
The Jobs & income grade for Delta: B
Better than 61% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #100 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.
Work and the working-age population of Delta
Of the 95 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Greater Vancouver census division, 68 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 59%. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 63% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 64%. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
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.
What households earned in Delta: $107,900 in 2020
Against the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900), Delta’s median is 24% above. Of the 95 other places of 2,500 or more in the Greater Vancouver census division, 26 have a higher median. Incomes are for 2020, the first pandemic year, so CERB and other emergency payments are part of them.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Each working day, Delta’s workforce swells by 18%
Of those who commute, 36% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Time on the road to work from Delta
In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Only 23% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 26.8 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.
29,831 people come into Delta to work, most from Surrey and Vancouver
- Surrey15,760
- Vancouver3,055
- Richmond2,130
- Burnaby1,655
- Langley1,500
- New Westminster1,455
- Coquitlam865
- Maple Ridge505
- Abbotsford490
- Port Coquitlam400
- Surrey6,605
- Richmond4,785
- Vancouver4,255
- Burnaby1,850
- Tsawwassen1,040
- New Westminster680
- Langley565
- Coquitlam335
- Electoral Area A, Metro Vancouver210
- Port Coquitlam210
71% of the people who work in Delta live outside it, 15,760 of them in Surrey, 14 km away. The main destination the other way is Surrey, with 6,605.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Without a car, 14% of Delta’s commuters get to work
Fewer drive than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 84% against 87%. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 19% against 21%. By transit: 9.4% of commuters, well above the 2.3% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the Greater Vancouver census division, 63% more people receive EI than in 2019
The count topped out in January 2021 at 117,570 people, 3.3 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.6 receive EI. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 4%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100). For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of the Greater Vancouver census division, Delta included.
Walking in Delta earns A+
Better than 96% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #72 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 87,300 to 168,300, Delta ranks 12th of 42 for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lévis Quebec | 160,882 | 84% | 5.3% | $84K | A |
| 2 | Saanich British Columbia | 126,011 | 77% | 6.8% | $93K | A |
| 3 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 97,845 | 79% | 7.3% | $123K | A |
| 4 | Kelowna British Columbia | 167,654 | 78% | 7.9% | $83K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 10 | Airdrie Alberta | 92,544 | 75% | 11% | $110K | B |
| 11 | Guelph Ontario | 160,760 | 74% | 11% | $93K | B |
| 12 | Delta British Columbia | 124,670 | 77% | 7.3% | $108K | B |
| 13 | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Quebec | 100,806 | 80% | 5.8% | $75K | B |
| 14 | Victoria British Columbia | 103,888 | 79% | 8.1% | $68K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 42 | Cape Breton Nova Scotia | 106,752 | 59% | 20% | $63K | C− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Delta, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Next to Delta: how nearby places compare
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta | 77% | 7.3% | $108K | 30.1 min | B | A+ |
| Colebrook 9 km | 80% | 8.8% | $148K | 30.4 min | A− | C+ |
| Strawberry Hill 9 km | 72% | 9.4% | $92K | 34.5 min | C | A+ |
| Tsawwassen 10.6 km | 73% | 7.6% | $97K | 28.1 min | B− | A− |
| Panorama Ridge 10.7 km | 72% | 8.8% | $115K | 32.4 min | C+ | A |
| Brownsville 11.2 km | 72% | 8.9% | $98K | 35.4 min | C | A+ |
| South Slope 11.3 km | 70% | 9.4% | $104K | 29.6 min | C+ | 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 Delta, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- 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. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- Employment Insurance. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t 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. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Delta
What is the unemployment rate in Delta?
On census day in May 2021, unemployment stood at 7.3% of the labour force (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). For a recent figure, the Labour Force Survey put the Vancouver metro area at 6.7% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Delta?
At $107,900 before tax in 2020, the median household in Delta compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Delta get to work?
By car: 84% of commuters, 9.4% take public transit, 3.6% walk and 1% cycle; on census day 19% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Delta?
30.1 minutes is the average trip, with 23% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 7.6% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Delta work?
36% work in Delta itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Surrey (6,605), then Richmond (4,785).
How many jobs are there in Delta?
The 2021 census counted about 41,890 people working in Delta: 1.2 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 4,673 businesses with employees in June 2026.
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).