Average Income in Canada
What You Should Know
- Average Canadian Salary in September 2022 is deduced from Labour Force Survey as $59,300 per year.
- According to 2020 income survey results, Canadians earned an average of $51,300, while their median income was $39,500.
- Among large Canadian cities, Calgary had the highest average and median income of $58,500 and $42,900.
- Among populous Canadian provinces, Alberta offered the highest average and median income of $56,100 and $42,500.
- Toronto and Calgary can be ranked as having the highest and second-highest income inequality, while Quebec and Atlantic Canada are regions with the highest income equality.
Canada
Canada Job Market's Main Attributes
| Year | Over 16 Population (In thousands) | People with Income (In thousands) | Average Income (In $) | Median Income (In $) |
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Since 1976, Statistics Canada has conducted a yearly income survey. The survey results provide a detailed picture of the job market for the whole country and its different regions. In March 2022, the data related to 2020 was released. Thus we have 45 years of data to provide us with a view of how Canada’s job market has changed over time.
We use only 5 data points for Canada, its most populous regions, provinces and cities, to gain insight into Canada's job market and income prospects of its residents.
Recent Average Employment Income in Canada
| Month | Average hours worked | Average hourly wage rate ($) | Weekly Wage | Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | 35.60 | 31.12 | $1,108 | $57,609 |
| June 2022 | 36.20 | 31.24 | $1,131 | $58,806 |
| July 2022 | 36.20 | 31.14 | $1,127 | $58,618 |
| August 2022 | 36.00 | 31.33 | $1,128 | $58,650 |
| September 2022 | 36.00 | 31.67 | $1,140 | $59,286 |
The problem with income survey is that its data are not up to date. Especially given historically large inflation and income growth, it is important to supplement our data from the income survey with up-to-date information. To this end we use data from the Labour Force Survey. We use average hourly wages and the average number of hours worked per week from the Labour Force Survey to calculate weekly income and annual salary. Annual salaries are calculated using the WOWA’s annual salary calculator.
Unlike the Income Survey, which provides information about income from all sources, the Labour Force Survey only gives information about employment income. As a result, the average incomes deduced from the Labour Force Survey and those from the income survey are not comparable. The income survey considers people whose income is solely from government transfers and investment income. This includes retirees and employment insurance recipients. As a result, the average income reported in the Income Survey is smaller that the average wage calculated from the Labour Force Survey data.
Median Income of Canadian Families
| 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Income | $66,000 | $69,500 | $76,500 |
| Employment income | $65,000 | $63,600 | $63,200 |
| Investment income | $970 | $1,110 | $850 |
| Retirement income | $21,400 | $22,800 | $23,400 |
| Other Income | $1,180 | $2,060 | $2,280 |
OAS pension and GIS | $12,200 | $11,500 | $12,100 |
| Canada/Quebec Pension Plan benefits | $9,600 | $9,900 | $10,100 |
| Child benefits | $3,760 | $4,160 | $5,880 |
| Employment Insurance benefits | $6,600 | $6,750 | $6,040 |
| Other government transfers | $1,110 | $1,010 | $3,400 |
| Any COVID-19 benefits | - | - | $1,600 |
| Emergency and recovery benefits | - | - | $10,000 |
| Other federal COVID-19 benefits | - | - | $604 |
| Provincial and territorial benefits | - | - | $376 |
It is also important to consider the median income earned by families. In this regard, every single person is considered their own family. It is very interesting to note that while employment and investment income are lower in 2020 compared with 2015 or 2010, a large increase in government transfers resulted in total income being materially higher in 2020.
Income in Canada
Note that the average and median income are calculated using an individual's total after-tax income (net income). The largest portion of net income in Canada comes from wages, while a sizable portion of income comes from government transfers and another sizable portion from investment returns. Statistics Canada considers the total income minus government transfers as market income.
Government transfers include Employment Insurance (EI), Old Age Security (OAS), Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), Canada Child Benefit (CCB), Canada Greener Homes Grants and many other programs. You can use WOWA’s child benefit calculator to see how much support a family would receive for their children
Average Income
Investment income includes rental income, interest income from savings accounts, Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) or bonds. Dividends received from corporations and capital gains from the stock market or real estate investments are other types of investment income.
When we think about a job market, often the first metric which comes to mind is the average income. Average incomes are good indicators for comparing the affluence of different countries, different regions or different professions. Yet they are not a good indicator of a typical individual's earnings.
In each job market, a small portion of earners make large amounts of money, and their large incomes cause the average income to be much larger than the income of a typical individual. Therefore, to understand the typical income one might earn in that market, we should consider median incomes. The median income is the income of an individual who is making less than half of the workers while at the same time earning more than the other half of the workers.
Median Income
We can consider the ratio of median income over average income as a measure of income inequality. The closer this ratio gets to 1 the higher income equality while the smaller this ratio becomes the higher income inequality.
Income Equality
Central Canada
Central Canada includes Canada’s most populous provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
Ontario
Ontario Job Market's Main Attributes
| Year | Over 16 Population (In thousands) | People with Income (In thousands) | Average Income (In $) | Median Income (In $) |
|---|
Income in Ontario
Toronto
Toronto Job Market's Main Attributes
| Year | Over 16 Population (In thousands) | People with Income (In thousands) | Average Income (In $) | Median Income (In $) |
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Income in Toronto
Quebec
Quebec Job Market's Main Attributes
| Year | Over 16 Population (In thousands) | People with Income (In thousands) | Average Income (In $) | Median Income (In $) |
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Income in Quebec
Montreal
Montreal Job Market's Main Attributes
| Year | Over 16 Population (In thousands) | People with Income (In thousands) | Average Income (In $) | Median Income (In $) |
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Income in Montreal
West Coast
British Columbia
British Columbia Job Market's Main Attributes
| Year | Over 16 Population (In thousands) | People with Income (In thousands) | Average Income (In $) | Median Income (In $) |
|---|
Income in British Columbia
Vancouver
Vancouver Job Market's Main Attributes
| Year | Over 16 Population (In thousands) | People with Income (In thousands) | Average Income (In $) | Median Income (In $) |
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Income in Vancouver
Prairie Region
Prairie Provinces Job Market's Main Attributes
| Year | Over 16 Population (In thousands) | People with Income (In thousands) | Average Income (In $) | Median Income (In $) |
|---|
Income in Prairie Provinces
Alberta
Alberta Job Market's Main Attributes
| Year | Over 16 Population (In thousands) | People with Income (In thousands) | Average Income (In $) | Median Income (In $) |
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Income in Alberta
Calgary
Calgary Job Market's Main Attributes
| Year | Over 16 Population (In thousands) | People with Income (In thousands) | Average Income (In $) | Median Income (In $) |
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Income in Calgary
Atlantic Region
Atlantic Provinces Job Market's Main Attributes
| Year | Over 16 Population (In thousands) | People with Income (In thousands) | Average Income (In $) | Median Income (In $) |
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Income in Atlantic Provinces
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Job Market's Main Attributes
| Year | Over 16 Population (In thousands) | People with Income (In thousands) | Average Income (In $) | Median Income (In $) |
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