Photo: Kyle Wilson · CC BY-SA 4.0Sooke has fewer jobs than residents in work: 0.5 for each
The median household in Sooke had $89,900 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. In May 2021, unemployment in Sooke reached 6.7%, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. Getting to work from Sooke takes 35.4 minutes on average, an hour or more for 14%.
Sooke and work: the main findings
Less unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 6.7% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 4.8% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 35.4 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 14% 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.
Sooke grades C for jobs and income
Better than 33% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #189 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.
In Sooke, 75% of people aged 15 to 64 have a job
Of the 15 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Capital census division, one has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
By October 2026, the Labour Force Survey had 61% of the wider area’s adults in work. The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 62% of residents that age. Counting retirees, 58% of everyone aged 15 and over was 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.
Time on the road to work from Sooke
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 31.9 minutes. The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 26%, fewer than the 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.
Commuting time at the 2021 Census, to work only, for people who travel to a usual workplace or have none fixed.
More go out than come in: the working day in Sooke
4,185 residents of Sooke had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 2,250 people had theirs in Sooke, wherever they lived.
About 3 residents leave for work for each person who comes in. 33% 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.
67% of Sooke’s residents in work leave it to work; Langford takes the most
- Langford735
- Victoria550
- Esquimalt340
- Saanich320
- Colwood190
- View Royal180
- Metchosin100
- Juan de Fuca (Part 1)100
- Central Saanich50
- North Saanich40
Juan de Fuca (Part 1) sends the largest group the other way, 315 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 Sooke work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
How Sooke’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 74% of Canadian towns.
9 of the 15 other places of 2,500+ in the Capital census division have a higher median. That puts Sooke 3% above the median of British Columbia’s towns, $86,900. Pandemic benefits paid in 2020 lifted the incomes at the bottom, and they are counted here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Sooke gets to work without a car for 9% of commuters
By car, truck or van: 88% of commuters, against 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Working at home: 21%, close to the middle of Canadian towns. By bus, train or subway: 3.7%, much as 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.
EI claims in the Capital census division run 44% above their 2019 level
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 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 beneficiaries: one figure for all of 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).
Getting around Sooke on foot earns B+
Better than 70% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #158 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Sooke places 322nd of 531 on jobs and income among Canadian towns of 12,100 to 23,300
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 3 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 4 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Oak Bay British Columbia | 18,626 | 80% | 7% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 320 | Riverview Ontario | 14,030 | 69% | 12% | $76K | C |
| 321 | Port Hope Ontario | 18,446 | 71% | 11% | $88K | C |
| 322 | Sooke British Columbia | 17,248 | 75% | 6.7% | $90K | C |
| 323 | Vales of Castlemore Ontario | 14,894 | 67% | 15% | $146K | C |
| 324 | Manor Park Nova Scotia | 14,148 | 69% | 14% | $69K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 531 | Oakridge Ontario | 13,913 | 51% | 21% | $60K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Sooke, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Jobs near Sooke: the places around it
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sooke | 75% | 6.7% | $90K | 35.4 min | C | B+ |
| Juan de Fuca (Part 1) 4.3 km | 77% | 6.7% | $90K | 37.1 min | C+ | C |
| Metchosin 12.7 km | 74% | 5.5% | $105K | 31.9 min | C+ | B− |
| Langford 17.1 km | 81% | 6.2% | $93K | 24.3 min | A | A |
| Colwood 17.8 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 Sooke, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people over the labour force (in work or looking), aged 15 and over, on census day.
- 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. 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. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- 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 Sooke
How long is the commute from Sooke?
About 35.4 minutes on average, with 26% under a quarter-hour and 14% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in Sooke work?
Only 33% work in Sooke itself; the rest go first to Langford (735) and Victoria (550).
How many jobs are there in Sooke?
In June 2026, 419 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Sooke?
Two figures answer it: 6.7% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 4.8% for the Victoria metro area in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Sooke?
The census puts Sooke at $89,900 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Sooke get to work?
Driving takes 88% of commuters to work, 3.7% take public transit, 4% walk and 1.3% cycle, and on census day 21% of those in work were at 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).