Photo: The original uploader was IDuke at English Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 2.5A larger share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Esquimalt than in 67% of Canadian towns
Before tax, the typical household in Esquimalt brought in $76,200 in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. Esquimalt is the usual workplace of 7,660 people, and 5,715 of its own residents commute to a job. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 7.9% of Esquimalt’s labour force, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Where Esquimalt stands out on work
A local job centre
7,660 people work in Esquimalt and 5,715 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 21.7 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 3.1% take an hour or more. 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 Esquimalt earn B+
Better than 70% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #84 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, household income.
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.
A working day adds 25% to the people at work in Esquimalt
Of those who commute, 26% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Shorter than the middle of Canadian towns: commutes from Esquimalt average 21.7 minutes
In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Only 36% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 3.1% take an hour or more, against 6.3%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 19.5 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.
6,163 people come into Esquimalt to work, most from Saanich and Victoria
- Saanich1,345
- Victoria1,265
- Langford1,135
- Colwood635
- Sooke340
- View Royal285
- Central Saanich180
- Shawnigan135
- Oak Bay120
- North Cowichan115
- Victoria2,245
- Saanich920
- Langford245
- View Royal230
- Central Saanich180
- North Saanich95
- Colwood70
- Oak Bay60
- Sidney40
- Metchosin20
Of everyone working in Esquimalt, 80% come in from elsewhere; 1,345 make the 6 km trip from Saanich. Of residents who leave for work, most head to Victoria (2,245).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
In Esquimalt, 78% of the working-age population has a job
Of the 15 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Capital census division, 4 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 61%. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 61% in October 2026. Counting those looking for work too, 66% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. 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.
Earnings at home in Esquimalt: households
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 52% of Canadian towns.
13 of the 15 other places of 2,500+ in the Capital census division have a higher median. That puts Esquimalt 12% below the median of British Columbia’s towns, $86,900. The year is 2020: emergency benefits like CERB count in these incomes, and they raised the bottom of the range.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 31% of Esquimalt’s commuters
By bus, train or subway: 12%, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. More people cycle to work here than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 7.5% against 0.9%. Fewer drive than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 66% against 87%. Working at home: 22%, 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).
In the Capital census division, 44% more people receive EI than in 2019
In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 7%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 15,570 people on EI, 3 times 2019’s average. That works out to around 3.2 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries: one figure for all of 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).
Everyday places on foot in Esquimalt: A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #44 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Esquimalt next to Canadian towns of 13,700 to 26,300: 106th of 465 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 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Oak Bay British Columbia | 18,626 | 80% | 7% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 15 | Fort St. John British Columbia | 24,383 | 76% | 8.9% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 104 | Cranston Alberta | 20,055 | 76% | 9.5% | $129K | B+ |
| 105 | Loretteville Quebec | 15,653 | 81% | 7.3% | $74K | B+ |
| 106 | Esquimalt British Columbia | 19,512 | 78% | 7.9% | $76K | B+ |
| 107 | Fallingbrook Ontario | 17,836 | 76% | 7.8% | $133K | B+ |
| 108 | Vieux-Bourg Quebec | 14,774 | 82% | 7.6% | $67K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 465 | Oakridge Ontario | 13,913 | 51% | 21% | $60K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Esquimalt, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Esquimalt
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esquimalt | 78% | 7.9% | $76K | 21.7 min | B+ | A+ |
| New Songhees 1A 1.9 km | 67% | 16% | $59K | 23.4 min | D | A+ |
| Victoria 3.9 km | 79% | 8.1% | $68K | 21.2 min | B | A+ |
| View Royal 4 km | 78% | 5.6% | $97K | 22.1 min | A | A |
| Saanich 5.5 km | 77% | 6.8% | $93K | 21.3 min | A | A+ |
| Colwood 6.3 km | 80% | 5.1% | $102K | 24.9 min | A | A |
| Oak Bay 7 km | 80% | 7% | $108K | 20.9 min | A+ | 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 Esquimalt, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. The share of people 15 and over in the labour force, working or looking for work, who had no job on census day in May 2021.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- 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. Only people with a usual place of work are in it: those who work from home or have no fixed site are not. Home and work are both counted by municipality.
- Employment Insurance. How many people in the census division drew Employment Insurance each month; it moves with layoffs and hiring, yet people who don’t qualify are absent from it.
- The Labour Force Survey. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- 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 Esquimalt
What is the unemployment rate in Esquimalt?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Victoria metro area at 4.8%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 7.9%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Esquimalt?
The census puts Esquimalt at $76,200 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Esquimalt get to work?
Driving takes 66% of commuters to work, 12% take public transit, 11% walk and 7.5% cycle, and on census day 22% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Esquimalt?
About 21.7 minutes on average, with 36% under a quarter-hour and 3.1% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Esquimalt work?
Only 26% work in Esquimalt itself; the rest go first to Victoria (2,245) and Saanich (920).
How many jobs are there in Esquimalt?
Some 7,660 people worked in Esquimalt at the 2021 census: 1.3 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 366 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
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).