Commercial trade rates in Vancouver.
Estimated commercial rates for all 8 trades tracked in Vancouver, built from Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model wage data, for facility and property teams benchmarking vendor invoices.
Rates by trade
Plumbing (estimated)$83/hr median · $55–$144 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
Electrical (estimated)$95/hr median · $55–$143 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
HVAC and Refrigeration (estimated)$116/hr median · $59–$186 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
General Maintenance (estimated)$79/hr median · $55–$137 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
Janitorial and Cleaning (estimated)$68/hr median · $46–$94 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
Landscaping and Grounds (estimated)$66/hr median · $47–$100 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
Roofing (estimated)$83/hr median · $61–$118 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
Carpentry (estimated)$87/hr median · $56–$129 range
Source: Job Bank Canada (ESDC), Small Area Estimation wage model, using a documented service multiplier.
What's different in Vancouver
- Labour market: British Columbia has relatively strong union density in commercial building trades, and among the highest cost-of-living and wage levels in Canada, both visible in the wage figures here.
- Climate and seasonality: Mild but wet year-round climate drives roofing and moisture-related maintenance work; the region sits in an active seismic zone, which affects commercial building and mechanical-system requirements.
- Code and licensing: BC licenses trades provincially (Technical Safety BC for electrical and gas); Vancouver overlays its own seismic and energy-code requirements on commercial permitting.
Frequently asked questions
- What do commercial trade rates cost in Vancouver?
- Across the 8 trades tracked here, the median commercial hourly rate in Vancouver runs around $85/hr, though it varies significantly by trade: see the table above for each one.
- Is this a real measured rate, or an estimate?
- Every rate on this page is currently an estimate: each trade's Vancouver wage, multiplied by a documented service multiplier that converts an employee wage into a billed commercial rate. It is not drawn from actual invoices or job records. The full model is on the methodology page.
- Why a range instead of a single number?
- A single average hides the real spread: in the underlying wage data for estimated trades, and between emergency/scheduled and contract/ad-hoc work for measured ones. We show low, median, and high so the range reflects that honestly.
- Is this a residential or commercial rate?
- Commercial. These figures track facility-side trade work for businesses, property managers, and multi-site operators in Vancouver. Commercial rates typically run above residential rates for the same trade, reflecting insurance, code compliance, and scheduling requirements that residential work doesn't carry.
- What's driving trade rates in Vancouver specifically?
- British Columbia has relatively strong union density in commercial building trades, and among the highest cost-of-living and wage levels in Canada, both visible in the wage figures here.
Methodology
These figures are built from regional wage data multiplied by a documented service multiplier, or, where enough real job records exist, measured directly from vendor work logged in Evalystar. See the full model, sources, and what upgrades an estimate to a measured rate on the methodology page.
Nearby cities
Cite this data
These Vancouver benchmarks are published under CC BY 4.0: reuse them anywhere, including commercially, as long as you attribute Evalystar. The machine-readable version is at /api/rates/ca/vancouver.json.
Evalystar (2024). Commercial facility trade rate benchmarks, Vancouver. Retrieved from https://evalystar.com/rates/ca/vancouver. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.