Average salary in Canada, 2026: by province, city and job
The average employee in Canada earned $37.02 an hour in August 2026. The median employee, the one in the middle, earned $31.00. We pulled Statistics Canada's latest wage, payroll and income data and broke it down by province, city, age, gender, industry and job, with a plain guide to which number answers which question.
Average salary in Canada: the key numbers
This page draws on three Statistics Canada measures of pay: a monthly household survey that asks employees what they usually earn, a monthly survey built on employers' payroll records, and a yearly income survey drawn from tax records.1,2 Each one answers a different question, so their numbers don't match.
-
All employees, August 2026
Average hourly wage
Usual pay before tax, averaged across every employee. A small group of high earners pulls it up.3
$37.02an hour -
All employees, August 2026
Median hourly wage
The employee in the middle: half earn more and half earn less. This is the better guide to typical pay.3
$31.00an hour -
Full-year full-time workers, 2024
Median yearly income
People who worked all 52 weeks at 30 or more hours a week, including the self-employed.2
$70,200a year -
Everyone with employment income, 2024
Median yearly income
Adds part-time, part-year and seasonal workers, which pulls the median down.2
$46,300a year
For a 2026 yearly figure, multiply a weekly wage by 52. Full-time employees had a median weekly wage of $1,312 in August 2026, about $68,200 a year or $5,700 a month by our calculation. Their average was $1,521.67 a week, about $79,100 a year.3 Over all of 2025, employees averaged $36.40 an hour, with a median of $30.77.4
The payroll survey gives a similar figure. Employers paid an average of $1,347 a week in July 2026, counting overtime and part-time staff, up 3.2% from a year earlier.5
Average hourly wages rose 2.0% in the year to August 2026, the slowest growth since November 2017 if you leave out 2021.6 Consumer prices rose 3.0% over the same 12 months.7 The lowest-paid quarter of employees got the smallest raise, 1.1%, while the top half got 2.1%.6
Average salary by province
British Columbia had the highest hourly pay of any province in August 2026: a median of $33.22 and an average of $39.07. Ontario and Alberta came next. Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and New Brunswick paid the least on both measures.3
Ranked by yearly income, the order changes a little. Ontario's full-year full-time workers had the highest median in 2024, $73,400, ahead of Alberta at $73,100 and B.C. at $72,300. New Brunswick had the lowest, $60,700.2
| Province or territory | Median hourly wage, Aug. 2026 | Average hourly wage, Aug. 2026 | Median yearly income, full-year full-time, 2024 | Average yearly income, full-year full-time, 2024 | Average weekly payroll earnings, July 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | $31.00 | $37.02 | $70,200 | $85,500 | $1,347.14 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $27.88 | $33.49 | $67,500 | $82,500 | $1,317.98 |
| Prince Edward Island | $27.00 | $31.29 | $62,100 | $67,600 | $1,207.99 |
| Nova Scotia | $28.00 | $33.38 | $65,100 | $73,300 | $1,228.91 |
| New Brunswick | $27.72 | $32.57 | $60,700 | $70,300 | $1,261.88 |
| Quebec | $31.00 | $36.23 | $67,100 | $80,000 | $1,279.96 |
| Ontario | $31.62 | $37.92 | $73,400 | $90,800 | $1,391.19 |
| Manitoba | $27.00 | $32.11 | $62,700 | $72,500 | $1,217.11 |
| Saskatchewan | $28.85 | $33.57 | $67,800 | $77,500 | $1,325.24 |
| Alberta | $31.43 | $37.76 | $73,100 | $86,500 | $1,399.61 |
| British Columbia | $33.22 | $39.07 | $72,300 | $89,100 | $1,356.78 |
| Yukon | n/a | n/a | $87,300 | $90,900 | $1,504.26 |
| Northwest Territories | n/a | n/a | $91,600quality C | $105,300 | $1,821.38 |
| Nunavut | n/a | n/a | $95,700quality C | $100,300 | $1,844.70 |
Hourly wages: Labour Force Survey, all employees, full- and part-time, not seasonally adjusted; the survey's wage table covers the provinces only. Yearly income: Canadian Income Survey employment income, which includes net self-employment income, for people who worked all 52 weeks at 30 or more hours a week. Payroll earnings: Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours, seasonally adjusted, overtime included; July figures are preliminary. Statistics Canada rates most yearly figures A (excellent) or B (very good) for quality and flags the C (good) ones. Sources: wages3, yearly income2, payroll earnings8.
Workers in the territories earn more than in any province. Full-year full-time workers had a median of $95,700 in Nunavut and $91,600 in the Northwest Territories, and payroll earnings in both topped $1,800 a week.2,8 Treat the territorial survey figures with care: Statistics Canada says its small samples there make the estimates swing more from year to year.9
None of these figures account for the cost of living. Statistics Canada says its provincial income gaps are "not adjusted to consider regional factors, such as the cost of living or the age structure of the population."9
Ontario employees earned an average of $37.92 an hour in August 2026, and a median of $31.62.3 The province's full-year full-time workers had a median income of $73,400 in 2024 and an average of $90,800.2 Payroll earnings averaged $1,391.19 a week in July 2026.8 Ottawa-Gatineau and Toronto figures are in the city table below.
Average salary in Canada's biggest cities
Statistics Canada's income survey publishes figures for eight metro areas, each including its suburbs.2 Ottawa-Gatineau leads by a wide margin. Its full-year full-time workers had a median income of $83,600 in 2024, and 37.9% of them earned $100,000 or more. Winnipeg had the lowest median of the eight, $64,000.2
| Metro area | Median, everyone with employment income | Median, full-year full-time | Average, full-year full-time | Full-year full-time earning $100,000 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa-Gatineau | $56,000 | $83,600 | $94,000 | 37.9% |
| Toronto | $49,500 | $74,600 | $97,300 | 32.3% |
| Calgary | $48,700 | $73,800quality C | $87,700 | 32.1% |
| Vancouver | $46,100 | $72,500 | $94,100 | 31.8% |
| Edmonton | $47,500 | $71,700 | $84,200 | 27.6% |
| Québec City | $49,700 | $70,800 | $82,400 | 24.8% |
| Montréal | $47,100 | $68,500 | $84,300 | 24.9% |
| Winnipeg | $42,700 | $64,000 | $75,100 | 22.4% |
| Canada | $46,300 | $70,200 | $85,500 | 27.7% |
2024 employment income, Canadian Income Survey. "Everyone with employment income" includes part-time, part-year and self-employed workers. Statistics Canada rates Calgary's full-time median C (good) for quality and the rest A or B. Source:2
Toronto and Vancouver have the widest gaps between average and median pay of the eight, a sign of how far a group of high earners can pull up an average. Toronto's full-time average, $97,300, sat $22,700 above its median. In Vancouver the gap was $21,600.2
Average or median: which salary figure to use
The average sits above what most people earn
An average adds up everyone's pay and divides by the number of people. A median lines everyone up and takes the person in the middle: "half the population had higher income and half had lower income," in Statistics Canada's words.9 A small group of high earners pulls the average up and leaves the median where it is. To see what a typical worker makes, use the median.
The gap is wide in Canada. In August 2026 the average hourly wage was $37.02 and the median $31.00.3 Employees in the top quarter of the pay scale averaged $65.15 an hour, against $18.66 for the bottom quarter.6
Hourly, weekly and yearly figures come from different surveys
- Hourly and weekly wages come from the Labour Force Survey, a monthly household survey. They measure employees' usual pay at their main job, before tax, and include tips, commissions and bonuses.1 Official wage figures from this survey leave out the self-employed.1
- Weekly payroll earnings come from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours, built from employers' payroll records. They include overtime and reflect the hours people worked in the pay period.1 They exclude the self-employed and farm employees.5
- Yearly income comes from the Canadian Income Survey, which uses tax returns and tax slips. Its employment income covers wages and salaries before deductions plus net self-employment income.2
Statistics Canada says the two monthly measures "usually track each other relatively closely, especially over longer periods of time."1
Full-time workers versus everyone with a paycheque
The income survey reports separate figures for full-year full-time workers: people employed all 52 weeks at 30 or more hours a week. Their median was $70,200 in 2024. Widen the group to everyone with any employment income, including part-time, part-year and self-employed workers, and the median falls to $46,300.2
The two approaches land close together. The median full-time weekly wage of $1,312 in August 2026 works out to about $68,200 a year, by our calculation, near the $70,200 median the income survey found for 2024.3,2
Salary by age and gender
Pay climbs through your 30s and 40s and peaks between 45 and 54. Canadians aged 45 to 54 with employment income had a median of $67,500 in 2024, against $49,400 for those aged 25 to 34.10
| Age group | Median employment income, 2024 |
|---|---|
| 15 to 24 | $13,400 |
| 25 to 34 | $49,400 |
| 35 to 44 | $62,800 |
| 45 to 54 | $67,500 |
| 55 to 64 | $52,700 |
| 65 and older | $13,200 |
Everyone in each age group with employment income, including part-time and part-year workers. Source: Canadian Income Survey10
Hourly pay follows the same arc. Employees aged 15 to 24 averaged $22.08 an hour in August 2026. Those aged 25 to 54 averaged $39.91, and those 55 and older $39.56.3
Men and women
| Measure | Men+ | Women+ |
|---|---|---|
| Median hourly wage, Aug. 2026 | $33.00 | $29.54 |
| Average hourly wage, Aug. 2026 | $39.23 | $34.66 |
| Median yearly income, full-year full-time, 2024 | $76,200 | $62,700 |
| Median yearly income, everyone with employment income, 2024 | $53,300 | $40,000 |
Sources: hourly wages3, yearly income2.
Women's median hourly wage was 89.5% of men's in August 2026, and their full-year full-time median income 82.3% of men's in 2024, by our calculation.3,2 Hourly wages strip out differences in hours worked; yearly income does not. Statistics Canada's Men+ and Women+ groups include non-binary people, whom it assigns to the two groups to protect confidentiality.3
Salary by industry and job
Full-time employees in forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying and oil and gas had a median weekly wage of $2,100 in August 2026, about $109,200 a year by our calculation. In accommodation and food services the median was $738 a week.3
Median weekly wage of full-time employees by industry, August 2026
How far each industry's median sits above (right) or below (left) the all-industry median of $1,312 a week. Usual weekly wages before tax, rounded to the nearest dollar. Source: Labour Force Survey3
Utilities ($1,987.50), professional, scientific and technical services ($1,725) and public administration ($1,680) also sit far above the all-industry median. Wholesale and retail trade ($1,000) and business, building and other support services ($987) sit near the bottom.3
Salary by occupation
For your own pay, occupation is the closer comparison. Statistics Canada sorts workers into occupations by the kind of work they do, and into industries by what their employer's business does.11,3 In 2025, full-time employees in management had a median hourly wage of $56.41; in sales and service jobs it was $22.50.11
| Occupation group | Median hourly wage | Median weekly wage | About a year (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Management | $56.41 | $2,211.38 | $115,000 |
| Natural and applied sciences | $45.67 | $1,765.75 | $91,800 |
| Education, law, social, community and government services | $40.00 | $1,519.20 | $79,000 |
| Health | $35.43 | $1,355.25 | $70,500 |
| Art, culture, recreation and sport | $33.00 | $1,265.20 | $65,800 |
| Business, finance and administration | $32.09 | $1,237.50 | $64,400 |
| Trades, transport and equipment operators | $31.90 | $1,295.00 | $67,300 |
| Natural resources and agriculture | $28.00 | $1,232.50 | $64,100 |
| Manufacturing and utilities | $26.00 | $1,044.00 | $54,300 |
| Sales and service | $22.50 | $869.50 | $45,200 |
| Highest-paid detailed groups | |||
| Legislative and senior management | $86.26 | $3,200.00 | $166,400 |
| Professional occupations in law | $62.50 | $2,499.93 | $130,000 |
| Specialized middle management | $60.44 | $2,307.60 | $120,000 |
| Professional occupations in engineering | $52.00 | $2,010.40 | $104,500 |
| Health treating and consultation services professionals | $51.00 | $1,920.10 | $99,800 |
| Front-line public protection services | $50.42 | $2,121.24 | $110,300 |
| Lowest-paid detailed groups | |||
| Support occupations in art, culture and sport | $22.00 | $800.00 | $41,600 |
| Labourers in processing, manufacturing and utilities | $21.92 | $860.00 | $44,700 |
| Care providers and public protection support | $21.00 | $779.20 | $40,500 |
| Sales and service support | $19.00 | $720.00 | $37,400 |
| All occupations | $33.65 | $1,320.00 | $68,600 |
Full-time employees, 2025 annual averages from the Labour Force Survey, grouped by the 2021 National Occupational Classification. "About a year" is the median weekly wage times 52, rounded to the nearest $100. Source:11
For a specific job title, the federal Job Bank site lets you "compare how much you could make in different parts of the country or between occupations."12
What counts as a good salary in Canada
No official line separates a good salary from an ordinary one. A useful yardstick is the median for people like you: the same kind of work, the same hours, the same part of the country. The national figures below show where common salaries fall.
- $46,300: Median employment income of everyone who earned any, 2024.2
- $70,200: Median for full-year full-time workers, 2024. Half earned more.2
- $85,500: Average for full-year full-time workers, 2024.2
- $100,000: 27.7% of full-year full-time workers earned this or more in 2024, and 17.1% of everyone with employment income.2
- $116,500: Lowest total income in the top 10% of tax filers, 2023.13
- $152,700: Lowest total income in the top 5%, 2023.13
- $293,800: Lowest total income in the top 1%, 2023.13
The top 10%, 5% and 1% thresholds rank all Canadian tax filers by total income before tax, which includes investment income, pensions and government transfers as well as pay.13
| Employment income, 2024 | Share of full-year full-time workers |
|---|---|
| Under $50,000 | 28.1% |
| $50,000 to $79,999 | 30.1% |
| $80,000 to $99,999 | 13.9% |
| $100,000 or more | 27.7% |
We combined Statistics Canada's narrower income bands; shares may not add to 100 because of rounding. Source: Canadian Income Survey2
Three things change what counts as good for you:
- Where you live. Full-year full-time medians ran from $60,700 in New Brunswick to $73,400 in Ontario in 2024,2 and Statistics Canada does not adjust those gaps for the cost of living.9
- Your age. Median employment income was $49,400 for 25- to 34-year-olds and $67,500 for 45- to 54-year-olds in 2024, so the same salary means something different at 28 than at 50.10
- Your household. The median after-tax income of families was $108,900 in 2024. For people who don't live with relatives, it was $41,000.9
How to compare your own pay
- Use the same footing. Statistics Canada's wage figures are before tax and include tips, commissions and bonuses.1 Compare your pay before deductions.
- Convert with your real hours. Multiply an hourly wage by your usual weekly hours, then by 52. At 37.5 hours a week, the $33.50 median for full-time employees in August 2026 comes to about $65,300 a year, by our arithmetic.3
- Compare with your job and province. Statistics Canada's occupation table breaks wages down by province, gender and age group.11 Job Bank shows typical hourly wages for specific occupations.12
- Check a raise against inflation. Prices rose 3.0% in the 12 months to August 2026.7 A smaller raise leaves your pay buying less than it did a year earlier.
Before you trust a salary number
Before you measure yourself against a figure you saw online, check four things: the year, whether it's an average or a median, whether it's hourly, weekly or yearly, and who it counts.
- Monthly wage figures aren't seasonally adjusted. Statistics Canada reports wage growth by comparing each month with the same month a year earlier.6 Compare August with August.
- The latest payroll month is preliminary. Statistics Canada marks it that way, and it can change in the next release.8
- Small places have shakier numbers. Statistics Canada warns that yearly estimates for the territories vary more because their samples are small.9
- Job ads and salary-sharing sites show the pay employers advertise or the pay users choose to report. Neither is a random sample of workers. Statistics Canada's income survey uses probability samples, and its payroll employment counts come from a census of administrative records.9,5
Common questions
What is the average salary in Canada in 2026?
Employees earned an average of $37.02 an hour in August 2026. Full-time employees averaged $1,521.67 a week, about $79,100 a year by our calculation, and their median was $1,312 a week, about $68,200 a year.3
What is the median income in Canada?
Full-year full-time workers had a median employment income of $70,200 in 2024, and everyone with any employment income had a median of $46,300. The median after-tax income of families and unattached individuals was $75,500.2,9
What is the average salary in Ontario?
Ontario employees averaged $37.92 an hour in August 2026, with a median of $31.62. Full-year full-time workers in Ontario had a median income of $73,400 in 2024 and an average of $90,800.3,2
Which province has the highest average salary?
British Columbia had the highest average hourly wage of any province in August 2026, $39.07. Ontario had the highest full-year full-time median income in 2024, $73,400, and all three territories were higher still.3,2
Is $100,000 a good salary in Canada?
It is about $29,800 above the full-time median of $70,200. In 2024, 27.7% of full-year full-time workers earned $100,000 or more, and 17.1% of everyone with employment income did.2
What is the average hourly wage in Canada?
$37.02 in August 2026, up 2.0% from a year earlier. The median hourly wage was $31.00.6,3
What is the average income in Canada?
Canadians aged 15 and older with income had an average total income of $61,600 in 2024 and a median of $46,300. Total income counts pensions, investment income and government transfers as well as pay.10
How we did this
We pulled every figure on this page from Statistics Canada's Web Data Service on Oct. 6, 2026. Wages come from the Labour Force Survey's August 2026 and 2025 tables3,4,11 and weekly earnings from the July 2026 payroll survey.8 Yearly income comes from the 2024 Canadian Income Survey2,10 and the top-income thresholds from 2023 tax filer data.13
Yearly conversions (a weekly wage times 52), differences between two figures, ratios and the combined income bands are our own arithmetic on Statistics Canada's numbers, and we say so next to each one. We rounded yearly conversions to the nearest $100.
We planned to add Canadians' own posts about their pay from r/PersonalFinanceCanada and r/canada. Our Reddit collection tool could not run in time for this edition, so the page has no first-hand reports yet. We will add them in an update and note it in the log.
No one paid for this page, and it has no affiliate links. Our other guides, built the same way, are on the resources page. We will update this one after each monthly Labour Force Survey. The next one, with September data, comes out Oct. 9, 2026.6
Sources
Show all 13 sourcesHide sources
- Statistics Canada. "Earnings and Wages: A guide to using indicators from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours and the Labour Force Survey (Catalogue no. 75-005-M2024002)." June 27, 2024. www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-005-m/75-005-m2024002-eng.htm
- Statistics Canada. "Table 11-10-0240-01, Distribution of employment income of individuals by gender and work activity, Canada, provinces and selected census metropolitan areas (Canadian Income Survey)." 2024 data, released April 29, 2026. www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110024001
- Statistics Canada. "Table 14-10-0063-01, Employee wages by industry, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality (Labour Force Survey)." August 2026 data, released Sept. 4, 2026. www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410006301
- Statistics Canada. "Table 14-10-0064-01, Employee wages by industry, annual (Labour Force Survey)." 2025 data, released Jan. 9, 2026. www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410006401
- Statistics Canada. "The Daily: Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, July 2026." Sept. 24, 2026. www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260924/dq260924b-eng.htm
- Statistics Canada. "The Daily: Labour Force Survey, August 2026." Sept. 4, 2026. www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260904/dq260904a-eng.htm
- Statistics Canada. "The Daily: Consumer Price Index, August 2026." Sept. 14, 2026. www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260914/dq260914a-eng.htm
- Statistics Canada. "Table 14-10-0223-01, Employment and average weekly earnings (including overtime) for all employees by province and territory, monthly, seasonally adjusted." July 2026 data, released Sept. 24, 2026. www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410022301
- Statistics Canada. "The Daily: Canadian Income Survey, 2024." April 29, 2026. www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260429/dq260429a-eng.htm
- Statistics Canada. "Table 11-10-0239-01, Income of individuals by age group, gender and income source, Canada, provinces and selected census metropolitan areas (Canadian Income Survey)." 2024 data, released April 29, 2026. www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110023901
- Statistics Canada. "Table 14-10-0417-01, Employee wages by occupation, annual (Labour Force Survey)." 2025 data, released Jan. 9, 2026. www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410041701
- Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank. "Search wages." Retrieved Oct. 6, 2026. www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis/search-wages
- Statistics Canada. "Table 11-10-0055-01, High income tax filers in Canada." 2023 data, released Oct. 31, 2025. www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110005501
Update log
- First published. Labour Force Survey data for August 2026, payroll data for July 2026, Canadian Income Survey data for 2024.