Photo: Canuckle · CC0A smaller share of people aged 15 to 64 are in work in Richmond than in 75% of Canadian towns
The median household in Richmond had $79,000 before tax in 2020; the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. 85,465 people have their usual place of work in Richmond, against 59,675 residents who travel to a job. In May 2021, unemployment in Richmond reached 11%, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Richmond: what the figures say
Work near the middle
With 69% of its 15-to-64s in work in 2021, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns, it has 54% of all adults employed. In work ↓
A local job centre
85,465 people work in Richmond and 59,675 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs & income in Richmond: graded C−
Better than 22% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #220 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.
Richmond fills up on a working day: 30% more workers
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 2 to 1 in Richmond. Of those who commute, 61% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
49,242 people come into Richmond to work, most from Vancouver and Surrey
- Vancouver17,770
- Surrey12,000
- Burnaby5,035
- Delta4,785
- New Westminster2,465
- Coquitlam1,420
- Langley1,035
- Port Coquitlam510
- Maple Ridge470
- North Vancouver465
- Vancouver13,575
- Burnaby2,990
- Delta2,130
- Surrey1,605
- Electoral Area A, Metro Vancouver730
- New Westminster525
- Coquitlam280
- North Vancouver245
- Langley225
- Tsawwassen215
Of everyone working in Richmond, 58% come in from elsewhere; 17,770 make the 11 km trip from Vancouver. Outbound, Vancouver takes the most: 13,575 people.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
2021 Census, people with a usual place of work: where residents of Richmond work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
In Richmond, 69% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 95 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Greater Vancouver census division, 15 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Counting retirees, 54% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 63% of the wider area’s adults in work. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 60%. 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.
How Richmond’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 54% of Canadian towns.
The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Richmond is 9% below it. Of the 95 other places of 2,500 or more in the Greater Vancouver census division, 82 have a higher median. CERB and the other emergency payments of 2020 are counted in these incomes, which lifted the lower ones 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).
19% of commuters in Richmond walk, cycle or take transit
By transit: 13% of commuters, well above the 2.3% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Fewer drive than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 79% against 87%. Working at home: 26% here, 21% 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).
How residents who commute got to work, 2021 Census; working at home is counted apart.
A commute like the middle of Canadian towns: 27.8 minutes from Richmond
The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 25%, fewer than the 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. An hour or more: 5.9% of commuters, close to the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 24.8 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
In the Greater Vancouver census division, 63% more people receive EI than in 2019
Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 4%. At its peak, in January 2021, 117,570 people were on EI, 3.3 times the 2019 average. That works out to around 3.6 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 Greater Vancouver 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).
The Walkability grade for Richmond: A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #46 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Richmond places 9th of 10 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 167,700 to 323,400
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burlington Ontario | 197,737 | 76% | 11% | $110K | B+ |
| 2 | Abbotsford British Columbia | 175,358 | 76% | 7.8% | $90K | B |
| 3 | Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury Ontario | 188,504 | 71% | 10% | $84K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Coquitlam British Columbia | 173,599 | 73% | 9% | $92K | C |
| 8 | Richmond Hill Ontario | 222,031 | 68% | 13% | $103K | C |
| 9 | Richmond British Columbia | 239,584 | 69% | 11% | $79K | C− |
| 10 | Oshawa Ontario | 213,592 | 64% | 15% | $86K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Richmond, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Jobs near Richmond: the places around it
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | 69% | 11% | $79K | 27.8 min | C− | A+ |
| Marpole 6 km | 70% | 10% | $68K | 30.1 min | D | A+ |
| Oakridge 7.8 km | 68% | 10% | $90K | 27.8 min | C | A+ |
| Sunset 7.8 km | 72% | 8.9% | $93K | 31.2 min | C | A+ |
| Kerrisdale 8 km | 68% | 8.2% | $93K | 27.1 min | C+ | A+ |
| Victoria-Fraserview 8.7 km | 71% | 10% | $87K | 31.5 min | C− | A+ |
| Musqueam 2 9.3 km | 64% | 8.1% | $106K | 26.1 min | C+ | 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 Richmond, 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. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- 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. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- In work. Why 15 to 64? Otherwise retirees would pull the rate down in older towns. The census can’t say how old a neighbourhood’s workers are, so the count of people in work takes every age.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- 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.
- 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 Richmond
How long is the commute from Richmond?
27.8 minutes is the average trip, with 25% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 5.9% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Richmond work?
61% work in Richmond itself; of those who leave, the most go to Vancouver (13,575), then Burnaby (2,990).
How many jobs are there in Richmond?
The 2021 census counted about 85,465 people working in Richmond: 1.4 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 10,978 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in Richmond?
At the 2021 census 11% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Vancouver metro area, gives 6.7% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Richmond?
At $79,000 before tax in 2020, the median household in Richmond compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Richmond get to work?
By car: 79% of commuters, 13% take public transit, 5% walk and 1.2% cycle; on census day 26% of those in work worked from home.
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).