Victoria vs Toronto: which should you move to?
Victoria or Toronto? Housing, rent, crime, climate, income, taxes and transit, side by side, from each city's own published figures. Written for someone deciding where to live, not for a ranking.
Victoria costs more for a house and less for a life without one. Its July 2026 benchmark, a detached house, was $1,311,000 against Toronto's $928,200 composite, and carrying it runs about $6,515 a month against $4,635. Apartments, though, are priced within $3,300 of each other and Victoria's condo fee is $200 lower, and its unemployment rate was 5.0 percent in July 2026 against Toronto's 6.7. Toronto answers with the country's largest job market, a subway a quarter of residents commute on, and three-bedroom rent of $2,294 against $3,035. Choose Victoria for the mildest winter in Canada and a walkable core. Choose Toronto if you need the market or a family-sized rental.
| Measure | Victoria | Toronto | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| City population | 91,867 (2021) | 2,794,356 (2021) | Not directly comparable |
| Metro population | 445,090 (2025) | 6,202,225 (2021) | Not directly comparable |
| Five-year growth Growth is pressure on rents and roads as much as it is opportunity, so it is reported without a winner. | 7.1% (2016-2021) | 2.3% (2016-2021) | Not directly comparable |
What a home costs in each
The figures the two cities' rent-versus-buy and mortgage calculators run on, read from the same tables.
| Measure | Victoria | Toronto | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark home price MLS® HPI or equivalent benchmark. Lower is treated as the advantage, which is the buyer's view rather than the owner's. | $1,311,000 (July 2026) | $928,200 (July 2026) | Toronto |
| Detached house benchmark Victoria publishes a single house index rather than a composite, so the two rows repeat. | $1,311,000 | $1,455,200 | Victoria |
| Apartment or condominium benchmark | $548,600 | $551,900 | Victoria |
| Two-bedroom rent | $2,076/mo (average, October 2025) | $2,045/mo (average, October 2025) | Toronto |
| One-bedroom rent | $1,594/mo | $1,761/mo | Victoria |
| Two-bedroom rent against median income A year of two-bedroom rent as a share of the median household income below. A household paying the median rent out of the median income is a fiction, but it is the same fiction in both columns and it crosses currencies. | 29.3% of a year's income | 29.2% of a year's income | Toronto |
| Mortgage payment on the benchmark, 20% down 25-year amortization on Canadian semi-annual compounding, the convention in both. | $5,712/mo at 4.34% | $4,044/mo at 4.34% | Toronto |
| Price to household income Benchmark price divided by the median household income below. A ratio is comparable across currencies; the dollars are not. | 15.4× | 11.1× | Toronto |
| Property tax on the benchmark home The effective rate on market value, which is what the two rates have in common and what the Advantage column is decided on; the bills are in each city's own dollars. | $7,415/yr (0.566%, 2026) | $5,291/yr (0.57%, 2026) | Even |
| Transfer tax on the benchmark home Compared as a share of the price. Where the seller pays it, it is a cost of leaving rather than arriving. | $24,220 (buyer pays) | $30,078 (buyer pays) | Victoria |
| Rent control A cap protects a sitting tenant and does nothing for the next lease, so neither column is simply better. | 2.3% guideline (2026) | 2.1% guideline (2026) | Not directly comparable |
Victoria: The 2026 Class 1 residential total of $5.6559 per $1,000 of taxable value: municipal $3.7229 plus the CRD, local school, hospital district, BC Assessment, MFA and BC Transit levies, before the Home Owner Grant. Toronto: About 0.57% of market value. Toronto levies 0.767311%, but against a Current Value Assessment frozen at 1 January 2016 values, because Ontario has deferred every reassessment since. MPAC's average Toronto assessment is $692,140 and the City's own worked example puts the bill on it at $5,311 for 2026, which on the $928,200 composite benchmark is 0.57%. That is the fourth-lowest rate on market value of the cities on this site, behind Vancouver, Kelowna and Victoria, and it produces almost exactly the same bill as Ottawa's 0.83%, because the home it is charged against costs 46% more.
How safe each city is, by the numbers it publishes
Police-reported figures for the most recent year each force or statistics agency has released. Rates describe a whole city or metro area, and the spread between neighbourhoods inside one city is usually wider than the gap between the two cities.
| Measure | Victoria | Toronto | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Severity Index Statistics Canada's weighted index for the metropolitan area, where 100 is Canada in 2006. American cities have no equivalent series. | 74.6 (2025) | 55.0 (2025) | Toronto |
| Violent crime per 100,000 | 1,542 (2025) | 987 (2025) | Toronto |
| Property crime per 100,000 | 3,096 (2025) | 2,566 (2025) | Toronto |
| Homicides Counts, not rates, and a single year in a small city moves a long way on chance alone. What each figure covers is under the table. | 4 (2025) | 45 (2025) | Not directly comparable |
The Victoria CMA Crime Severity Index moved between 71 and 80 from 2021 to 2025 (72.7, 74.9, 80.2, 71.2, 74.6) with no sustained direction. The violent crime rate per 100,000 fell from 1,542 in 2021 to 1,439 in 2024 and then returned to 1,542 in 2025; the property crime rate fell from 3,319 in 2021 to 3,096 in 2025.
What the rates cover: Police-reported total violent Criminal Code violations, rate per 100,000, Victoria CMA, table 35-10-0177-01.
Homicides: Victoria CMA, 4 victims, 0.90 per 100,000 (table 35-10-0071-01). Counts were 5, 5, 2, 2 for 2021 through 2024.
The Toronto CMA Crime Severity Index climbed from 45.91 in 2021 to 59.43 in 2024, driven largely by auto theft, then fell 7.5% to 54.99 in 2025 with violent CSI down 13.7%. Toronto Police recorded 12,610 auto thefts in 2023, 9,676 in 2024 and 7,402 in 2025, and 2025 homicides (45) were the fewest since the 1980s.
What the rates cover: Police-reported violent Criminal Code violations, Toronto CMA, 69,297 actual incidents, table 35-10-0177-01
Homicides: Toronto Police Service public safety data portal count for the city (85 in 2024, 73 in 2023). Statistics Canada counts 64 homicides for the wider Toronto CMA in 2025, a rate of 0.91 per 100,000, down from 133 (1.90) in 2024
Winters, summers and what the weather can do to a house
| Measure | Victoria | Toronto | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| January mean | 4.6 °C | -5.0 °C | Not directly comparable |
| July mean | 17.2 °C | 22.1 °C | Not directly comparable |
| Precipitation a year | 901 mm | 807 mm | Not directly comparable |
| Snowfall a year | 39 cm | 115 cm | Not directly comparable |
| Sunshine a year | 2,109 hours | 2,066 hours | Victoria |
Environment and Climate Change Canada 1991-2020 normals at Victoria Int'l A (climate ID 1018620, at Sidney, 25 km north of downtown) for temperature, precipitation and snowfall. Sunshine is from the 1981-2010 normals at the same station; the 1991-2020 set does not publish a sunshine normal. Downtown is drier: Victoria Gonzales 1991-2020 normals show 5.8 C in January, 16.3 C in July and 110.6 mm in the wettest month against 155.3 mm at the airport.
Hazards: The region sits on the Cascadia subduction zone and carries Canada's highest earthquake risk; summers bring wildfire smoke from the BC interior and drought-driven watering restrictions, and winters bring atmospheric-river rain and occasional short snow events that stop traffic.
Environment and Climate Change Canada 1991-2020 normals at Toronto Pearson International Airport (climate ID 6158731): annual mean 8.6 C. The 1991-2020 normals do not publish sunshine; 2,066.3 hours is the 1981-2010 normal at the Toronto (City) station, climate ID 6158350.
Hazards: Humid summer heat warnings and winter cold snaps with lake-effect snow squalls; flash flooding from intense summer storms (July 2013 and July 2024 downpours flooded roads and the Don Valley); wildfire smoke advisories in some summers since 2023; occasional severe thunderstorms and hail, rare tornadoes.
What people earn and what the government takes
| Measure | Victoria | Toronto | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $85,000 CAD (2020) | $84,000 CAD (2020) | Victoria |
| Unemployment rate | 5.0% (July 2026) | 6.7% (July 2026) | Victoria |
| Sales tax | 12% | 13% | Victoria |
| Top marginal income tax Federal plus provincial or state. The American figure leaves out payroll taxes and the cost of health insurance, both of which a Canadian household covers through the tax it pays here. | 53.5% | 53.53% | Victoria |
| Income tax on $100,000, single filer Computed from each jurisdiction's brackets at a single filer's $100,000 and rounded to the dollar, so a gap of a dollar is rounding rather than tax. Two cities in one province or state are shown as Even, because there the two cells describe the same tax and whatever separates them is method. | $20,503 CAD | $21,200 CAD | Victoria |
In the 2021 Census the region's largest employers by sector were health care (29,750 workers), public administration (27,780), retail (22,540) and professional, scientific and technical services (19,655), per the South Island Prosperity Partnership's 2025 socio-economic profile. Victoria's unemployment rate is usually among the lowest of Canadian CMAs; the same report notes shortages in health care and construction and an ageing population.
Main sectors: Health care and social assistance, Public administration (provincial capital, CFB Esquimalt), Retail trade, Professional, scientific and technical services including software, Tourism, accommodation and food services.
BC has no payroll tax on employees beyond CPP and EI, and MSP health premiums were eliminated in 2020. Property transfer tax applies on purchase (1% to 3%, plus 20% foreign-buyer tax in the Victoria CMA) and a speculation and vacancy tax applies to homes left empty.
Toronto's unemployment rate ran above the national rate through 2025 as population growth outpaced hiring, and TD Economics (October 2025) found trade-war exposed sectors such as transportation and warehousing and manufacturing shedding jobs and youth unemployment near one in five. The rate eased to 6.7% by July 2026.
Main sectors: Financial services and banking, Technology and software, Health care and life sciences, Professional services and education, Film, media and the arts.
No municipal income tax. Toronto levies a Municipal Land Transfer Tax on top of the provincial land transfer tax, and a Vacant Home Tax.
Whether you need a car
| Measure | Victoria | Toronto | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| System | Victoria Regional Transit System (BC Transit buses and handyDART); no rail. BC Ferries and Harbour Air, Helijet and the Coho and Clipper ferries connect to Vancouver and Seattle. | Toronto Transit Commission (subway, streetcar, bus, Wheel-Trans); GO Transit and UP Express (Metrolinx) for regional rail and bus | Not directly comparable |
| Commute by public transit | 7.7% (2021) | 26.2% (2021) | Toronto |
| Walk or cycle to work | 15.3% (2021) | 9.6% (2021) | Victoria |
| Airport | Victoria International Airport (YYJ), at Sidney, 1,986,057 passengers in 2025, up 6.1% on 2024 and the busiest year since 2018 (Victoria Airport Authority 2025 Annual Report). Domestic-heavy; most international trips connect through Vancouver or Seattle. | Toronto Pearson International Airport, YYZ, 47.3 million passengers in 2025 (up 1.1% from 46.8 million in 2024), per GTAA 2025 annual results. Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) serves short-haul flights from the waterfront. | Not directly comparable |
No verified systemwide annual total. BC Transit's 2025 year-in-review (Dec 19, 2025) reports the busiest route, the 95 Blink RapidBus, at more than 11,000 daily boardings; the Victoria Regional Transit Commission's Nov 2025 service plan reports 58.53 boardings per service hour by end of 2024, up 17.6% year over year and 21.2% above pre-COVID. Wikipedia cites APTA's Q4 2025 report at 26.56 million boardings for 2025 but the APTA PDF could not be fetched.
TTC carried 420 million trips in 2024 (204 million bus, 181 million subway, 35 million streetcar). The TTC's year-end projection for 2025 was 414 million rides, about 78% of 2019 levels, with 426.4 million forecast for 2026; a final audited 2025 total was not found.
Health care, schools and what each city is like
Health care
Care is paid for by BC's Medical Services Plan, with no premiums since 2020, and delivered by Island Health; prescription drugs outside hospital are covered through income-tested Fair PharmaCare, so many households carry employer extended-health plans for drugs, dental and physio. Greater Victoria has three hospitals, Royal Jubilee (the cardiac and cancer referral site for Vancouver Island), Victoria General (trauma and pediatrics) and Saanich Peninsula; the region has a well-known shortage of family doctors, and BC runs a central waitlist (Health Connect Registry) to attach new patients to primary care.
Education
The University of Victoria (about 22,000 students) is the main research university, with Camosun College for trades and transfer programs and Royal Roads University in Colwood for working adults; the University of Victoria is regularly placed in the top three Canadian comprehensive universities by Maclean's. Public K-12 is run by the Greater Victoria School District (SD61) in the core, with Sooke (SD62) in the fast-growing West Shore and Saanich (SD63) on the peninsula; there are no charter schools in BC, and French immersion seats in SD61 are allocated by lottery.
Living there
Victoria is a government and university town at the south tip of Vancouver Island with the mildest winters in Canada, a walkable and bikeable core, and a large retiree population; the trade-off is island logistics, with every mainland trip by 95-minute ferry or a short flight, and a housing market priced close to Vancouver's. Most growth since 2016 has gone to Langford and the West Shore, 15 to 25 km out along a congested Highway 1, while the City of Victoria itself is dense apartment and heritage-house neighbourhoods where a third of commuters walk or cycle. Downtown has visible street homelessness and open drug use concentrated around Pandora Avenue, which shows up in the higher-than-national violent crime rate for a metro this size.
Health care
Care is publicly funded through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), which covers physician and hospital services for residents with no premiums beyond the income-tested Ontario Health Premium collected through income tax; new residents wait up to three months for coverage, and prescription drugs, dental and vision are mostly private or employer insured. Toronto is home to the University Health Network (Toronto General, Toronto Western, Princess Margaret), Sunnybrook, St. Michael's, Mount Sinai and SickKids, but family-doctor shortages and long emergency-department and specialist waits are common.
Education
The University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University and York University are in the city, with U of T consistently ranked in the global top 25. Publicly funded schools are run by four boards, the Toronto District School Board (the largest in Canada), the Toronto Catholic District School Board and two French-language boards, with specialized and alternative programs rather than US-style charters.
Living there
Toronto is a dense, fast-growing city of high-rise condos along the subway lines and low-rise neighbourhoods of brick semis in between, with more than half of residents born outside Canada. Housing costs are the central fact of life, and commutes by TTC, GO train or the 401 are long. Winters are grey and cold rather than extreme, summers humid, and the lakefront, ravines and Toronto Islands are where the city goes outside.
Where each city wins, and where it loses
Both cities are in Canadian dollars. Victoria's July 2026 benchmark of $1,311,000 is a detached house and Toronto's $928,200 is a composite, so the honest comparisons are by type. Detached against detached, Toronto is the dearer at $1,455,200. Apartments sit within $3,300 of each other, $548,600 in Victoria against $551,900, and Victoria's condo fee is $480 a month against $680. Row houses run the other way, $857,300 against $725,300. Carrying the Victoria benchmark at 20 percent down and 4.34 percent costs about $5,712 a month, plus $7,415 a year in property tax and $185 in insurance, roughly $6,515 all in, against $4,635 for Toronto's benchmark. Rents split by size: one bedroom averaged $1,594 in Victoria in October 2025 against $1,761, two bedrooms were level at $2,076 and $2,045, and three bedrooms were $3,035 against $2,294.
These figures come from the same Statistics Canada tables, so they line up. The 2025 Crime Severity Index was 74.57 for the Victoria metro, essentially the national 75.0, and 54.99 for Toronto. Violent crime ran at 1,541.92 per 100,000 in Victoria against 986.71 in Toronto, and property crime at 3,095.97 against 2,565.62, which is the reverse of what the two reputations suggest. Homicide is the exception and it is a tie: 4 victims in Victoria in 2025 at 0.90 per 100,000, against 0.91 across the Toronto metro, where the city itself counted 45, its fewest since the 1980s. Victoria's index has wandered between 71.2 and 80.2 since 2021 with no direction, while Toronto's fell 7.5 percent in 2025 as auto thefts dropped from 12,610 in 2023 to 7,402. Much of Victoria's violent count sits downtown around Pandora Avenue.
Victoria has the mildest winter in the country, and the margin is not small. The January mean at the airport is 4.6 C against -5.0 C at Toronto Pearson, snowfall is 38.6 cm a year against 114.5, and downtown at Gonzales the January mean is 5.8 C. Summer is cooler and drier than Toronto's, 17.2 C in July against 22.1 C, although the year is wetter overall, 901.2 mm against 806.8, because the rain arrives in winter. Sunshine is close, about 2,109 hours against 2,066. The hazard nobody prices is seismic: the region sits on the Cascadia subduction zone and carries Canada's highest earthquake risk. Summers bring interior wildfire smoke and watering restrictions, winters bring atmospheric rivers and the odd snowfall that stops traffic. Toronto's problems are flash flooding, as in July 2013 and July 2024, humid heat and lake-effect squalls.
Victoria has the tighter labour market and much the smaller one. Its unemployment rate was 5.0 percent in July 2026, usually among the lowest of Canadian metros, against 6.7 percent in Toronto, which had come down from 9.0 percent a year earlier. The work is concentrated: in the 2021 Census health care employed 29,750 people, public administration 27,780 in a provincial capital that also hosts CFB Esquimalt, and retail 22,540. Median household income in 2020 was $85,000 across the Victoria metro but only $67,500 in the City of Victoria itself, pulled down by its many one-person households, against $84,000 in the City of Toronto and $97,000 metro-wide. Tax leans slightly to Victoria: about $20,503 against $21,200 on $100,000 of employment income, and a 12 percent sales tax whose provincial half skips groceries, restaurant meals and many services, against 13 percent HST.
Toronto has the subway and Victoria has the sidewalks. In the 2021 Census 26.2 percent of Toronto residents commuted by transit and 9.6 percent walked or cycled, with the TTC carrying 420 million trips in 2024 and GO and UP Express covering the region. Victoria has no rail at all and its metro transit share was 7.7 percent, but 15.3 percent of metro commuters walked or cycled and 32.1 percent did within the City of Victoria, the highest share of any Canadian city. The 95 Blink RapidBus carries more than 11,000 boardings a day. The catch is where growth went: Langford and the West Shore, 15 to 25 km out along a congested Highway 1, where a car is not optional. Airports settle the rest, 47.3 million passengers at Pearson in 2025 against 1,986,057 at Victoria.
Health care is public in both, with the same scarcity of family doctors and different plumbing. British Columbia dropped its health premiums in 2020 and attaches new patients through the Health Connect Registry; Ontario collects an income-tested premium through income tax and makes new residents wait up to three months for coverage. Greater Victoria has three hospitals: Royal Jubilee, the cardiac and cancer referral site for Vancouver Island, Victoria General for trauma and pediatrics, and Saanich Peninsula. Toronto keeps SickKids, Mount Sinai, Sunnybrook, St. Michael's and the University Health Network hospitals within a few subway stops of one another. Schools run through three districts around Greater Victoria, with French immersion seats in SD61 allocated by lottery, against four boards in Toronto including two French ones. Victoria is a capital and university town with a large retired population; Toronto is dense, and more than half its residents were born outside Canada.
What people underestimate is the island. Every mainland trip is a 95-minute ferry sailing or a flight, and Victoria's airport is domestic-heavy, so most international travel connects through Vancouver or Seattle, while a Toronto household drives to Pearson and flies direct. The second thing is what a family costs. A three-bedroom rental averaged $3,035 a month in Victoria in October 2025 against $2,294 in Toronto, and a detached house is $1,311,000 against Toronto's $928,200 composite, so the city that looks cheap for one person in a $1,594 one-bedroom is the expensive one for a household of four. The City of Victoria's own median household income, $67,500 in 2020 against $85,000 across the metro, says a good deal about who can still live in the walkable core.
Better here
- January averages 4.6 C at the airport and 5.8 C downtown, against -5.0 C in Toronto, with 38.6 cm of snow a year against 114.5.
- Unemployment was 5.0 percent in July 2026 against Toronto's 6.7, and Victoria's rate is usually among the lowest of Canadian metros.
- A detached house was $1,311,000 against Toronto's $1,455,200, and condo fees average $480 a month against $680.
- 32.1 percent of City of Victoria commuters walked or cycled in 2021, the highest share of any Canadian city.
- One-bedroom rent averaged $1,594 in October 2025 against $1,761, and British Columbia's 2.3 percent cap for 2026 covers most existing tenancies where Ontario's 2.1 percent reaches only pre-2018 units.
- Income tax on $100,000 is about $20,503 against $21,200, with no health premium and no three-month wait for coverage.
Worse here
- The benchmark home costs $1,311,000 and carries at roughly $6,515 a month, against $4,635 for Toronto's benchmark.
- Property tax on the benchmark is $7,415 a year against $5,291 in Toronto.
- The 2025 Crime Severity Index was 74.57 against Toronto's 54.99, with violent crime at 1,541.92 per 100,000 against 986.71.
- A three-bedroom rental averaged $3,035 a month in October 2025, against $2,294 in Toronto.
- There is no rail transit, and every mainland trip is a 95-minute ferry or a flight from an airport that handled 1,986,057 passengers in 2025.
- The region sits on the Cascadia subduction zone and carries Canada's highest earthquake risk.
Choose Victoria if
- you want the mildest winter in Canada and will trade a hot July for one averaging 17.2 C
- you are buying an apartment, where the price matches Toronto's and the condo fee is $200 a month lower
- you work in health care or government, or bring your income with you
- you want to walk or cycle to work in a core where a third of commuters already do
The Victoria guide · Neighbourhoods · Victoria rent vs buy · Victoria mortgage calculator
Better here
- The composite benchmark was $928,200 in July 2026 against Victoria's $1,311,000, and the monthly carry about $4,635 against $6,515.
- A three-bedroom rental averaged $2,294 in October 2025 against $3,035 in Victoria, and two bedrooms were level at $2,045 and $2,076.
- The 2025 Crime Severity Index was 54.99 against Victoria's 74.57, and property crime 2,565.62 per 100,000 against 3,095.97.
- 26.2 percent of residents commuted by transit in 2021 on a network that carried 420 million trips in 2024, with GO and UP Express beyond it.
- Pearson handled 47.3 million passengers in 2025 with direct long-haul flights, against 1,986,057 at Victoria.
- The job market is the largest and broadest in the country, and unemployment fell from 9.0 percent in July 2025 to 6.7 percent a year later.
Worse here
- A detached house was $1,455,200 in July 2026, about $144,000 above Victoria's benchmark.
- January averages -5.0 C with 114.5 cm of snow a year, and July is humid at 22.1 C.
- Land transfer tax on the benchmark totals about $30,078 because a municipal levy stacks on the provincial one, against $24,220 in Victoria.
- Condo fees average $680 a month against $480, on an apartment that costs almost exactly the same.
- The city median household income was $84,000 in 2020 and unemployment 6.7 percent, against 5.0 percent in Victoria.
- Ontario's 2.1 percent rent cap covers only units first occupied before 15 November 2018, and new residents wait up to three months for OHIP.
Choose Toronto if
- you need the largest and broadest job market in the country rather than a metro of 445,000
- you are renting for a family and want three bedrooms at $2,294 rather than $3,035
- you want a subway, a streetcar network and direct long-haul flights from Pearson
- you would rather not plan every mainland trip around a ferry sailing
The Toronto guide · Neighbourhoods · Toronto rent vs buy · Toronto mortgage calculator
Victoria or Toronto, in short
Is Victoria or Toronto cheaper to live in?
Toronto, for a household. Its July 2026 benchmark carries at about $4,635 a month against $6,515 in Victoria, where the benchmark is a detached house at $1,311,000, and property tax is $5,291 against $7,415. Three-bedroom rent was $2,294 against $3,035 in October 2025. Victoria wins the narrow cases: a one-bedroom rental at $1,594 against $1,761, an apartment at $548,600 against $551,900 with a $480 condo fee against $680, and slightly lighter tax, about $20,503 against $21,200 on $100,000 of employment income.
Is Victoria or Toronto safer?
Toronto, which surprises most people. The 2025 Crime Severity Index was 54.99 for the Toronto metro and 74.57 for Victoria, the second almost exactly the national 75.0. Violent crime was 986.71 per 100,000 in Toronto against 1,541.92 in Victoria, and property crime 2,565.62 against 3,095.97; both sets come from the same Statistics Canada tables. Homicide rates are identical at 0.91 and 0.90 per 100,000. Much of Victoria's violent count is concentrated downtown around Pandora Avenue rather than spread across the region.
Which has the better climate, Victoria or Toronto?
Victoria, unless you want a hot summer. Its January mean is 4.6 C at the airport and 5.8 C downtown against -5.0 C in Toronto, and it gets 38.6 cm of snow a year against 114.5. July is 17.2 C against 22.1 C, cool and dry, though the year is wetter overall at 901.2 mm against 806.8 because the rain falls in winter. Recorded sunshine barely separates them, roughly 2,109 hours against 2,066. The trade is earthquake risk on the Cascadia subduction zone and interior wildfire smoke most summers.
How much does the ferry actually matter in Victoria?
More than visitors expect. Victoria is on Vancouver Island, so every mainland trip means a 95-minute BC Ferries sailing or a flight, with Harbour Air, Helijet and the Coho and Clipper ferries as the alternatives. The airport at Sidney handled 1,986,057 passengers in 2025 and is domestic-heavy, so international trips usually connect through Vancouver or Seattle. Toronto sits on the highway network with Pearson at 47.3 million passengers and direct long-haul service. If you travel often for work, this is the difference that wears on you.
Where the figures come from
Housing figures are the ones behind each city's calculators, dated on those pages. The rest are listed here with the date they were retrieved. See the methodology for how facts, estimates and opinion are kept apart.
- Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (table 98-10-0002-01) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: City population, Five-year growth
- Population and dwelling counts: Census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations and census subdivisions (table 98-10-0003-01) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: population.metro (2021 census count), population.growthPct5y (CMA comparison)
- Population estimates, July 1, by census metropolitan area and census agglomeration (table 17-10-0148-01) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: Metro population
- Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, police services in census metropolitan areas (table 35-10-0026-01) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: Crime Severity Index, Crime trend
- Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, police services in census metropolitan areas (table 35-10-0177-01) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: Violent crime rate, Property crime rate, Crime trend
- Number and rate of homicide victims, by census metropolitan areas (table 35-10-0071-01) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: Homicides
- Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020, Victoria Int'l A (climate ID 1018620) · Environment and Climate Change Canada · retrieved Supports: January mean, July mean, Annual precipitation, Annual snowfall
- Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020, Victoria Gonzales (climate ID 1018610) · Environment and Climate Change Canada · retrieved Supports: climate.note (downtown comparison)
- Canadian Climate Normals 1981-2010, Victoria Int'l A · Environment and Climate Change Canada · retrieved Supports: Sunshine hours
- Household income statistics by dwelling and household characteristics: census metropolitan areas (table 98-10-0061-01) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: Median household income
- Household income statistics by household type: census subdivisions (table 98-10-0057-01) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: economy.medianHouseholdIncome (city figure in note)
- Labour force characteristics, three-month moving average, by census metropolitan area, seasonally adjusted (table 14-10-0459-01) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: Unemployment rate
- Greater Victoria Metropolitan Region Socio-Economic Profile 2025 · South Island Prosperity Partnership · retrieved Supports: Main sectors, Labour market
- Personal income tax rates · Province of British Columbia · retrieved Supports: Top marginal income tax
- Provincial sales tax (PST) · Province of British Columbia · retrieved Supports: Sales tax
- 2025 personal tax rates, British Columbia (combined federal and provincial) · EY Canada · retrieved Supports: Income tax on $100,000, Top marginal income tax
- Main mode of commuting by commuting duration, time leaving for work, age and gender: census metropolitan areas (table 98-10-0457-01) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: Transit commute share, Walk and cycle commute share
- Main mode of commuting by commuting duration, time leaving for work, age and gender: census subdivisions (table 98-10-0458-01) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: transit.transitModeSharePct (city), transit.walkBikeModeSharePct (city)
- Year in review: a successful 2025 for BC Transit · BC Transit · retrieved Supports: Transit ridership
- 2026/27 Annual Service Plan, Victoria Regional Transit Commission report #14 · BC Transit · retrieved Supports: Transit ridership
- 2025 Annual Report · Victoria Airport Authority · retrieved Supports: Airport passengers
- The sky's the limit: Victoria airport has high hopes for year ahead · Victoria News · retrieved Supports: transit.airport (exact passenger count 1,986,057)
- Hospitals and health centre locations · Island Health · retrieved Supports: Health care
- Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population, Toronto, City (CSD), Ontario (98-401-X2021005 CSV) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: City population, Five-year growth, Median household income, Transit commute share, Walk and cycle commute share
- The Daily: Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2025 · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: Crime Severity Index, Crime trend
- Homicides Open Data (ArcGIS feature service, Public Safety Data Portal) · Toronto Police Service · retrieved Supports: Homicides, Crime trend
- Auto Theft Open Data (ArcGIS feature service, Public Safety Data Portal) · Toronto Police Service · retrieved Supports: Crime trend
- Murders dropped sharply in several major Canadian cities last year, data show · The Globe and Mail · retrieved Supports: Homicides
- Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020, Toronto Pearson (Airport) · Environment and Climate Change Canada · retrieved Supports: January mean, July mean, Annual precipitation, Annual snowfall
- Canadian Climate Normals 1981-2010, Toronto (City) · Environment and Climate Change Canada · retrieved Supports: Sunshine hours
- The Daily: Labour Force Survey, July 2026 · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: Unemployment rate
- Hogtown Blues: Toronto's Lagging Jobs Market · TD Economics · retrieved Supports: Labour market
- 2025 and 2026 Combined Federal and Ontario Tax Rates Including Surtaxes · TaxTips.ca · retrieved Supports: Top marginal income tax, Income tax on $100,000
- Ontario sales tax: 13% HST rates, registration, and compliance guide · Xero · retrieved Supports: Sales tax
- 34 billion rides and counting: the TTC reaches new service milestone · Toronto Transit Commission · retrieved Supports: Transit ridership
- TTC ridership declined this past fall, despite stricter return-to-office policies for workers · CP24 · retrieved Supports: Transit ridership
- GTAA Reports 2025 Annual Results · Greater Toronto Airports Authority (via Newswire) · retrieved Supports: Airport passengers
- July 2026 statistics: Victoria Real Estate Board monthly news release · Victoria Real Estate Board · retrieved Supports: Victoria Core single-family benchmark of $1,311,000, down 2.8% year over year, Victoria Core condominium benchmark of $548,600, down 2.2% year over year, Victoria Core townhouse benchmark of $857,300, 673 sales and 3,847 active listings board-wide in July 2026
- Rental Market Survey: Victoria (CY), average rent by bedroom type, October 2025 · Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation · retrieved Supports: One-bedroom average rent of $1,594, Two-bedroom average rent of $2,076, Three-bedroom-plus average rent of $3,035, Victoria CMA vacancy rate of 3.3%
- 2026 Property Tax Mill Rate · City of Victoria · retrieved Supports: 2026 Class 1 residential total rate of $5.6559 per $1,000 of taxable value, Municipal residential rate of $3.7229, of which $1.3782 is police, Additional school tax of 0.2000 above $3 million and 0.4000 above $4 million
- Home owner grant · Province of British Columbia · retrieved Supports: The grant of up to $770 on an eligible principal residence outside the northern and rural area
- Premium information for homeowner and small rental loans · Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation · retrieved Supports: Mortgage default insurance premium rates by loan-to-value
- Regulations amending the Insurable Housing Loan Regulations and the Eligible Mortgage Loan Regulations (SOR/2025-55) · Canada Gazette, Part II · retrieved Supports: The $1.5 million insured price cap, 30-year amortization for first-time buyers and new builds
- Minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages · Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions · retrieved Supports: The qualifying rate of the contract rate plus two points, or 5.25%
- Interest rates charged for new and existing lending by chartered banks · Bank of Canada · retrieved Supports: The default mortgage rate of 4.34%, uninsured five-year-plus fixed, funds advanced May 2026
- Property transfer tax · Province of British Columbia · retrieved Supports: Transfer tax brackets, First-time buyer and new build exemptions
- Rent increases · Province of British Columbia · retrieved Supports: 2026 rent increase guideline of 2.3%
- Market Watch, July 2026 · Toronto Regional Real Estate Board · retrieved Supports: A City of Toronto MLS® HPI composite benchmark of $928,200 in July 2026, down 3.83% year over year, City of Toronto benchmarks of $1,455,200 single-family detached (down 4.40%), $1,146,300 single-family attached (down 4.00%), $725,300 townhouse (down 5.75%) and $551,900 apartment (down 7.09%), An All TRREB Areas composite benchmark of $934,600, down 4.63%, covering the region rather than the City, A GTA average selling price of $1,003,956 in July 2026, down 4.5% year over year, 5,995 sales, 14,484 new listings (down 17.8%) and 26,098 active listings (down 12.1%) in July 2026, District benchmarks for Toronto C02 ($1,302,900 composite, detached down 2.15%, apartment down 14.65%), C14 ($888,100), E07 ($735,600) and W06 ($814,300)
- Rental Market Survey: Toronto, average rent by bedroom type, October 2025 · Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation · retrieved Supports: Toronto CMA average purpose-built rents of $1,491 bachelor, $1,761 one-bedroom, $2,045 two-bedroom and $2,294 three-bedroom-plus, An overall purpose-built average of $1,917, A Toronto CMA purpose-built vacancy rate of 3.0%, the highest since 2021
- Property tax rates and fees, 2026 · City of Toronto · retrieved Supports: A 2026 total residential rate of 0.767311%: 0.605295% city, 0.153% education and 0.009016% City Building Fund, The City's own worked example of $692,140 of assessment at 0.767311%, which is $5,311, Education rates set by the province and city rates set by council
- City of Toronto's 2026 Budget now final · City of Toronto · retrieved Supports: A combined 2026 residential property tax and City Building Fund increase of 2.2%, MPAC's average Toronto current value assessment of $692,140, An increase of $91.53 a year, or $7.63 a month, on that average assessment
- Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates and fees · City of Toronto · retrieved Supports: A municipal land transfer tax charged on top of the provincial one, on Toronto purchases only, Brackets of 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5% and 4.4%, with further bands above $3,000,000, A first-time buyer rebate of up to $4,475 of the municipal tax
- Calculating Land Transfer Tax · Ontario Ministry of Finance · retrieved Supports: Provincial transfer tax brackets, The conditional 2.5% band
- Residential rent increases · Government of Ontario · retrieved Supports: 2026 rent increase guideline of 2.1%, The 2018 occupancy exemption
- Retail Sales Tax · Government of Ontario · retrieved Supports: 8% retail sales tax on insurance premiums