Photo: Keefer4~commonswiki · CC BY-SA 2.5Saanich has higher household incomes than 79% of Canadian towns
Census day 2021 found 6.8% of Saanich’s labour force without a job, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Getting to work from Saanich takes 21.3 minutes on average, an hour or more for 2.1%. Of Saanich’s residents aged 15 to 64, 77% were employed when the 2021 census was taken, next to 73% for the middle of Canadian towns.
Work in Saanich, in a few figures
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 6.8% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 4.8% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 21.3 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 2.1% 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 & income in Saanich: graded A
Better than 89% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #29 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.
Work for 77% of 15-to-64s in Saanich
Of the 15 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Capital census division, 3 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The Labour Force Survey’s employment rate for the wider area was 61% in October 2026. Counting those looking for work too, 62% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 58% were working. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
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 long the commute from Saanich takes
The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 33%, fewer than the 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 18.5 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.
More workers leave Saanich each day than arrive
Of those who commute, 40% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
60% of Saanich’s residents in work leave it to work; Victoria takes the most
- Victoria5,040
- Langford2,390
- Central Saanich920
- Esquimalt920
- Colwood855
- View Royal725
- Oak Bay715
- North Saanich375
- Sidney345
- Sooke320
- Victoria12,450
- Central Saanich1,545
- Esquimalt1,345
- Langford1,250
- View Royal1,085
- North Saanich790
- Sidney715
- Oak Bay655
- Colwood380
- Metchosin85
Inbound, the leader is Victoria (5,040).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
What households earned in Saanich: $93,400 in 2020
The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and Saanich is 7% above it. 7 of the 15 other places of 2,500+ in the Capital census division have a higher median. Pandemic support paid in 2020, CERB first among it, is part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Without a car, 20% of Saanich’s commuters get to work
Home was the workplace for 27%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%. By bus, train or subway: 8.8%, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. More people cycle to work here than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 5.1% against 0.9%. The car takes 77% of commuters here, under the 87% 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).
44% more people are on EI in the Capital census division than in 2019
That is about 3.2 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 7%. In January 2021 it reached 15,570, the most in the series and 3 times the 2019 average.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: 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).
Saanich on foot: a A+ grade
Better than 96% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #70 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
For jobs and income, Saanich is 2nd of 42 Canadian towns of 88,200 to 170,100
| # | 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 |
| … | ||||||
| 6 | Kamloops British Columbia | 108,793 | 75% | 7.4% | $88K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Langley British Columbia | 163,885 | 78% | 6.2% | $108K | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Delta British Columbia | 124,670 | 77% | 7.3% | $108K | 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 Saanich, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Jobs and income in the places around Saanich
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saanich | 77% | 6.8% | $93K | 21.3 min | A | A+ |
| Victoria 5.1 km | 79% | 8.1% | $68K | 21.2 min | B | A+ |
| New Songhees 1A 5.3 km | 67% | 16% | $59K | 23.4 min | D | A+ |
| Esquimalt 5.5 km | 78% | 7.9% | $76K | 21.7 min | B+ | A+ |
| Oak Bay 6.3 km | 80% | 7% | $108K | 20.9 min | A+ | A+ |
| View Royal 6.3 km | 78% | 5.6% | $97K | 22.1 min | A | A |
| Colwood 11 km | 80% | 5.1% | $102K | 24.9 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 Saanich, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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 census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. One way, on a usual day, from the census’s travel-time bands. Band midpoints overstate it a little next to the figure Statistics Canada times.
- 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. 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.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
Questions about work in Saanich
How do people in Saanich get to work?
By car: 77% of commuters, 8.8% take public transit, 6.3% walk and 5.1% cycle; on census day 27% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Saanich?
21.3 minutes is the average trip, with 33% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 2.1% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Saanich work?
Only 40% work in Saanich itself; the rest go first to Victoria (12,450) and Central Saanich (1,545).
How many jobs are there in Saanich?
The 2021 census counted about 27,905 people working in Saanich: 0.8 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 3,906 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Saanich?
At the 2021 census 6.8% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Victoria metro area, gives 4.8% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Saanich?
At $93,400 before tax in 2020, the median household in Saanich compares with $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
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).