Average and Median Income in Halifax

Halifax is Atlantic Canada’s largest city and Nova Scotia’s economic hub: public administration made up 8.4% of Halifax jobs in 2025, against 6.1% across all Canadian CMAs, and its defence presence is anchored by CFB Halifax and the Halifax Shipyard. Nova Scotia’s average individual income was 10.9% below the national average in 2024; see Ontario and BC for how their largest cities compare on housing.

Household income data on this page is from Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, Focus on Geography Series, which reports median after-tax household income by Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) for the 2020 reference year, the most recent year Statistics Canada has published this figure at the city level. For the province-wide figure, see our Nova Scotia income guide.

Median household income in Halifax

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, Focus on Geography Series, “Median after-tax income of households,” Halifax (CMA), 2015 to 2020 (2020 constant dollars).

Halifax’s median household income in 2020 was 8.6% higher than in 2015; the national median was 9.8% higher than in 2015. Halifax’s 2020 median of $69,500 compares with the national figure of $73,000. It was $7,100 above the Nova Scotia median of $62,400 in the same Census. Nova Scotia’s more recent (2024) province-wide median after-tax income, from the Canadian Income Survey, was $64,200; see our Nova Scotia income guide for that figure.

Income vs. housing affordability in Halifax

This ratio compares a 2020 household income figure to a home price from August 2026 and should be read as directional. 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 figure above is a third-party estimate from board data rather than a board-published number. Halifax’s population grew from 473,565 in 2020 to 544,834 in 2025, which this static ratio doesn’t capture; see our Halifax housing market page for current price data.

How Halifax compares to other cities

Household income figures are 2020 (2021 Census; Ottawa is the whole Ottawa-Gatineau CMA). Home prices are the latest monthly figures from each local real estate board; for Halifax and Montreal, where the board does not publish that measure for the city, they are third-party estimates from board data and are shown as approximate. An average is the mean of all sales that month; an MLS HPI benchmark is the price of a typical home, so the two measures are not directly comparable. Use our mortgage affordability calculator to see what you can afford on a Halifax income today.

Key industries driving Halifax income

• Defence and shipbuilding: Under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, Irving Shipbuilding’s Halifax Shipyard built the navy’s 6 Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships and is building its 15 new River-class destroyers. CFB Halifax is the east coast naval base.
• Government: Public administration employed 8.4% of Halifax CMA workers in 2025, versus 6.1% across Canadian CMAs combined, and paid an average of $43.91 an hour in Nova Scotia, versus $32.39 for all industries
• Professional and technical services: Employment in professional, scientific and technical services, which includes computer systems design, grew from 19,600 in 2015 to 28,700 in 2025
• Education: Dalhousie University, Saint Mary’s University, and NSCC are major employers and economic contributors
• Healthcare: Nova Scotia Health (the Nova Scotia Health Authority) and IWK Health

Rental affordability in Halifax

The average rent for a 1-bedroom purpose-built apartment in Halifax was $1,550/month as of the CMHC Rental Market Survey (October 2025). Halifax’s vacancy rate for apartment buildings of six or more units was 2.5% in October 2025, against 2.0% a year earlier, with new rental construction at historically high levels. Over a longer period, the average one-bedroom rent went from $968 in 2019 to $1,550 in 2025 (+60%), while the Halifax CMA’s population grew from 462,737 to 544,834 over the same period. See our Halifax rental market page for the full breakdown, and our rent affordability calculator for a personalized estimate.

Income trends in Halifax

Halifax’s employment and population have grown steadily over the past decade:

• 2015–2019: Irving’s Halifax Shipyard began building the first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship, HMCS Harry DeWolf, in September 2015, and Halifax CMA employment rose from 229,500 in 2015 to 244,100 in 2019
• 2020: Halifax CMA employment fell 2.0% (244,100 to 239,200), less than the 5.6% drop across Canadian CMAs combined, while public-sector employment edged up from 58,500 to 59,400
• 2021–2025: Rapid population growth: the CMA’s population rose from 482,144 in 2021 to 544,834 in 2025, and employment from 253,900 to 293,900

Halifax’s defence industry provides a long-term economic anchor: the federal government expects the River-class destroyers to be delivered from the early 2030s through 2050, and estimates the program will create or maintain 5,250 jobs a year across Canada over 2025 to 2039.

Cost of living beyond housing

• HST of 14%: Nova Scotia reduced HST from 15% to 14% on April 1, 2025; the HST is 15% in New Brunswick, 15% in Newfoundland and Labrador and 15% in PEI
• Utilities: Nova Scotia Power is the province’s regulated electric utility; see our utility bills guide to compare costs
• Childcare: Declining costs under the federal $10/day childcare initiative
• Post-secondary: university tuition is a cost to plan for, for families with older children

Estimate your Halifax take-home pay with our income tax calculator or salary calculator.

Related tools and resources

• Halifax Housing Market: Current home prices and trends
• Halifax Rental Market: Current average rents and vacancy rates
• Nova Scotia Mortgage Rates: Find the best rates
• Income Percentile Calculator: See where your income ranks
• Mortgage Affordability Calculator: How much home can you afford
• Income Tax Calculator: Estimate your Nova Scotia income tax