- Ottawa-Gatineau had the highest median individual income of the 23 metro areas below ($49,200 in 2020), and Oshawa the highest median household income ($102,000 before tax)
- Median household income before tax ranged from $74,500 in Moncton to $102,000 in Oshawa
- After tax, the highest household median was in Oshawa ($89,000) and the lowest in Quebec City, Montreal and Moncton ($65,500)
- The latest tax-filer data, for 2023, shows how each city’s median changed since 2021
This page compares incomes across Canadian cities. It is part of our guide to average and median income in Canada, which has the national and provincial figures; each city’s own page (linked in the tables) covers that city in more detail. For pay in specific jobs across cities, see best cities in Canada for jobs, and for the national household figures, see average household income and median household income.
All figures in the first two tables come from the 2021 Census, which reports 2020 incomes. It is the most recent source that covers all of these cities on the same basis. The Canadian Income Survey publishes more recent (2024) figures for eight large metro areas only; on that basis the highest median individual income was in Ottawa-Gatineau ($55,500 in 2024).
Individual income by city
| City / metro area | Median individual income | Average individual income |
|---|---|---|
| Ottawa-Gatineau | $49,200 | $61,900 |
| Calgary | $44,800 | $65,500 |
| Edmonton | $45,600 | $59,400 |
| Toronto (CMA) | $39,600 | $59,250 |
| City of Toronto | $39,200 | $62,050 |
| Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo | $42,400 | $54,700 |
| Vancouver (Metro) | $40,800 | $56,650 |
| City of Vancouver | $42,000 | $62,250 |
| Saskatoon | $44,000 | $55,750 |
| Regina | $47,200 | $58,100 |
| Winnipeg | $40,400 | $51,500 |
| Hamilton | $42,400 | $57,650 |
| Halifax | $42,000 | $52,600 |
| Quebec City | $46,000 | $54,100 |
| Montreal | $40,800 | $53,600 |
| London, Ontario | $40,400 | $51,200 |
| Victoria | $45,600 | $57,350 |
| Kelowna | $41,600 | $54,950 |
| St. John’s | $42,800 | $56,300 |
| Moncton | $40,000 | $48,000 |
| Greater Sudbury | $44,800 | $55,200 |
| Thunder Bay | $43,200 | $51,950 |
| Windsor | $40,000 | $51,080 |
| Oshawa | $44,000 | $56,100 |
| Abbotsford-Mission | $38,400 | $48,400 |
| Canada | $41,200 | $54,450 |
Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, Tables 98-10-0068-01 and 98-10-0070-01, total income of people aged 15 and over with income, 2020. City of Toronto and City of Vancouver rows are from the 2021 Census Profile for each city (census subdivision); every other row is a census metropolitan area (CMA). “Total income” includes employment, self-employment, investment income and government transfers.
Household income by city
| City / metro area | Median household income, before tax | Median household income, after tax | Average household income, before tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa-Gatineau | $98,000 | $84,000 | $119,500 |
| Calgary | $100,000 | $87,000 | $131,600 |
| Edmonton | $96,000 | $84,000 | $116,800 |
| Toronto (CMA) | $97,000 | $85,000 | $129,000 |
| City of Toronto | $84,000 | n/a | $121,200 |
| Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo | $92,000 | $81,000 | $112,100 |
| Vancouver (Metro) | $90,000 | $79,500 | $117,300 |
| City of Vancouver | $82,000 | n/a | $114,900 |
| Saskatoon | $89,000 | $77,500 | $107,300 |
| Regina | $90,000 | $78,500 | $109,700 |
| Winnipeg | $83,000 | $71,500 | $102,300 |
| Hamilton | $91,000 | $80,000 | $116,800 |
| Halifax | $81,000 | $69,500 | $98,900 |
| Quebec City | $76,500 | $65,500 | $93,800 |
| Montreal | $76,000 | $65,500 | $98,400 |
| London, Ontario | $79,500 | $71,000 | $98,500 |
| Victoria | $85,000 | $75,500 | $107,000 |
| Kelowna | $85,000 | $75,500 | $106,900 |
| St. John’s | $85,000 | $72,500 | $107,000 |
| Moncton | $74,500 | $65,500 | $89,700 |
| Greater Sudbury | $84,000 | $74,000 | $103,000 |
| Thunder Bay | $80,000 | $71,000 | $96,100 |
| Windsor | $82,000 | $73,000 | $102,300 |
| Oshawa | $102,000 | $89,000 | $120,500 |
| Abbotsford-Mission | $91,000 | $82,000 | $109,000 |
| Canada | $84,000 | $73,000 | $106,300 |
Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, Tables 98-10-0061-01 and 98-10-0060-01, all households, 2020 income. After-tax income is total income minus income taxes. The City of Toronto and City of Vancouver rows come from the Census Profile, for which no after-tax household median is stored here.
The gap between the before-tax and after-tax household median was $12,000 in Toronto and $10,500 in Montreal.
Take-home pay by city
Provincial tax rules differ, so the same salary leaves a different amount in each city. The table below estimates 2026 take-home pay on a $55,000 salary after federal and provincial income tax (with basic personal amounts and other standard credits), CPP or QPP, EI and, in Quebec, QPIP:
| City | Province | Approx. After-Tax Income on $55,000 Salary | Difference vs. Ontario ($/year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa (ON side) | Ontario | $43,861 | baseline |
| Toronto | Ontario | $43,861 | baseline |
| Calgary | Alberta | $44,146 | 285 |
| Edmonton | Alberta | $44,146 | 285 |
| Saskatoon | Saskatchewan | $43,188 | -673 |
| Winnipeg | Manitoba | $42,453 | -1,408 |
| Halifax | Nova Scotia | $41,523 | -2,338 |
| Montreal | Quebec | $42,192 | -1,669 |
| Vancouver | BC | $44,203 | 342 |
Computed live from the site’s 2026 tax, CPP/QPP, EI and QPIP data for a single employee with employment income only; a negative difference means less take-home pay than in Ontario.
On a $55,000 salary, take-home pay is $285 more in Alberta than in Ontario and $342 more in BC than in Ontario. In 2026, Ontario’s and BC’s bottom-bracket rates are 5.05% and 5.6%, against Alberta’s 8% starting rate with its larger basic personal amount. At $150,000, provincial income tax is $11,470 in Alberta, $14,608 in Ontario (including its surtax) and $11,552 in BC. After 2026 income tax and payroll deductions, an $80,000 salary in Alberta takes home about $60,698 and an $86,000 salary in Quebec about $60,695.
Use the income tax calculator to model after-tax income for any salary and province.
Income relative to home prices by city
What matters for buying a home is income against local prices. This table sets each city’s 2021 Census median household income against its latest home price; each city’s housing market page has the full price history.
| City | Median household income (2020, before tax) | Latest home price (measure, month) | Price-to-Income Ratio | Monthly Mortgage (4%, 25yr, 20% down) | % of Gross Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary | $100,000 | $646,198 (average, September 2026) | 6.5× | $2,719 | 33% |
| Edmonton | $96,000 | $466,080 (average, September 2026) | 4.9× | $1,961 | 25% |
| Saskatoon | $89,000 | $444,700 (MLS HPI benchmark, August 2026) | 5.0× | $1,871 | 25% |
| Ottawa | $98,000 | $688,253 (average, August 2026) | 7.0× | $2,896 | 35% |
| Halifax | $81,000 | about $592,675 (average, approx., August 2026) | ~7.3× | $2,494 | 37% |
| Winnipeg | $83,000 | about $393,000 (dollar volume ÷ sales, August 2026) | ~4.7× | $1,656 | 24% |
| Montreal | $76,000 | $683,074 (sales volume ÷ sales, September 2026) | ~9.0× | $2,874 | 45% |
| Toronto (GTA) | $97,000 | $993,410 (average, August 2026) | 10.2× | $4,180 | 52% |
| Vancouver (Metro) | $90,000 | $1,075,900 (MLS HPI benchmark, September 2026) | 12.0× | $4,528 | 60% |
Home prices are the latest monthly figures from each local real estate board, via the site’s housing-market pages (linked). Boards publish different measures: Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Toronto (GTA) are average sale prices; Winnipeg’s and Montreal’s boards publish averages only by home type (Montreal’s, medians), so their rows divide the month’s dollar volume by its number of sales; Saskatoon’s board publishes only the MLS HPI benchmark, and Metro Vancouver’s publishes averages and medians only by home type, so both rows use the MLS HPI benchmark (the price of a typical home), which is not directly comparable with an average. No board-published Halifax price level was available, so that row uses an approximate average from a third-party aggregator of board data. Median household income is the 2021 Census figure for 2020 (CMA level), so these ratios compare 2020 incomes with current prices and should be read as directional. Mortgage payments assume a 25-year amortization at an illustrative 4% compounded semi-annually, as is standard for Canadian fixed-rate mortgages.
The ratio column shows how far each city’s home prices are from local household income.
Income trends by city
The table compares median total income of people with income in 2021 and 2023, the latest year of tax-filer data:
| City (CMA) | Median total income 2021 | Median total income 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax | $43,150 | $47,320 | +9.7% |
| Montreal | $41,670 | $45,640 | +9.5% |
| Ottawa–Gatineau | $51,580 | $56,040 | +8.6% |
| Vancouver | $41,840 | $45,230 | +8.1% |
| Winnipeg | $40,420 | $43,430 | +7.4% |
| Calgary | $45,470 | $48,810 | +7.3% |
| Toronto | $39,670 | $41,900 | +5.6% |
| Edmonton | $46,180 | $48,730 | +5.5% |
| Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo | $43,250 | $45,570 | +5.4% |
| Canada | $41,650 | $45,000 | +8.0% |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0008-01 (tax filers and dependants with income, all ages). Figures are in current dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
In Halifax, the median income changed by +9.7% between 2021 and 2023, against +8.0% nationally; the table shows each city’s change. Tax-filer data does not show why incomes grew faster in some cities than others.
Pay for the same job in different cities
Selected examples, using Job Bank median wages converted to annual at 1,950 hours; what each profession earns across Canada is covered in our salaries by profession guides:
| Occupation (NOC 2021) | Toronto | Calgary | Vancouver (Lower Mainland) | Ottawa | Halifax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software engineers and designers | $110,156 | $101,244 | $121,875 | $110,624 | $96,564 |
| Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses | $79,151 | $93,620 | $92,703 | $87,750 | $81,900 |
| Financial auditors and accountants | $80,613 | $84,377 | $74,997 | $85,001 | $71,253 |
| Electricians (except industrial and power system) | $67,977 | $78,000 | $67,412 | $74,978 | $60,450 |
| Secondary school teachers | $92,625 | $91,884 | $86,444 | $93,756 | $80,633 |
| Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers | $34,320 | $33,150 | $37,050 | $34,320 | $32,175 |
Source: Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wage data by economic region (mostly 2023-2024 Labour Force Survey data; the Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa electrician figures are 2024 small-area estimates). Medians are hourly wages times 1,950 hours.
Across these five cities, the highest median was in Calgary for electricians, Calgary for registered nurses and Vancouver (Lower Mainland) for software engineers.
Related pages
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 5, 2026 and October 6, 2026. How we check facts.
- Bank of Canada: Conventional 5-year mortgage rate (data series)
- Bank of Canada: Conventional 5-year mortgage rate (data series)
- Bank of Canada: Conventional 5-year mortgage rate (data series)
- Bank of Canada: Data table
- Canada Revenue Agency: Payroll Deductions Formulas - 123rd Edition Effective July 1, 2026
- Canada Revenue Agency: Current year tax rates and income brackets (2026) - Personal income tax
- cdn.agentbook.com: SASKATOON - AUGUST 2026
- comapciqca-152af.kxcdn.com: September 2026
- comapciqca-152af.kxcdn.com: PROVINCE OF QUEBEC
- CREA: CREA Stats (local board market statistics)
- CREA: CREA Stats (local board market statistics)
- CREA: CREA Stats (local board market statistics)
- CREA: CREA Stats (local board market statistics)
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- CREB: City of Calgary Detailed.xlsm
- GlobeNewswire: Montreal CMA: Adjustment Period Continues, Condominium
- Government of Canada: Wages - Open Government Portal
- Government of Canada: Data table
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- Greater Vancouver REALTORS: GVR Residential Market Report - September 2026
- Ottawa Real Estate Board: Ottawa Home Sales Pull Back Sharply in August While Prices Hold Steady
- REALTORS® Association of Edmonton: New inventory is still being added, but sales have slowed for fall
- Saskatchewan REALTORS Association: Saskatchewan REALTORS Association
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- Statistics Canada: Household income statistics by dwelling and household characteristics: Canada,…
- Statistics Canada: Tax filers and dependants with income by total income, sex and age
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- Statistics Canada: Income of individuals by age group, gender and income source, Canada, provinces and…
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- winnipegregionalrealestatenews.com: MONTHLY REAL ESTATE
- WOWA.ca: Halifax Housing Market Report: Sep. 10th, 2026 Update | Interactive Map WOWA.ca