What is a living wage?
A Living Wage is the hourly rate required for two working parents to meet the basic needs of a family of four. The family of four is the most common family unit size in B.C. and the Living Wage for this family is a fair proxy for other family sizes and single adults.
The minimum wage in BC is not enough. Families who work for low wages often face impossible choices of where to direct their money: buy food or pay bills or pay rent.
Paying a Living Wage allows individuals and families to meet their basic needs – food, rent, clothing, childcare, transportation - and contribute to their communities. A Living Wage means strong local economies, and sustainable and healthy communities. In November 2024, Living Wage BC announced the updated living wage for Metro Vancouver, which is set at $27.05 per hour.
At Vancity.
Vancity has been a proud signatory to the Living Wage Campaign since 2011. We are committed to meeting, or exceeding, the annual Living Wage rate for our employees and our contracted suppliers.
| Vancity pays | Living Wage | |
| 2024 | $27.05 | $27.05 |
| 2023 | $25.68 | $25.68 |
| 2022 | $24.08 | $24.08 |
| 2021 | $20.91 | $19.50 |
| 2000 | $20.91 | $19.50 |
| 2019 | $20.91 | $19.50 |
In 2019, the Living Wage decreased slightly as a direct result of government investments in childcare programs. Vancity continued to pay the 2018 rate of $20.91 per hour. Then in 2020, living wage calculations were severely complicated by the uncertainties and emergency government responses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the living wage rate remained at the same level until a new rate was set in 2022.
Are you an employer? Want some help on your Living Wage journey?
We want to share what we learned with other employers—the more employers who join us in paying a Living Wage, the more we can impact our local communities.
We've laid out a 7 step process to implementing Living Wage at your business, in particular for large employers.
Download Living Wage roadmap for employers