Victoria BC Tech Salaries in 2026: What Developers, PMs, and Designers Actually Earn

I’ve been hiring tech talent in Victoria since before the pandemic, first at a series of companies and now as CEO of Plurilock. The question I get most from candidates – especially people considering relocating from Vancouver or the Bay Area – is some version of: “What can I actually expect to earn in Victoria?”

The honest answer is nuanced. Victoria tech salaries run 10-15% below Vancouver equivalents – but so does the cost of living, and by considerably more than 10-15%. If you’re calibrating whether to take a Victoria role, whether to make a competing offer, or just trying to understand what the market actually looks like, this article is for you.

I’ve pulled together 2025-2026 salary data from Glassdoor’s Victoria-specific sample, Statistics Canada’s Job Bank, and CBRE’s 2024 tech talent report, and I’ve cross-referenced it against our own hiring experience. I’ll also note where my original 2019 YYJ Tech compensation survey fits in as a historical baseline.

One thing I’ll say upfront: Victoria’s tech market has matured considerably since 2019. Companies like VertiGIS, Audette, and Plurilock now compete for talent on a national basis, and the remote work shift has made Vancouver compensation visible to every developer in Victoria. The market is tighter and more transparent than it was even five years ago.

What Victoria BC Tech Workers Earn in 2026

The table below is drawn primarily from Glassdoor’s Victoria BC salary data (2025-2026 collection period), supplemented by Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey data for Vancouver Island and Coast region.

Role	Low	Median	High	Notes
Junior Software Developer	$44,353	$53,149	$63,690	Small sample
Mid-Level Software Developer	$62,298	$75,665	$93,057	n=372, most reliable
Senior Software Developer	$87,708	$104,998	$129,733	Small sample
Software Engineer	$72,008	$88,571	$111,456	Small sample
QA Engineer	$61,675	$74,472	$106,540	Small sample
Product Manager	$78,768	$97,824	$132,418	n=59
Data Scientist	$64,878	$77,877	$93,482	Small sample
Data Engineer	$74,740	–	$106,498	Small sample
UI/UX Designer	$57,560	$73,657	$97,145	Small sample
DevOps Team Lead	–	$88,847	–	Small sample

A few important caveats. The Victoria BC tech labour market is small enough that Glassdoor sample sizes are limited for most roles – the mid-level developer figure at n=372 is the most statistically meaningful number in this table. Treat other figures as directional estimates.

For the most rigorous local data, VIATEC’s BenchMarket Compensation Study (December 2024) is the definitive source. It surveys Victoria-specific employers directly and disaggregates by company stage and role level. It’s paywalled but worth the access if you’re doing serious hiring or negotiating.

Statistics Canada’s Job Bank data for Vancouver Island and Coast shows senior software developers in the region earning $58K-$107K-$165K (annualized from hourly LFS data), which is broadly consistent with the Glassdoor figures.

Victoria vs Vancouver: The Salary Gap

The 10-15% gap is well-documented across multiple sources. CBRE’s Scoring Tech Talent 2024 report puts the average Vancouver tech wage at $114,192 – apply a 10-15% haircut and you get a Victoria equivalent of roughly $97K-$103K for comparable mid-to-senior roles. Our own hiring experience bears this out.

In dollar terms for a mid-level developer, the gap looks like this: a Vancouver role paying $88K might come with a Victoria offer of $76K-$80K for equivalent scope and experience. That’s real money – roughly $8K-$12K per year.

But the cost-of-living picture tells a different story. The Victoria and Vancouver rental markets have converged somewhat in recent years, but Victoria still runs 20-30% cheaper for comparable housing. A downtown Vancouver one-bedroom that costs $2,800/month rents for $2,000-$2,200 in Victoria. Food, transport (especially if you can walk or cycle to work, which is realistic in Victoria in a way it often isn’t in Vancouver), and lifestyle costs all run lower. On a net take-home basis, the gap often closes or inverts for people who value quality of life.

Why does the gap exist? Three reasons. First, Victoria’s tech market is smaller – fewer large employers competing aggressively for talent creates less upward pressure on salary. Second, many Victoria employers carry a de facto lifestyle premium in their compensation strategy (consciously or not). Third, the talent supply from UVic, Royal Roads, and Camosun provides a steady pipeline of junior talent that compresses the lower end of ranges.

That said, the gap has been narrowing at the senior end. Remote work opened up Vancouver and US compensation to Victoria-based engineers, which forced local employers to respond. If you are a senior developer with in-demand skills – particularly in security, cloud infrastructure, or AI/ML – the Victoria vs Vancouver salary gap may be much smaller than the aggregate numbers suggest.

How Victoria Salaries Have Changed Since 2019

In 2019, I ran what I believe was the first Victoria-specific tech compensation survey – the original YYJ Tech Compensation Survey. It captured salary self-reports from local developers, designers, and product managers. That data is genuinely rare: no aggregator captured it, and it predates the pandemic wage dynamics that reshaped the market.

The 2019 survey showed junior developers earning around $52K and mid-level developers in the $65K-$72K range. Seven years later, the Glassdoor data shows junior developers at $53K-$64K and mid-level at $63K-$93K.

For juniors, that is essentially flat in nominal terms – which means real wages (inflation-adjusted) declined meaningfully. The junior market got saturated as bootcamp graduates and UVic/Camosun co-op pipelines expanded supply. For mid-level and senior developers, the picture is better: TAP Network’s 2025 Canadian tech sector report puts annual salary growth at 3.5%, which compounded from 2019 suggests mid-to-senior roles have kept reasonable pace with inflation.

The 2023 BC salary disclosure law requiring salary ranges on job postings has also improved transparency. You can now anchor negotiations to disclosed ranges before a first call, which has modestly compressed the variance between what employers post and what they actually pay.

What Affects Your Salary in Victoria BC

Not all Victoria tech jobs pay equally, and the variance within roles is wide. A few factors that matter:

Company size and stage. Established companies like VertiGIS, Audette, and Plurilock (disclosure: I’m Plurilock’s CEO) pay toward the upper end of local ranges and offer benefits packages comparable to Vancouver. Early-stage startups often pay below market on base but offer equity – which may or may not prove valuable. At seed stage, treat equity as a lottery ticket.

Remote and hybrid arrangements. This is the biggest salary lever in Victoria right now. A Victoria-based engineer competing for remote roles at Vancouver or US companies can earn $20K-$40K more than local equivalents. Victoria employers who want to retain talent increasingly have to price against remote competition, which has pulled up the top end of local ranges since 2021.

Co-op and new-grad positioning. UVic and Camosun both run substantial co-op programs, and Victoria employers have learned to hire aggressively from them. Co-op rates ($20-$28/hour) are well below full-time equivalents. If you’re transitioning from co-op to full-time at the same company, expect a meaningful step up – and negotiate accordingly.

Equity vs base tradeoffs. At established Victoria tech companies, the conversation is almost entirely about base plus standard benefits. At startups, founders often ask candidates to accept below-market base in exchange for options. I’ve seen this work out and I’ve seen it not work out. If you’re considering the tradeoff, get specific about the option pool percentage, the liquidation preferences, and the last round valuation before you decide.

Looking for tech jobs or workspace options in Victoria? See also: Tech Jobs & Internships in Victoria BC and Where to Work in Victoria BC.

FAQ

What is the average software developer salary in Victoria BC?

A mid-level software developer in Victoria BC earns approximately $63K-$93K per year, with a median around $75,665 based on Glassdoor’s 2025-2026 data (n=372). Senior developers earn $88K-$130K at the median-to-high range. VIATEC’s BenchMarket study is the most rigorous local source if you need precision for hiring or negotiation.

Do Victoria BC tech companies pay as well as Vancouver?

Victoria BC tech salaries run 10-15% below Vancouver equivalents for comparable roles and experience levels. For a mid-level developer, that gap is roughly $8K-$12K per year in base salary. The cost-of-living differential – particularly housing – is larger than 10-15%, which means the net financial picture is more favourable to Victoria than raw salary numbers suggest.

Is it worth taking a Victoria tech job over a Vancouver remote role?

It depends on your priorities. A Vancouver remote role at Vancouver pay rates is financially better than a Victoria office role, often significantly so. But remote roles at Vancouver companies often require occasional Vancouver presence, and the lifestyle in Victoria is genuinely different – smaller city, outdoor access, walkability. If the Victoria employer offers competitive pay and you want the lifestyle, the financial gap can close quickly on cost of living.

What do junior developers make in Victoria BC?

Junior software developers in Victoria BC typically earn $44K-$64K based on current Glassdoor data, with a median around $53K. Co-op rates are lower ($20-$28/hour). The junior market is competitive due to UVic and Camosun’s strong co-op pipelines, which means strong candidates should push toward the $58K-$64K range rather than accepting the low end.

How do I find current Victoria BC tech job openings with salary ranges?

BC’s salary disclosure law (November 2023) requires employers to post salary ranges with job listings. Check LinkedIn filtered to Victoria BC, the VIATEC job board, and major employer careers pages directly. Remote-eligible Victoria postings often appear on nationwide boards. The salary ranges on postings are now legally required to be the genuine intended range, not a placeholder.

Does working for a Victoria startup pay less than an established company?

Usually yes on base salary. Victoria startups at seed and Series A stage typically offer $10K-$20K less than established local companies for equivalent roles, offset by equity packages. The equity math only works in your favour if the company achieves a meaningful exit – which most don’t. The companies that have graduated from Victoria’s startup ecosystem (several have been acquired or gone public) have produced solid equity outcomes for early employees, but they are the exceptions.

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The Victoria tech market is genuinely good for people who want it. The combination of a real tech community (VIATEC runs active programs, there’s a legitimate startup ecosystem, and remote work has given everyone access to larger markets) with a lower cost base than Vancouver makes the math work for a lot of people. Get specific about your number, use the BC salary disclosure law to anchor negotiations, and don’t assume the first offer is the final one.

For more on Victoria’s tech ecosystem, including the major employers, accelerators, and community resources, see the Victoria BC Tech Community Guide.