The Victoria Foundation’s annual vital signs report breaks down how different populations feel about the region, based on a survey of more than 2,500 respondents.
One gap indicated that people with lower incomes felt less engaged in their community. 74% of those earning more than $80,000 said they felt included, compared to 56% of those earning less than that amount.
Unemployment and employment rates in Greater Victoria have been lower than in B.C. and Canada for the past five years, although 2019 was an outlier as the percentage of locals employed was slightly lower than in other jurisdictions.
Residents gave the overall economy a C+ in 2021, but even though women’s employment rate was slightly below the regional average last year, men are still more likely to give the economy a D. Women are also more stressed about their personal finances than men.
One of the biggest differences in the survey revealed how worried young people are about their bank accounts. Less than a third of respondents over the age of 30 responded that they were always or often stressed about their personal finances, but that jumped to 62 for 18- to 30-year-olds %.
Compared to Caucasians, BIPOCs are less likely to give the region high marks for overall quality of life and access to nutritious food, health care, and education. BIPOC residents are also more likely to feel insecure because of their overall identity (race, religion, etc.) and financial stress.
Caucasian respondents were more likely to agree that they felt respected, included and accepted.
About three-quarters of respondents agreed that there should be more opportunities to support intercultural education and awareness, but women and those under 30 were more likely to think so.
When asked how often they felt out of place due to religion, race, color, culture, ethnicity, language, accent, disability, gender, men, those over 65, those earning more than $50,000 a year, and Caucasians were more likely Answer never identity or sexual orientation.
While women felt more connected to their community, men were more likely to give Greater Victoria the highest score.
Men in the region were more likely than women to say they were in good physical and mental health. Men and those earning more than $80,000 a year are the most likely to score the highest in the region when it comes to accessing physical and mental health care. More than half of respondents reported poor or below-average access to care.
Men are more likely to rate Victoria as excellent for home ownership, affordable rent, access to quality education, affordability of post-secondary education, safety, their ability to afford essentials, access to affordable childcare, transport and wages related to the cost of living.
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