SookeBritish Columbia

Rent takes more of local pay in Sooke than in British Columbia’s towns or Canadian towns: 28% of household income

Shelter took 30% or more of income for 22% of households, close to British Columbia’s towns (21%) and above Canadian towns (18%). 80% of households own their home.

Sooke has cooler summers than British Columbia’s towns or Canadian towns: July highs of 20.6°C

Sooke sees January nights of 3.8°C on average. There are 10 days of frost in a typical year, below British Columbia’s towns (60) and Canadian towns (159) alike. A normal December brings 12 cm of snow, the most of any month. The most precipitation falls in November: 129 mm in a normal year.

Fewer smokers around Sooke: 6% of adults, where the typical Canadian town has 12%

Shared with the rest of the South Vancouver Island Health Service Delivery Area: health survey and life expectancy

Adults who call their own health very good or excellent: 55%, above both British Columbia’s towns (50%) and Canadian towns (52%). The region’s 2022/2024 life expectancy is 82.7, with women at 84.9 and men at 80.5. What sets Sooke apart within its region is a longer trip to hospital, 23 km for the average resident (3.7 km typical).

Most schools around Sooke score below the middle in British Columbia: 5 of 6

Teenagers have 2.2 km to go to the closest secondary school, higher than both British Columbia’s towns (1.8 km) and Canadian towns (1.2 km).

Sooke earns a C for safety

Violence accounts for 18.9 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Its violent severity index came to 80, between British Columbia’s towns (76) and Canadian towns (86).

Commuters in Sooke travel further than in British Columbia’s towns or Canadian towns, 35 min on average

The car took 88% of commuters, near both British Columbia’s towns (87%) and Canadian towns (89%).

Within 10 km of Sooke, 23% of the land is protected

For a national park, Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is 30 km away. Inside the town itself, just over a fifth of the land is protected. The largest is Greater Victoria Water Supply Area: 20,620 ha, 2.6 km from the edge of town. Public parks and reserves within 10 km: 18, higher than both British Columbia’s towns (14) and Canadian towns (4).

Shaking costs buildings in Sooke $0.70 a year per $1,000 of value, 23 times the typical town’s

Source area for radon tests: the South Vancouver Island health region

Burn scars are few around Sooke, with 0.5% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.01% a year). Radon is lower than usual: 1.8% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town. The national inventory holds 2 flood maps for it, the newest from Capital Regional District.

What November brings in Sooke: 5°C at night, 10°C by day

The forecast on the Weather page is ECCC’s for Malahat. A normal December brings highs of 8°C, lows of 4°C. Rain and snow over a typical November come to 129 mm. The year peaks in August (21°C) and bottoms out in February (4°C).

Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, which takes in Sooke, is held by Stephanie McLean (Liberal Party of Canada)

Across British Columbia, 20 of the 43 MPs sit with the Liberal Party of Canada.

Sooke has two public libraries, VIRL: Sooke Branch and Sooke Branch

Sooke has no library board of its own in the provincial statistics, so no visit or loan figures appear here.

More of Sooke’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in British Columbia’s towns or Canadian towns: 7.1%

5.2% of residents belong to a visible minority, lower than both British Columbia’s towns (8.6%) and Canadian towns (15%). The 65-and-over age group makes up 20% of residents. Under-15s account for 16% of the population.