Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0The share of 15-to-64s with a job in White Rock tops that of 67% of Canadian towns
Unemployment in White Rock stood at 8% on census day 2021; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. Commutes from White Rock average 30.7 minutes, and 8.7% take an hour or more. Median household income in White Rock was $73,300 in 2020, next to $85,900 for the middle of Canadian towns.
What sets White Rock apart on jobs and income
Work near the middle
At the 2021 census 78% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 49%. In work ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 30.7 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 8.7% 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, White Rock grades C
Better than 31% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #194 of 254 in British Columbia.
Its strongest measure is the share of 15-to-64s in work; 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.
The length of the trip to work in White Rock
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 27.9 minutes. In the middle of British Columbia’s towns, the average commute is 26.4 minutes. Only 27% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 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.
Each working day, more people leave White Rock for work than come in
5,340 residents of White Rock had a usual place of work at the 2021 census, and 4,700 people had theirs in White Rock, wherever they lived.
The job is inside the municipality for 19% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
81% of White Rock’s residents in work leave it to work; Surrey takes the most
- Surrey2,790
- Langley280
- Delta175
- Vancouver125
- Langley65
- Abbotsford50
- Richmond40
- Coquitlam35
- Burnaby30
- New Westminster25
- Surrey2,225
- Richmond370
- Vancouver360
- Delta320
- Langley280
- Burnaby175
- Langley135
- Coquitlam105
- Abbotsford90
- New Westminster65
In the other direction the biggest source is Surrey, with 2,790.
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 White Rock work and where people who work there live, the ten largest each way.
In White Rock, 78% of the working-age population has a job
Of the 95 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Greater Vancouver census division, 75 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 63% in October 2026. Participation, the share of residents 15 and over working or looking for work, came to 53%. Many residents are past working age, so among everyone 15 and over the share in work drops to 49%. The census caught the labour market on 11 May 2021, deep in the pandemic, so unemployment and working from home both ran above normal.
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.
Earnings at home in White Rock: households
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 58% of Canadian towns.
White Rock’s median is 16% below the middle of British Columbia’s towns ($86,900). Of the 95 other places of 2,500 or more in the Greater Vancouver census division, 87 have a higher median. In 2020 emergency benefits topped up many low incomes, and the census counts them here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 14% of White Rock’s commuters
By transit: 5.7% of commuters, well above the 2.3% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. 83% drive to work, fewer than the 87% in the middle of British Columbia’s towns. 26% of everyone in work worked at home on census day, against 21% 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.
63% more people are on EI in the Greater Vancouver census division than in 2019
Set against the same month a year before, the count in August 2026 rose by 4%. At its peak, in January 2021, 117,570 people were on EI, 3.3 times the 2019 average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 3.6 are on EI.
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). White Rock doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Greater Vancouver census division.
White Rock grades A+ for walkability
Better than 97% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #60 of 254 in British Columbia.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
White Rock next to Canadian towns of 17,500 to 33,800: 205th of 347 on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellowknife Northwest Territories | 22,858 | 80% | 5.8% | $148K | A+ |
| 2 | Central Saanich British Columbia | 18,184 | 85% | 4.9% | $103K | A+ |
| 3 | Woolwich Ontario | 31,382 | 82% | 6.2% | $115K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Oak Bay British Columbia | 18,626 | 80% | 7% | $108K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Fort St. John British Columbia | 24,383 | 76% | 8.9% | $102K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 203 | Sandalwood West (sunny Meadow) Ontario | 27,171 | 68% | 13% | $119K | C |
| 204 | West End British Columbia | 30,785 | 81% | 9.4% | $65K | C |
| 205 | White Rock British Columbia | 25,057 | 78% | 8% | $73K | C |
| 206 | Mount Pleasant Village Ontario | 19,719 | 69% | 11% | $129K | C |
| 207 | North End Nova Scotia | 19,733 | 70% | 14% | $67K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 347 | Parc-Extension Quebec | 29,066 | 61% | 16% | $48K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of White Rock, and others among British Columbia’s towns.
Jobs near White Rock: the places around it
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Rock | 78% | 8% | $73K | 30.7 min | C | A+ |
| Semiahmoo Town Centre 0.9 km | 71% | 8.2% | $79K | 29.4 min | C− | A+ |
| Sunnyside 2.6 km | 78% | 8.2% | $90K | 29.8 min | B− | A |
| South Surrey 3.5 km | 71% | 9.6% | $104K | 27.9 min | B− | A− |
| Grandview 3.7 km | 72% | 8.7% | $108K | 29.6 min | C+ | B+ |
| Ocean Park 3.9 km | 68% | 7.8% | $117K | 30.3 min | C+ | B+ |
| Douglas 4.4 km | 84% | 7.5% | $126K | 29.9 min | A | B |
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 White Rock, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- 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. 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. 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. Who travels where, from the census: workers with a regular workplace, sorted by the municipality they live in and the one they work in.
- 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. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- Which towns we compare. Towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 people or more, never a whole city and never a First Nations reserve. Middles are medians.
Questions about work in White Rock
Where do people in White Rock work?
Only 19% work in White Rock itself; the rest go first to Surrey (2,225) and Richmond (370).
How many jobs are there in White Rock?
The 2021 census counted about 4,700 people working in White Rock: 0.9 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. Statistics Canada counted 754 businesses with employees in June 2026.
What is the unemployment rate in White Rock?
In October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the Vancouver metro area at 6.7%; the 2021 census, which counts the town itself, found 8%, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
What is the average household income in White Rock?
The median household in White Rock had $73,300 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in White Rock get to work?
By car: 83% of commuters, 5.7% take public transit, 7.7% walk and 0.6% cycle; on census day 26% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from White Rock?
30.7 minutes is the average trip, with 27% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 8.7% taking an hour or more.
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).