Photo: A.Davey · CC BY 2.0Work and commuting in Ladysmith
Half the households in Ladysmith had more than $80,800 in 2020, before tax, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. Ladysmith had an unemployment rate of 8% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Jobs located in Ladysmith: 1,865, for 2,410 residents with a usual workplace.
Where Ladysmith stands out on work
Work near the middle
Counting everyone 15 and over, 49% were in work at the 2021 census; among those aged 15 to 64 it was 75%, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
Unemployment was 8% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 5.2% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
On jobs and income, Ladysmith grades B−
Better than 54% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #121 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
More workers leave Ladysmith each day than arrive
It sends out some 2 workers for every one it takes in. 37% 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.
63% of Ladysmith’s residents in work leave it to work; Nanaimo takes the most
Nanaimo sends the largest group the other way, 340 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
In Ladysmith, 75% of the working-age population has a job
Of the 10 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Cowichan Valley census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting retirees, 49% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 56% in October 2026. Working or looking, 54% of everyone 15 and over was in the labour force. The figures are a snapshot of 11 May 2021, when pandemic rules still kept many people out of work or at home.
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 Ladysmith
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 58% of Canadian towns.
The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Ladysmith is 7% below it. Of the 10 other places of 2,500 or more in the Cowichan Valley census division, 7 have a higher median. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
7.5% of commuters from Ladysmith go without a car
More people walk to work here than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 6.9% against 4.6%. The car is the way to work for 90% of commuters. Only 15% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
A shorter commute than the middle of Canadian towns: 23.8 minutes from Ladysmith
An hour or more: 5.5% of commuters, close to the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 22 minutes (Statistics Canada). In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Only 37% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 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.
EI claims in the Cowichan Valley census division run 33% above their 2019 level
That is about 4.3 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. In the twelve months to August 2026 the number rose by 4%. In August 2021 it reached 3,820, the most in the series and 2.5 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Not measured by town: EI beneficiaries (the Cowichan Valley 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).
Ladysmith earns A− for walkability
Better than 75% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #146 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 659 Canadian towns of 6,900 to 13,400, Ladysmith comes 299th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | North River Heights Manitoba | 7,228 | 82% | 8.4% | $143K | A+ |
| 4 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 17 | Revelstoke British Columbia | 9,464 | 77% | 10% | $97K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 25 | Saltspring Island British Columbia | 12,429 | 84% | 5.5% | $77K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 297 | South Terwillegar Alberta | 8,183 | 73% | 12% | $111K | B− |
| 298 | Craig Henry - Manordale Ontario | 8,758 | 69% | 11% | $109K | B− |
| 299 | Ladysmith British Columbia | 9,926 | 75% | 8% | $81K | B− |
| 300 | Devonshire Ontario | 9,852 | 60% | 18% | $89K | B− |
| 301 | West Springs Alberta | 11,632 | 71% | 12% | $168K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 659 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Ladysmith, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Work in the places around Ladysmith
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladysmith | 75% | 8% | $81K | 23.8 min | B− | A− |
| Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley 4.2 km | 83% | 4.3% | $86K | 29.1 min | B | C |
| Electoral Area G, Cowichan Valley 5.5 km | 72% | 8.3% | $82K | 26.2 min | C+ | B− |
| Electoral Area A, Nanaimo 12.5 km | 75% | 8.2% | $87K | 25 min | B | B− |
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 Ladysmith, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Trip times. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured 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. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- In work. People in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64 (2021 Census). The census doesn’t cross work with age below the municipality, so this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood has; retirees don’t weigh on it.
- 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.
- 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 Ladysmith
What is the unemployment rate in Ladysmith?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Vancouver Island and Coast economic region at 5.2%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 8%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in Ladysmith?
The census puts Ladysmith at $80,800 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Ladysmith get to work?
90% of commuters go by car, 6.9% walk and 0.6% cycle. On census day 15% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Ladysmith?
On average 23.8 minutes; 37% take under 15 minutes and 5.5% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Ladysmith work?
37% work in Ladysmith itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Nanaimo (640), then North Cowichan (420).
How many jobs are there in Ladysmith?
About 1,865 people had their usual place of work in Ladysmith at the 2021 census, 0.8 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 254 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).