Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Metchosin top those of 89% of Canadian towns
In Metchosin, 74% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. Most commutes from Metchosin take well under an hour: the average is 31.9 minutes, and 6.9% take 60 minutes or longer. Metchosin had an unemployment rate of 5.5% at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
The work numbers behind Metchosin
Less unemployment than most towns
5.5% 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
Household income at the median was $104,500 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at the middle. Household income ↓
Longer trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 31.9 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6.9% 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.
Metchosin grades C+ for jobs and income
Better than 42% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #158 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 Metchosin
None of the 15 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Capital census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
60% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Counting retirees, 56% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 61% in October 2026. 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 Metchosin: $104,500 at the median
The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Metchosin is 20% above it. Of the 15 other places of 2,500 or more in the Capital census division, 3 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).
The length of the trip to work in Metchosin
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 28.1 minutes. The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Only 17% 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.
The daily tide in Metchosin runs outward
Outbound commuters outnumber inbound ones about 2 to 1. Of those who commute, 16% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
84% of Metchosin’s residents in work leave it to work; Langford takes the most
- Langford250
- Victoria200
- Saanich170
- Colwood165
- Esquimalt90
- View Royal80
- Sooke45
- Central Saanich35
- North Saanich20
- Sidney20
Inbound, the leader is Langford (175).
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: 6.3% of Metchosin’s commuters
Nearly everyone drives: 91% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Home was the workplace for 28%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%. Transit takes 2.4% of commuters, against 3.5% 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).
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%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 15,570 people on EI, 3 times 2019’s average. That is about 3.2 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division.
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). Metchosin doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Capital census division.
Metchosin earns B− for walkability
Better than 47% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #202 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Metchosin is 421st of 728 Canadian towns of 3,600 to 7,000 people for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 2 | New Maryland New Brunswick | 4,455 | 81% | 6.5% | $118K | A+ |
| 3 | South Tuxedo Manitoba | 3,629 | 85% | 6.8% | $110K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Smithers British Columbia | 5,627 | 83% | 6% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 16 | Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako British Columbia | 5,829 | 82% | 7.4% | $98K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 19 | Invermere British Columbia | 4,305 | 82% | 5.9% | $84K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 419 | Remington Park Ontario | 5,783 | 55% | 22% | $76K | C+ |
| 420 | Greenboro West Ontario | 5,597 | 66% | 12% | $99K | C+ |
| 421 | Metchosin British Columbia | 5,207 | 74% | 5.5% | $105K | C+ |
| 422 | Britannia Ontario | 4,641 | 67% | 15% | $127K | C+ |
| 423 | Harrietsfield Nova Scotia | 6,786 | 71% | 11% | $96K | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 728 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Metchosin, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
The work picture around Metchosin
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metchosin | 74% | 5.5% | $105K | 31.9 min | C+ | B− |
| Colwood 7.2 km | 80% | 5.1% | $102K | 24.9 min | A | A |
| Langford 8.7 km | 81% | 6.2% | $93K | 24.3 min | A | A |
| View Royal 12.4 km | 78% | 5.6% | $97K | 22.1 min | A | A |
| New Songhees 1A 12.7 km | 67% | 16% | $59K | 23.4 min | D | A+ |
| Sooke 12.7 km | 75% | 6.7% | $90K | 35.4 min | C | B+ |
| Esquimalt 12.7 km | 78% | 7.9% | $76K | 21.7 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 Metchosin, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- 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. 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.
- Trip times. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed average.
- Where people commute. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- 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. Sampled each month and released for regions rather than towns, so its rate describes the area around the town.
- 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 Metchosin
How many jobs are there in Metchosin?
Some 825 people worked in Metchosin at the 2021 census: 0.6 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 202 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Metchosin?
The 2021 census found 5.5% 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 Metchosin?
The median household in Metchosin had $104,500 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Metchosin get to work?
Driving takes 91% of commuters to work, 2.4% take public transit, 2.1% walk and 1.8% cycle, and on census day 28% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from Metchosin?
About 31.9 minutes on average, with 17% under a quarter-hour and 6.9% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Metchosin work?
16% work in Metchosin itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Langford (250), then Victoria (200).
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).