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Victoria

The Housing Needs Assessment data produced by HART’s HNA Tool

The Housing Assessment Resource Tools (HART) project is funded by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to research solutions to Canada’s Housing Crisis. We offer comprehensive, equity-focused solutions to the unique problems faced by communities of all shapes and sizes cross-country. The goal of the project is to develop standardized, replicable and sustainable tools, along with associated public information and training, to improve the quality of housing supply decision-making at all levels of government across Canada.

The following data, which was compiled using our Housing Needs Assessment Tool, represents information about Housing Need in the City of Victoria, BC using 2016 data from Statistics Canada. 2021 data will be published in 2023.

Key findings
  • Nearly 80% of low and very low income households cannot afford to live in the city
  • There is an existing deficit of 8,560 homes costing under $1,000/month
  • 37% of single mothers are in Core Housing Need

Area Median Household Income (AMHI) Categories and Shelter Costs (2016)

This table shows the income categories used by the HART project, and the characteristics of each group, including their income range and affordable shelter cost.

Percent of Households in Core Housing Need, by Household Income Category (2016)

This graph shows the total proportion of households and number of households that were in core housing need in Victoria according to the 2016 census data. For example, this chart shows that almost 80% of households in the “Low Income” category (maximum affordable monthly shelter cost is $665) were in Core Housing Need, which is 6,080 households.

Percent of Household Size Categories in Core Housing Need, by Area Median Household Income (AMHI) (2016)

This graph shows the breakdown of household size for households in core housing need. For example, this graph shows that of Median Income households (maximum affordable monthly shelter cost $1,596), nearly 50% of households in core housing need were made up of three people.

Total Affordable Housing Deficit (2016)

This table shows the 2016 existing housing deficit at each income category level. For example, in 2016 there was a deficit of 6,080 homes that were affordable to Low Income households. This number does not necessarily indicate a lack of homes, but a lack of homes at or below the maximum affordable shelter cost for this income category.

Percentage of Households (HHs) in Core Housing Need, by Priority Population (2016)

This graph shows the proportion of marginalized households in core housing need against the proportion of all households in core housing need. For example, almost 40% of Single mother-led households were in Core Housing Need, compared to the 21% of all households in the City of Victoria.

For more information about the HART HNA data, read our FAQ or get in touch.