Fewer of Victoria’s 15-to-64s are in work than in 98% of Canadian towns
The median household in Victoria had $60,400 before tax in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. Victoria is the usual workplace of 80 people, and 330 of its own residents commute to a job. When the 2021 census was taken, 19% of people in Victoria who wanted a job had none, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Work in Victoria, in a few figures
Fewer people in work than most towns
52% of people aged 15 to 64 had a job at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; counting everyone 15 and over, retirees included, it was 39%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
On census day in 2021 19% were unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; by October 2026 the Labour Force Survey put the area at 6.6%. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
The middle of Canadian towns is $85,900, and the median household here had $60,400 before tax in 2020. Household income ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Jobs & income in Victoria: graded D−
Better than 4% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
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.
How many in Victoria have a job: 52% of 15-to-64s
None of the 14 other places of 2,500 people or more in Census Division No. 1 has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 59% in October 2026. Counting those looking for work too, 48% of people aged 15 and over were in the labour force. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 39% were 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.
What households in Victoria earn
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 88% of Canadian towns.
10 of the 14 other places of 2,500+ in Census Division No. 1 have a higher median. Victoria’s median is 5% below the middle of Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns ($63,700). Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Victoria is quieter on a working day than at night
For every person who comes in to work, about 11 residents travel out. Of those who commute, 17% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
83% of Victoria’s residents in work leave it to work; Carbonear takes the most
- Division No. 1, Subd. I10
- Carbonear185
- Harbour Grace20
- St. John's20
- Old Perlican15
- Come By Chance10
- Bay Roberts10
Coming the other way, Division No. 1, Subd. I sends the most (10).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Victoria gets to work without a car for 4% of commuters
Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. The car takes 88% of commuters here, under the 92% in the middle of Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns. Only 6.5% 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).
At 26.6 minutes, commutes from Victoria are close to the middle of Canadian towns
The middle of Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns averages 19 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 52%, fewer than the 56% in the middle of Newfoundland and Labrador’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 27.1 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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% fewer people are on EI in Census Division No. 1 than in 2019
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 11%. The count topped out in February 2021 at 31,470 people, 2.2 times the 2019 average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 7.3 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Data for EI beneficiaries covers Census Division No. 1. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Victoria earns B− for walkability
Better than 46% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Work in and around Victoria
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | 52% | 19% | $60K | 26.6 min | D− | B− |
| Carbonear 3.6 km | 56% | 20% | $58K | 21.1 min | D | B |
| Harbour Grace 9.1 km | 58% | 20% | $58K | 23.4 min | D | C |
| Upper Island Cove 13.1 km | 53% | 24% | $67K | 31.3 min | D− | C+ |
| Spaniard's Bay 17.1 km | 53% | 20% | $64K | 28.4 min | D− | C |
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.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada surveys households every month; the results come out for metro areas and economic regions, never for single towns, and keep the rate current after 2021.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Trip times. Our average assumes everyone in, say, the 15-to-29-minute band takes 22 minutes. Across all the bands that runs a shade above Statistics Canada’s measured average.
- 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. Monthly EI recipients across the census division: a pulse of the local job market rather than a measure of who is out of work.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
Questions about work in Victoria
How many jobs are there in Victoria?
About 80 people had their usual place of work in Victoria at the 2021 census, 0.2 for each working resident with a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 34 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Victoria?
Two figures answer it: 19% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 6.6% for the Avalon Peninsula economic region in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Victoria?
The census puts Victoria at $60,400 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Victoria get to work?
88% of commuters go by car, 4% walk. On census day 6.5% of everyone in work stayed home to work.
How long is the commute from Victoria?
On average 26.6 minutes; 52% take under 15 minutes and 19% take an hour or longer.
Where do people in Victoria work?
17% work in Victoria itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Carbonear (185), then Harbour Grace (20).
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).