Photo: Michal Klajban · CC BY-SA 4.0Victoria’s household incomes are lower than in 72% of Canadian towns
Jobs located in Victoria: 45,155, for 28,790 residents with a usual workplace. 30% of its workers worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Victoria counted 79% of its 15-to-64s in jobs at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%.
Victoria and work: the main findings
More people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 79% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 62%. In work ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half of households had more than $67,500 before tax in 2020, where the middle of Canadian towns is $85,900. Household income ↓
A local job centre
45,155 people work in Victoria and 28,790 residents commute to a fixed workplace; the middle of Canadian towns has 0.8 jobs per working resident. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 21.2 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 2.4% 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.
Victoria earns B for jobs and income
Better than 60% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #103 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; its weakest, household income.
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.
Who in Victoria has a job
Of the 15 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Capital census division, 6 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. The labour force, people 15 and over with a job or seeking one, took in 67% of residents that age. Counting retirees, 62% of everyone aged 15 and over was working. 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.
Half the households in Victoria had more than $67,500 in 2020
Set beside British Columbia’s towns, where the median is $86,900, Victoria sits 22% below. 14 of the 15 other places of 2,500+ in the Capital census division have a higher median. These are 2020 incomes, before tax, and they include pandemic benefits such as CERB, which lifted many lower incomes 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).
Each working day, Victoria’s workforce swells by 38%
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 3 to 1 in Victoria. The job is inside the municipality for 63% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
At 21.2 minutes, commutes from Victoria are shorter than in the middle of Canadian towns
The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Only 38% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 39% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. Long trips are rarer than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 2.4% take an hour or more, against 6.3%. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 18.7 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.
26,989 people come into Victoria to work, most from Saanich and Langford
- Saanich12,450
- Langford3,135
- Esquimalt2,245
- Oak Bay1,960
- Colwood1,325
- View Royal1,030
- Central Saanich1,000
- Sooke550
- North Saanich455
- Sidney310
- Saanich5,040
- Esquimalt1,265
- Oak Bay825
- Central Saanich715
- Langford705
- View Royal530
- Sidney325
- North Saanich320
- Colwood175
- Vancouver65
Of everyone working in Victoria, 60% come in from elsewhere; 12,450 make the 5 km trip from Saanich. The main destination the other way is Saanich, with 5,040.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Leaving the car at home: 43% of commuters in Victoria
By bus, train or subway: 11%, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The middle of British Columbia’s towns has 0.9% cycling; here, 9.6% do. The car takes 53% 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).
In the Capital census division, 44% more people receive EI than in 2019
Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 7%. The highest month was January 2021: 15,570 people, 3 times the 2019 level. That works out to around 3.2 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 counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100). Victoria doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Capital census division.
Everyday places on foot in Victoria: A+
Better than almost every Canadian town on two measures together, #1 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
How Victoria ranks: 12th of 41 Canadian towns of 72,700 to 140,200
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saanich British Columbia | 126,011 | 77% | 6.8% | $93K | A |
| 2 | St. Albert Alberta | 74,621 | 77% | 9.1% | $118K | A |
| 3 | North Vancouver British Columbia | 97,845 | 79% | 7.3% | $123K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Kamloops British Columbia | 108,793 | 75% | 7.4% | $88K | A− |
| … | ||||||
| 10 | Delta British Columbia | 124,670 | 77% | 7.3% | $108K | B |
| 11 | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Quebec | 100,806 | 80% | 5.8% | $75K | B |
| 12 | Victoria British Columbia | 103,888 | 79% | 8.1% | $68K | B |
| 13 | Nanaimo British Columbia | 111,845 | 75% | 8.4% | $76K | B |
| 14 | Red Deer Alberta | 115,409 | 70% | 12% | $85K | B |
| … | ||||||
| 41 | Chomedey Quebec | 81,813 | 69% | 12% | $66K | D |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Victoria, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
How the places next to Victoria compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | 79% | 8.1% | $68K | 21.2 min | B | A+ |
| Oak Bay 3.2 km | 80% | 7% | $108K | 20.9 min | A+ | A+ |
| Esquimalt 3.9 km | 78% | 7.9% | $76K | 21.7 min | B+ | A+ |
| Saanich 5.1 km | 77% | 6.8% | $93K | 21.3 min | A | A+ |
| New Songhees 1A 5.5 km | 67% | 16% | $59K | 23.4 min | D | A+ |
| View Royal 7.5 km | 78% | 5.6% | $97K | 22.1 min | A | A |
| Colwood 10 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 Victoria, 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. The census median total income of households in 2020, before tax; a neighbourhood’s is estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups.
- Trip times. How long getting to work normally takes, averaged from the census’s time bands at their middles; expect it to read slightly high against the timed figure.
- 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. 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.
- 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.
- 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 Victoria
How long is the commute from Victoria?
21.2 minutes is the average trip, with 38% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 2.4% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Victoria work?
Most stay: 63% work in Victoria. The rest go first to Saanich (5,040) and Esquimalt (1,265).
How many jobs are there in Victoria?
The 2021 census counted about 45,155 people working in Victoria: 1.6 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 5,125 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Victoria?
Two figures answer it: 8.1% 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 Victoria?
Victoria’s middle household had $67,500 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Victoria get to work?
By car: 53% of commuters, 11% take public transit, 23% walk and 9.6% cycle; on census day 30% 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).