Nova Scotia’s median individual income was $43,200 in 2024, the fifth-lowest of the provinces, while its median after-tax income for families and unattached individuals, $64,200, ranked lowest. Below, those provincial figures are set beside Halifax and the smaller urban areas. For the full provincial ranking see average income in Canada; for a neighbouring comparison, New Brunswick income.
Data: Statistics Canada, Canadian Income Survey, April 29, 2026 release (2024 reference year).
Nova Scotia’s income figures
| 2024 | Nova Scotia | Canada | NS vs. Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average income, people 15 and over | $52,900 | $59,400 | 10.9% below |
| Median income, people 15 and over | $43,200 | $44,400 | 2.7% below |
| Median after-tax income, families and unattached individuals | $64,200 | $75,500 | 15.0% below |
Tables 11-10-0238-01 (individuals 15 and over, zero incomes counted) and 11-10-0190-01 (after-tax income of economic families and persons outside them).
In 2024, Nova Scotia’s average individual income was 10.9% below the national average, its median individual income 2.7% below the national median, and its family-and-unattached median after tax 15.0% below. Economic families in Nova Scotia had a median after-tax income of $92,000; Nova Scotians outside a family, $36,300.
The provincial brackets that apply to these incomes are explained on our Nova Scotia income tax page; the salary calculator shows take-home pay for a given salary.
Nova Scotia incomes since 2014
After inflation (constant 2024 dollars), Nova Scotia’s median individual income was $38,800 in 2014 and $43,200 in 2024, 11% above the 2014 figure. The household measure went from $62,400 to $64,200 (3% above 2014).
Halifax against the rest of Nova Scotia
Statistics Canada’s tax-filer table (Table 11-10-0008-01, 2023 income before tax) covers Nova Scotia’s urban areas, which the CIS does not report separately. It put Halifax’s median individual income at $47,320, $5,680 above the provincial $41,640. Elsewhere, the median was $39,390 in Truro, $39,340 in Kentville, $38,260 in New Glasgow and $35,640 in Cape Breton, the lowest of the five.
Halifax home prices are tracked on the Halifax housing market page, and the rest of the province on Nova Scotia housing market.
Related tools and resources
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 30, 2026 and October 4, 2026. How we check facts.