The average salary in Canada works out to about $69,148 a year for 2025, and the median salary to about $60,320: these are Statistics Canada’s average weekly wage of $1,329.77 and median weekly wage of $1,160 for employees, full- and part-time, multiplied out over a year of weeks. By the hour, the average wage was $36.40 and the median $30.77. These figures come from the Labour Force Survey, a monthly survey of households, and count the usual pay of an employee’s main job before tax, including tips, commissions and bonuses. You may also see a weekly figure from Statistics Canada’s payroll survey (SEPH): it reports average weekly earnings of payroll employees, drawn from administrative data and a survey of business payrolls, so it is a different measure from the Labour Force Survey wage.
Total income from work, pensions, investments and government benefits covers people aged 15 and over, a group that includes people with no income, so it is not directly comparable with the wage figures. It is also a 2024 figure in constant dollars, while the wages are for 2025. The table below sets the national figures side by side.
Average and median income in Canada
| Measure | Average | Median | Survey and year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wages of employees, a year (weekly wage over a full year) | $69,148 | $60,320 | Labour Force Survey, 2025 |
| Wages of employees, an hour | $36.40 | $30.77 | Labour Force Survey, 2025 |
| Employment income, people who had some | $60,100 | $46,100 | Canadian Income Survey, 2024 |
| Total income, people 15 and over, including zero incomes | $59,400 | $44,400 | Canadian Income Survey, 2024 |
| After-tax income, people 15 and over | $49,000 | $40,500 | Canadian Income Survey, 2024 |
| Total income, families and people living on their own | $115,000 | $86,000 | Canadian Income Survey, 2024 |
Canadian Income Survey amounts are in 2024 constant dollars. Employment income there means wages and salaries before deductions plus net self-employment income.
Which figure answers which question:
- What does a typical job pay? The Labour Force Survey wage, average or median.
- What does a typical person have to live on? Total income, which adds pensions, investment income and government benefits such as Old Age Security, the Canada Pension Plan, employment insurance and child benefits to pay from work.
- What is left after tax? After-tax income is market income plus government transfers, minus income tax. For take-home pay on a given salary, use the salary calculator.
- What does a typical family have? The family figures in household income below.
Average vs median
The median is the middle income: half the people counted have more and half have less. The average adds up the incomes and divides by the number of people, so a few very high incomes pull it up.
If ten people earn $40,000 each and one earns $1,000,000, the average is $127,273, yet ten of the eleven earn $40,000, which is the median.
Average and median income by province
| Province | Average wage, a year (2025) | Median wage, a year (2025) | Average hourly wage (2025) | Median total income, people 15+ (2024) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | $73,172 | $63,190 | $37.35 | $45,500 |
| British Columbia | $71,692 | $62,400 | $37.95 | $45,000 |
| Manitoba | $60,097 | $52,507 | $31.63 | $41,600 |
| New Brunswick | $60,700 | $54,080 | $31.27 | $42,000 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $67,345 | $58,240 | $33.42 | $41,300 |
| Nova Scotia | $62,299 | $55,010 | $32.39 | $43,200 |
| Ontario | $71,845 | $62,400 | $37.72 | $43,300 |
| Prince Edward Island | $58,674 | $53,997 | $30.11 | $42,000 |
| Quebec | $64,621 | $58,495 | $35.05 | $46,100 |
| Saskatchewan | $64,795 | $57,200 | $33.39 | $45,700 |
| Canada | $69,148 | $60,320 | $36.40 | $44,400 |
Wages: Labour Force Survey, 2025, weekly wages multiplied out over a year, current dollars. Income: Canadian Income Survey, 2024, including people with no income, 2024 constant dollars.
Alberta had the highest average wage and Prince Edward Island the lowest. Ontario’s average wage, $71,845 a year, was above the national average. The survey’s wage table excludes the territories; their income figures are in the income percentile calculator.
Income by age
| Age | Average total income | Median total income | Median wages and salaries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15–24 | $20,900 | $15,700 | $13,100 |
| 25–34 | $57,200 | $49,600 | $50,300 |
| 35–44 | $77,200 | $63,800 | $65,200 |
| 45–54 | $84,100 | $65,800 | $70,100 |
| 55–64 | $70,200 | $53,300 | $55,400 |
| 65+ | $55,200 | $39,200 | $16,000 |
| 15 and over | $61,600 | $46,300 | $48,300 |
Canadian Income Survey, 2024, people who had that kind of income, 2024 dollars.
Median total income was highest for people aged 45 to 54 years, at $65,800. This table leaves out people with no income, so its figures sit above those in the first table, which include people with no income. For the income at each percentile within an age band, see the income percentile calculator.
Household income
The Canadian Income Survey doesn’t report households as such. It counts economic families, two or more people who live together and are related by blood, marriage, common-law union, adoption or fostering, and unattached individuals, people living alone or with people they aren’t related to, such as roommates. This page uses them for household income.
In 2024, the median after-tax income of families and unattached individuals together was $75,500, about the same as a year earlier once inflation is taken out. Families on their own had a median after-tax income of $108,900, and people outside a family $41,000.
Median household income by province
| Province | Median family income, before tax | Median family income, after tax |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | $132,700 | $115,900 |
| British Columbia | $128,400 | $113,000 |
| Manitoba | $113,600 | $99,600 |
| New Brunswick | $105,900 | $92,800 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $112,600 | $96,600 |
| Nova Scotia | $108,500 | $92,000 |
| Ontario | $130,700 | $113,900 |
| Prince Edward Island | $110,600 | $94,800 |
| Quebec | $120,800 | $103,200 |
| Saskatchewan | $120,600 | $105,900 |
| Canada | $125,600 | $108,900 |
Economic families of two or more people; Canadian Income Survey, 2024, 2024 dollars.
Counting families and unattached individuals together, Statistics Canada reports that Alberta and Ontario had the highest median after-tax income among the provinces and the Atlantic provinces the lowest. For household incomes in the large cities, see average income by city.
Average income over time
| Year | Average wage, a year | Median wage, a year | Average hourly wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $53,746 | $46,904 | $28.32 |
| 2020 | $57,258 | $50,003 | $30.04 |
| 2021 | $58,445 | $51,935 | $30.69 |
| 2022 | $61,144 | $53,352 | $31.97 |
| 2023 | $64,137 | $56,160 | $33.56 |
| 2024 | $67,096 | $58,586 | $35.20 |
| 2025 | $69,148 | $60,320 | $36.40 |
Labour Force Survey, Canada, employees, weekly wages over a full year; current dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
The average hourly wage rose from $28.32 in 2019 to $36.40 in 2025, an increase of 29% before inflation.
Median income after inflation
| Year | Median total income, people 15+ (16+ before 2022) | Median after-tax income, people 15+ (16+ before 2022) |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $41,100 | $37,600 |
| 2016 | $40,800 | $37,500 |
| 2018 | $42,700 | $38,900 |
| 2020 | $45,900 | $41,700 |
| 2021 | $46,100 | $41,500 |
| 2022 | $44,400 | $40,300 |
| 2023 | $44,700 | $40,700 |
| 2024 | $44,400 | $40,500 |
Canadian Income Survey, 2024 constant dollars. Before 2022 the survey counted people aged 16 and over, from 2022 people aged 15 and over.
Because these amounts are in 2024 dollars, the change shows real buying power: median total income went from $41,100 in 2014 to $44,400 in 2024.
The gender pay gap
In 2025, women employees earned an average of $34.04 an hour and men $38.64, so women earned about 88 cents per dollar men earned, a gap of 11.9%. By the week the gap was wider, 20.4%, because weekly pay also reflects hours worked. A Statistics Canada study using 2018 data found that women’s overrepresentation in part-time work was one of the two largest factors explaining the hourly gap that remained.
| Province | Women, average hourly | Men, average hourly | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | $33.46 | $40.87 | 18.1% |
| British Columbia | $35.28 | $40.47 | 12.8% |
| Saskatchewan | $31.07 | $35.60 | 12.7% |
| Ontario | $35.35 | $39.98 | 11.6% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $31.59 | $35.24 | 10.4% |
| Quebec | $33.17 | $36.81 | 9.9% |
| Manitoba | $29.96 | $33.16 | 9.7% |
| Nova Scotia | $31.30 | $33.46 | 6.5% |
| New Brunswick | $30.48 | $32.06 | 4.9% |
| Prince Edward Island | $30.63 | $29.57 | -3.6% |
Labour Force Survey, 2025, employees aged 15 and over; the gap is men’s average hourly wage minus women’s, as a share of men’s.
Why the gap exists: Statistics Canada’s study of workers aged 25 to 54 in 2018 found a 13.3% hourly gap; of the factors it could measure, the two largest were the industries men and women work in and women’s larger share of part-time work. Nearly two-thirds of the gap was left unexplained, which the study says could reflect things it couldn’t measure, such as work experience, or gender-related biases.
Average income by education level
| Highest certificate, diploma or degree | Average employment income |
|---|---|
| No certificate, diploma or degree | $49,520 |
| High school diploma | $59,450 |
| Apprenticeship certificate | $76,500 |
| College or CEGEP diploma | $70,100 |
| Bachelor’s degree | $92,100 |
| Master’s degree | $110,100 |
| Earned doctorate | $127,200 |
| Degree in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or optometry | $132,200 |
2021 Census, Table 98-10-0409-01: people who worked full year, full time, income in 2020.
These census figures are for 2020 pay, the income year the 2021 Census reports, and count people who worked full year, full time. For pay in particular jobs, see salaries by profession.
How many Canadians make $100,000 or more a year?
In 2024, 17.1% of people with employment income earned $100,000 or more from work. For whether a salary is a good one, see what is a good salary in Canada; to rank an income, use the income percentile calculator.
Where these figures come from
- Labour Force Survey: a monthly household survey that asks employees their usual pay at their main job, before tax. It gives the average and median wage, by the hour and the week, by province and by gender.
- Canadian Income Survey: income from work, pensions, investments and government transfers, before and after tax, for individuals and for economic families, in constant dollars.
- 2021 Census: employment income by education, for 2020.
Where to go next
- Income percentile calculator: where your income ranks, by province and age
- What is a good salary in Canada
- Am I middle class?
- Average income in Toronto and other cities
- Salaries by profession
- Salary calculator: take-home pay on a given salary
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 24, 2026 and November 13, 2026. How we check facts.
- Statistics Canada (7): Employee wages by industry, annualMarket income, government transfers, total income, income tax and after-tax income by…Income of individuals by age group, gender and income source, Canada, provinces and…Distribution of market, total and after-tax income of individuals, Canada, provinces…The gender wage gap in Canada: 1998 to 2018Employment income statistics by major field of study (detailed, 4-digit) and highest…Distribution of employment income of individuals by gender and work activity, Canada,…