Victoria is officially one of the worst cities in BC to work in this year (SURVEY)

Looking for a good, well-paying job in Victoria? Your search might be harder than you thought.

In a survey released by BC Business last month, Victoria was named one of the worst cities to work in going into the New Year.

For the fifth consecutive year, BC Business has worked extensively with Environics Analytics to collect economic data in the province, such as average household income, income growth, recreational spending, shelter costs, five-year population growth and unemployment rate. Only cities with a population of over 10,000 were evaluated.

Squamish claimed the top-ranking city in BC for employment for the second year in a row due to high employment rates, extra spending on recreation, and an influx of housing construction. Whistler, North Vancouver, and Langley followed behind, respectively.

This year, Victoria’s ranking saw the biggest drop of any city on the list — from 7th in 2018, to 36th out of 46 cities heading into 2019.

The Capital Region claimed last place for average income for people under the age of 35 which was a major contributing factor in its recent drop.

Victoria wasn’t the only metropolis in which conditions for workers declined significantly. Metro Vancouver dipped from 9th to 31st due to high housing costs, long commute times, and mediocre incomes.

This was the first year BC Business took real estate prices into account, providing a partial explanation as to why larger cities have taken such a big hit, with real estate prices skyrocketing in urban centers over the past few years.

It is worth noting that the study only takes economic factors into consideration. In 2017, Victoria was ranked one of Canada’s top cities to be a woman in, and took second place in Condé Nast’s Reader’s Choice Award for ‘Best Small Cities to live in outside of the U.S.”

Here’s the full BC Business ranking of the best cities to work in this year:

1. Squamish
2. Whistler
3. Township of North Vancouver
4. Township of Langley
5. Kelowna
6. Prince Rupert
7. City of Langley
8. City of North Vancouver
9. Fort St. John
10. Maple Ridge
11. Coquitlam
12. Sechelt
13. Parksville
14. Surrey
15. Nanaimo
16. Delta
17. Terrace
18. Port Coquitlam
19. Salmon Arm
20. Richmond
21. Courtenay
22. Sidney
23. Saanich
24. Quesnel
25. Chilliwack
26. Prince George
27. Penticton
28. Vernon
29. Pitt Meadows
30. Dawson Creek
31. Vancouver
32. Burnaby
33. Williams Lake
34. Duncan/North Cowichan
35. Comox
36. Victoria
37. Kamloops
38. Mission
39. Cranbrook
40. Abbotsford
41. Powell River
42. Summerland
43. New Westminster
44. Campbell River
45. Nelson
46. Port Alberni

Click here for the full methodology of the survey.