Photo: John Newcomb · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in View Royal are higher than in 83% of Canadian towns
Out of work in May 2021: 5.6% of View Royal’s labour force, next to 9.9% for the middle of Canadian towns. Jobs located in View Royal: 4,795, for 3,545 residents with a usual workplace. 78% of people aged 15 to 64 in View Royal had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns.
The work numbers behind View Royal
More people in work than most towns
Of residents aged 15 to 64, 78% held a job in 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 73%, and over all adults the share is 61%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 5.6% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 4.8% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
A local job centre
4,795 people work in View Royal and 3,545 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 22.1 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 2.8% 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.
On jobs and income, View Royal grades A
Better than 91% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #22 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 and out of work in View Royal
Of the 15 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Capital census division, 5 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 61% were working. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 61% in October 2026. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 65%. 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.
Workers pour into View Royal: 25% more on a working day
Of those who commute, 21% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
At 22.1 minutes, commutes from View Royal are shorter than in the middle of Canadian towns
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 19.6 minutes. The middle of British Columbia’s towns averages 26.4 minutes. Only 33% 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: 2.8% take an hour or more, against 6.3%.
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.
4,058 people come into View Royal to work, most from Saanich and Langford
- Victoria1,030
- Saanich725
- Langford380
- Esquimalt285
- Colwood90
- Central Saanich85
- Oak Bay50
- Sidney35
- North Saanich30
- Metchosin20
Of everyone working in View Royal, 85% come in from elsewhere; 1,085 make the 6 km trip from Saanich. Going the other way, Victoria is the biggest single destination (1,030).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Household income in View Royal: $97,300 at the median
6 of the 15 other places of 2,500+ in the Capital census division have a higher median. The middle of British Columbia’s towns is $86,900, and View Royal is 12% above it. 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).
View Royal gets to work without a car for 18% of commuters
26% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. By bus, train or subway: 8.2%, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The middle of British Columbia’s towns has 0.9% cycling; here, 4.1% do. Fewer drive than in the middle of British Columbia’s towns: 79% against 87%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Capital census division run 44% above their 2019 level
In January 2021 it reached 15,570, the most in the series and 3 times the 2019 average. That is about 3.2 people on EI for every 100 aged 15 to 64 in the division. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 7%.
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). For EI beneficiaries, the only official count covers all of the Capital census division, View Royal included.
The walkability of View Royal: A
Better than 86% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #108 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 606 Canadian towns of 9,000 to 17,300, View Royal comes 45th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Walsh Acres/Lakeridge/Garden Ridge Saskatchewan | 9,325 | 80% | 6.7% | $127K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 13 | Revelstoke British Columbia | 9,464 | 77% | 10% | $97K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 21 | Saltspring Island British Columbia | 12,429 | 84% | 5.5% | $77K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 43 | Thames Centre Ontario | 15,475 | 80% | 7.7% | $113K | A |
| 44 | Argyle North Saskatchewan | 9,971 | 75% | 8% | $102K | A |
| 45 | View Royal British Columbia | 12,795 | 78% | 5.6% | $97K | A |
| 46 | Kenora Ontario | 15,892 | 76% | 7.2% | $86K | A |
| 47 | Sulphur Springs Ontario | 9,404 | 79% | 10% | $146K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 606 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of View Royal, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
The places around View Royal, side by side
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Royal | 78% | 5.6% | $97K | 22.1 min | A | A |
| New Songhees 1A 2.1 km | 67% | 16% | $59K | 23.4 min | D | A+ |
| Esquimalt 4 km | 78% | 7.9% | $76K | 21.7 min | B+ | A+ |
| Colwood 5.3 km | 80% | 5.1% | $102K | 24.9 min | A | A |
| Langford 5.3 km | 81% | 6.2% | $93K | 24.3 min | A | A |
| Saanich 6.3 km | 77% | 6.8% | $93K | 21.3 min | A | A+ |
| Victoria 7.5 km | 79% | 8.1% | $68K | 21.2 min | B | 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 View Royal, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- 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.
- 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. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- 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 View Royal
How do people in View Royal get to work?
Driving takes 79% of commuters to work, 8.2% take public transit, 5.4% walk and 4.1% cycle, and on census day 26% of those in work were at home.
How long is the commute from View Royal?
About 22.1 minutes on average, with 33% under a quarter-hour and 2.8% at an hour or longer.
Where do people in View Royal work?
Only 21% work in View Royal itself; the rest go first to Victoria (1,030) and Saanich (725).
How many jobs are there in View Royal?
Some 4,795 people worked in View Royal at the 2021 census: 1.4 jobs per working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 281 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in View Royal?
The 2021 census found 5.6% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Victoria metro area, is 4.8% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in View Royal?
At $97,300 before tax in 2020, the median household in View Royal 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).