Average and Median Income in Halifax

Halifax household income is best read against two reference points, Nova Scotia’s and Canada’s. The 2021 Census put the Halifax CMA’s median after-tax household income at $69,500 for 2020, $7,100 above the provincial median and $3,500 below the national one. Our Canada-wide income guide has the national figures and average income in Nova Scotia the provincial ones, while median income in Ottawa-Gatineau covers another capital with a large public-sector workforce.

Halifax household income against Nova Scotia

Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census income table (98-10-0061-01) for the Halifax CMA is the source, with 2015 restated in 2020 dollars. The Canadian Income Survey’s more recent province-wide median for economic families and unattached individuals in Nova Scotia was $64,200 in 2024. In tax-filer data, the median Halifax CMA resident with income had $47,320 in 2023, against $41,640 for the province, and the number of Halifax residents with income went from 323,450 in 2019 to 389,340 in 2023 (Table 11-10-0008-01).

Government, defence and shipbuilding

Public administration employed 8.4% of Halifax CMA workers in 2025, against 6.1% across all Canadian CMAs combined (Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0468-01). Across Nova Scotia, public administration paid an average of $43.91 an hour, against $32.39 for all industries. Professional, scientific and technical services, which includes computer systems design, employed 19,600 people in the Halifax CMA in 2015 and 28,700 in 2025.

Irving Shipbuilding, whose Halifax Shipyard built the navy’s Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships, is also prime contractor for its new River-class destroyers. National Defence expects deliveries from the early 2030s through 2050, and estimates the contract will create or maintain 5,250 jobs a year across Canada over 2025 to 2039.

In the 2020 downturn, Halifax CMA employment was 2.0% lower in 2020 than in 2019, against 5.6% lower for Canadian CMAs combined, while public-sector employment in Halifax went from 58,500 to 59,400.

Halifax home prices against income

The Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS publishes its MLS HPI benchmark only for the province as a whole ($435,000 in August 2026), so the Halifax price is a third-party estimate from board data, and the ratio pairs it with 2020 income; read it as approximate. Our Halifax housing market page has current prices, and average income by city in Canada compares income with home prices across the major metros.

Halifax rents and population growth

Halifax rents are worth reading next to its population growth. CMHC’s October 2025 survey found an average one-bedroom rent of $1,550 a month in purpose-built buildings, against $968 in 2019 (+60%), and the vacancy rate in buildings of six or more units was 2.5%, against 2.0% a year earlier. Over the same years, the CMA’s population went from 462,737 to 544,834 (Table 17-10-0148-01). Rents for other unit sizes are on our Halifax rental market page.

Nova Scotia’s HST is 14% (Nova Scotia reduced HST from 15% to 14% on April 1, 2025). To estimate take-home pay on a Halifax salary, use the income tax calculator or the salary calculator.

Related tools and resources

• Halifax housing market: current prices and sales
• Halifax rental market: rents and vacancy by unit size
• Nova Scotia mortgage rates: current rates for Nova Scotia buyers
• Income percentile calculator: where an income ranks
• Mortgage affordability calculator: how much home an income supports