Median wages after inflation
$53,720 median, a year
No target expected. This is a context measure. Pay is set by employers and workers. The Province sets the minimum wage, which is a floor for pay, not a target for typical wages. B.C. $49,300. Targets and comparisons
Source: Statistics Canada (calculated here). We read it on Nov 12, 2026.
Over time
Median wages, as reported and in 2023 dollars
2023 A year, by year
- As reported $53,720
- In 2023 dollars (after inflation) $53,720
P provincial election: Oct 24, 2020
Median wages, as reported and in 2023 dollars
2023 A year, by year
- As reported $53,720
- In 2023 dollars (after inflation) $53,720
P provincial election: May 9, 2017; Oct 24, 2020
More charts (1)
Median wages: Greater Victoria, B.C. and Canada (as reported)
2023 A year, by year
- Greater Victoria $53,720
- British Columbia $49,300
- Canada $47,650
P provincial election: May 9, 2017; Oct 24, 2020
Targets and comparisons
Context measure: no target expected
Context measure: no target expected. Pay is set by employers and workers. The Province sets the minimum wage, which is a floor for pay, not a target for typical wages.
The British Columbia and Canada lines are shown for comparison. They are not a goal.
Show the numbers as a table
| Period | As reported | In 2023 dollars (after inflation) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $53,720 | $53,720 |
| 2022 | $50,000 | $51,854 |
| 2021 | $48,120 | $53,379 |
| 2020 | $44,520 | $50,597 |
| 2019 | $39,720 | $45,632 |
| 2018 | $38,440 | $45,249 |
| 2017 | $36,760 | $44,291 |
| Period | Greater Victoria | British Columbia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $53,720 | $49,300 | $47,650 |
| 2022 | $50,000 | $46,730 | $45,380 |
| 2021 | $48,120 | $44,820 | $43,190 |
| 2020 | $44,520 | $40,450 | $39,880 |
| 2019 | $39,720 | $37,600 | $39,290 |
| 2018 | $38,440 | $36,530 | $38,350 |
| 2017 | $36,760 | $35,300 | $36,980 |
How it compares
Statistics Canada, 2023, a year. Comparisons are not goals.
Who decides
No government decides this directly. The bodies below decide the rules around it.
Show all 1 bodies and the laws
No government decides this directly. Employers and workers decide pay above the minimum wage.
| Body | What it decides | Law or bylaw |
|---|---|---|
| Province of B.C. | Sets the minimum wage that every employer must pay. | Employment Standards Act, s. 16 |
Province: last general election October 19, 2024; next set for October 21, 2028 unless called earlier (Constitution Act, s. 23).
Each row says what a body decides and links to the law, order or bylaw that gives it that role. It does not say who caused a change: markets, households and other governments also move these numbers. Who decides what, for every measure · How we choose
What this number does not show
- Calculated here. Wages are Statistics Canada’s median wages, salaries and commissions of tax filers aged 15 and over who had any, from tax returns. Prices are the annual average consumer price index for Victoria.
One more limit
- It is yearly pay, so it moves with hours worked as well as with hourly pay. Part-time and part-year workers are included.
Not measured yet in cost of living: rent in basement suites, rented condos and houses. See all 18 gaps
In plain words
Up 3.6% in a year after inflation. Up 19% since 2018.
The median wages, salaries and commissions of tax filers 15 and over in the Victoria metropolitan area. The change is after inflation, using the Victoria consumer price index.
How we decide “About the same this year. Better over 5 years.”
The change is 3.6% of the earlier value, below the 5% threshold. Over 5 years (since 2018) the change is 18.7% of the earlier value, at or above the 5% threshold, so the label also says Better over 5 years.
Higher wages after inflation mean typical earnings buy more. $53,720 in 2023 against $50,000 in 2022 as reported, or $51,854 in 2023 dollars (+3.6% after inflation). B.C.: $49,300. Canada: $47,650.
Outcome measures read Better, Worse or About the same; published government targets read Ahead of, On or Behind target; value-judgement measures read Rising, Falling or Steady in a neutral colour. A change smaller than the agency's own margin of error, or otherwise smaller than 5% of the earlier value, is About the same (or Steady). No change is calculated across a marked break in a series. The rule.
All notes on this number
Why it matters. It shows whether typical pay from work is keeping up with prices.
- Calculated here. Wages are Statistics Canada’s median wages, salaries and commissions of tax filers aged 15 and over who had any, from tax returns. Prices are the annual average consumer price index for Victoria.
- It is yearly pay, so it moves with hours worked as well as with hourly pay. Part-time and part-year workers are included.
- Self-employment income and government transfers are not included.
Which places
Area: Greater Victoria (CMA)
Statistics Canada’s Victoria metropolitan area: 13 municipalities plus nearby electoral-area and reserve lands.
Included
- Victoria
- Saanich
- Oak Bay
- Esquimalt
- View Royal
- Langford
- Colwood
- Highlands
- Metchosin
- Sooke
- Central Saanich
- North Saanich
- Sidney
- Juan de Fuca electoral area, part 1 (for example East Sooke, Jordan River and Shirley)
- First Nations reserves: Cole Bay 3, Union Bay 4, East Saanich 2, South Saanich 1, Becher Bay 1, Esquimalt, New Songhees 1A and T'Sou-ke
Not included
- Salt Spring Island
- Southern Gulf Islands (Galiano, Mayne, Pender and Saturna islands)
- Port Renfrew area (Juan de Fuca electoral area, part 2)
Official definition
Shown for comparison
- Comparison area: All of B.C. The whole province of British Columbia.
- Comparison area: All of Canada Canada as a whole, shown only for comparison.
How the agency describes it: Victoria census metropolitan area (Greater Victoria).
How we calculated it
Calculated here This figure is not published by an agency as is. It is calculated here, by script, from the public data listed below. It belongs with Prices vs a year ago.
Formula
Wages in 2023 dollars = wages in year × (price index 2023 ÷ price index in that year). Change after inflation = 2023 wages ÷ 2022 wages in 2023 dollars − 1.
With the latest numbers
- Price index for Victoria (2002 = 100): 142.9 in 2022, 148.2 in 2023.
- Median wages: $50,000 in 2022, $53,720 in 2023.
- 2022 wages in 2023 dollars: $50,000 × 148.2 ÷ 142.9 = $51,854.
- $53,720 ÷ $51,854 − 1 = +3.6%.
- Five years: price index 125.9 in 2018; $38,440 × 148.2 ÷ 125.9 = $45,249; $53,720 ÷ $45,249 − 1 = +18.7%.
Inputs
Median wages, salaries and commissions, tax filers 15 and over, Victoria
- Published by
- Statistics Canada
- Period used
- 2017 to 2023
- Latest release
- Apr 1, 2025
Consumer Price Index, all items, annual average, Victoria
- Published by
- Statistics Canada
- Period used
- 2017 to 2023
- Latest release
- Jan 19, 2026
Keep in mind
- Calculated here. Wages are Statistics Canada’s median wages, salaries and commissions of tax filers aged 15 and over who had any, from tax returns. Prices are the annual average consumer price index for Victoria.
- It is yearly pay, so it moves with hours worked as well as with hourly pay. Part-time and part-year workers are included.
- Self-employment income and government transfers are not included.
Retrieved Nov 12, 2026, 10:22 PM B.C. time. This page’s data and calculation (JSON).
Licence and credits
Published under an open licence: anyone may reuse it with credit. About licences.
Calculated here from public data; see “How we calculated it”.
- Calculated here from
- Statistics Canada
- Licences
- Open Government Licence - Canada
- Period
- Calendar year 2023
- Updated
- Annually (tax-return data, about 18 months after the year)
- Retrieved
- Nov 12, 2026, 10:22 PM B.C. time
- Details
- Formula and every input
Adapted from Statistics Canada, table 11-10-0072-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product. Adapted from Statistics Canada, table 18-10-0005-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Spot a mistake?
Email [email protected]. Fixes are listed in the corrections log.