About $70,000 a year is what a typical full-time worker in Canada earns, on recent Statistics Canada figures. That tells you where the middle of the pay scale sits, not whether the pay works where you'd live: $70,000 passes the usual 30% rent test for a new one-bedroom in Calgary and fails it in Toronto.
For one earner renting alone, this guide's starting line for a good salary runs from $64,000 in Winnipeg to about $86,000 in Vancouver. After income tax and payroll deductions, a single person on $70,000 keeps about $4,250 to $4,530 a month across Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. A partner or children change the answer again.
Amounts are in Canadian dollars unless marked; C$70,000 was about US$50,000 on November 3, 2026. The arithmetic is shown so you can run your own offer, raise or move through it.
What is considered a good salary in Canada?
None of the sources used here defines a "good" salary, so any number for one is a judgment, including this guide's. Three questions get you to one you can defend: is the pay typical for where you'd live, does the rent fit, and is what's left enough for the people it has to support?
The table answers the first two with one figure per city, the starting line. It's the higher of two numbers: the local median pay of full-year, full-time workers (half earn more, half less; employed all 52 weeks, usually 30 or more hours a week), or the income at which a newly rented one-bedroom costs 30% of gross pay, meaning pay before deductions. The 30% comes from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the federal housing agency, which counts housing as affordable when it costs less than 30% of before-tax household income. To run the test on any rent, multiply the monthly rent by 40.
| City | Median full-year, full-time pay (2024) | Average vacant one-bedroom rent (Oct 2025) | Income where that rent is 30% of gross | Starting line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | $72,500 | $2,147 | $85,880 | $85,880 |
| Ottawa | $83,600 | $2,027 | $81,080 | $83,600 |
| Toronto | $74,600 | $2,024 | $80,960 | $80,960 |
| Calgary | $73,800 | $1,713 | $68,520 | $73,800 |
| Edmonton | $71,700 | $1,427 | $57,080 | $71,700 |
| Montréal | $68,500 | $1,344 | $53,760 | $68,500 |
| Winnipeg | $64,000 | $1,299 | $51,960 | $64,000 |
Sources: Statistics Canada, Canadian Income Survey, Table 11-10-0240, employment income including self-employment, in 2024 dollars; CMHC Rental Market Report data tables, 2025, Table 1.1.9 (Toronto workbook). The income and rent years differ. Ottawa's median covers Ottawa-Gatineau, a different boundary from CMHC's Ottawa area. Medians are survey estimates, and Calgary's has the weakest grade here, C (good).
The rule is this guide's, not a Statistics Canada or CMHC measure, and it assumes one earner renting alone. A salary at the line means you earn at least what a typical full-time worker there earns, and the average vacant one-bedroom stays within 30% of gross. It doesn't count savings, debt or a car, so it isn't a comfort figure or a promise that the pay will feel like enough.
In Toronto and Vancouver rent sets the line, because the typical full-time worker falls about $6,400 and $13,400 short of the test. In the other five cities the local median is the higher bar, which makes $70,000 in Calgary a mixed result: 30% of it is $1,750 a month, enough for the $1,713 one-bedroom, but the pay sits below the $73,800 local median.
The table doesn't cover:
- Long-time tenants. Occupied one-bedrooms in the same data averaged $1,752 in Toronto and $1,793 in Vancouver, so signing a new lease is a harder test than staying put.
- Roommates, partners, condos and secondary suites. Sharing changes the sum, and CMHC's figures cover purpose-built rental apartments only.
- Other cities. The income survey publishes these medians for only a few metro areas. Halifax, in Nova Scotia, has a rent test of $66,560 but no median, so it gets no line here.
For the spending side, how much money you need to live comfortably in Canada works from monthly budgets. A budget with savings in it can land above these lines, and it can weigh trade-offs a table can't, such as a longer commute for a lower rent.
What is the average salary in Canada?
Statistics Canada's payroll survey puts average weekly earnings at $1,354.55 in August 2026, a preliminary figure. Multiplied by 52, that's about $70,437 a year. It counts part-timers and overtime and leaves out the self-employed, so it's closer to an average pay cheque than an average salary.
An average divides everyone's total pay by the number of people, so high earners pull it up; a median is the person in the middle. Figures for what Canadians earn can run from $46,300 to $85,500, depending on which one you're quoted and who it counts:
| Measure | Who it counts | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Average weekly earnings, payroll survey (SEPH), Aug 2026 | All payroll employees, including part-time and overtime | $1,354.55 a week, about $70,437 a year |
| Median weekly wage, Labour Force Survey (LFS), Sept 2026 | Full-time employees (30+ hours) at their main job | $1,350 a week, about $70,200 a year |
| Median employment income, Canadian Income Survey (CIS), 2024 | Full-year, full-time workers | $70,200 |
| Average employment income, CIS, 2024 | Full-year, full-time workers | $85,500 |
| Median employment income, CIS, 2024 | Anyone with employment income | $46,300 |
| Average employment income, CIS, 2024 | Anyone with employment income | $59,900 |
Sources: Statistics Canada SEPH, The Daily, Oct 29, 2026; LFS Table 14-10-0063; CIS Table 11-10-0240, in 2024 dollars. Annual LFS and SEPH figures are weekly amounts multiplied by 52.
The two $70,200s are different statistics that happen to land on one number, and that agreement is why about $70,000 is a fair reference for typical full-time pay. The $46,300 includes everyone who worked part of the year or part-time, so it's a fair comparison only for a job like that.
The average in Ontario was $1,395.60 a week in August 2026, about $72,571 a year, and the province's median for full-year, full-time workers was $73,400 in 2024.
| Province | Average weekly earnings, Aug 2026 | About per year | Median full-year, full-time pay, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | $1,404.59 | $73,039 | $73,100 |
| Ontario | $1,395.60 | $72,571 | $73,400 |
| British Columbia | $1,369.91 | $71,235 | $72,300 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $1,320.79 | $68,681 | $67,500 |
| Saskatchewan | $1,308.55 | $68,045 | $67,800 |
| Quebec | $1,293.22 | $67,247 | $67,100 |
| New Brunswick | $1,267.77 | $65,924 | $60,700 |
| Manitoba | $1,244.01 | $64,689 | $62,700 |
| Nova Scotia | $1,220.93 | $63,488 | $65,100 |
| Prince Edward Island | $1,178.58 | $61,286 | $62,100 |
| Canada | $1,354.55 | $70,437 | $70,200 |
Sources: Statistics Canada SEPH (preliminary, seasonally adjusted, current dollars) and CIS (2024 dollars). The yearly column is the weekly figure multiplied by 52.
The average includes part-timers and the median doesn't, and the years differ, which is how an average can sit below a median, as it does in Ontario and Nova Scotia. The territories run higher on the payroll survey: $1,538.93 a week in Yukon, $1,778.73 in the Northwest Territories and $1,889.22 in Nunavut.
Which industry has the highest average salary?
In the August 2026 payroll survey, mining, quarrying and oil and gas leads at $2,584.43 a week, followed by utilities at $2,212.66 and information and cultural industries at $2,012.27. At the other end are health care at $1,180.91, retail at $800.28 and accommodation and food at $531.44. These averages include part-time staff, so the low ones partly reflect shorter hours rather than a lower rate of pay.
How much of a salary do you actually take home?
A salary in a Canadian job offer is usually the figure before deductions. Your employer withholds income tax plus two payroll amounts: contributions to the public pension plan (the Canada Pension Plan, CPP, or the Quebec Pension Plan, QPP, in Quebec) and premiums for Employment Insurance (EI), which pays benefits to people out of work. Here's what's left for a single person in four provinces in 2026.
| Salary | Ontario | British Columbia | Alberta | Quebec |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $40,200 ($3,350/mo) | $40,600 ($3,380/mo) | $40,500 ($3,380/mo) | $38,800 ($3,240/mo) |
| $60,000 | $47,300 ($3,950/mo) | $47,800 ($3,980/mo) | $47,700 ($3,970/mo) | $45,300 ($3,780/mo) |
| $70,000 | $53,800 ($4,480/mo) | $54,300 ($4,530/mo) | $54,100 ($4,510/mo) | $51,000 ($4,250/mo) |
| $90,000 | $67,200 ($5,600/mo) | $68,200 ($5,680/mo) | $67,500 ($5,630/mo) | $63,200 ($5,270/mo) |
| $100,000 | $74,200 ($6,180/mo) | $75,400 ($6,280/mo) | $74,500 ($6,200/mo) | $69,600 ($5,800/mo) |
| $120,000 | $87,300 ($7,280/mo) | $89,100 ($7,420/mo) | $88,300 ($7,350/mo) | $81,800 ($6,820/mo) |
These are this guide's estimates, built from the Canada Revenue Agency's 2026 tax rates, its T4127 payroll formulas and Finance Québec's 2026 parameters. They're general information, not tax, legal, immigration or financial advice, and actual payroll withholding can differ.
- The profile: a single filer living in the province all year, under 65, with employment income only and no dependants.
- Counted: federal and provincial income tax, Ontario's surtax and Health Premium, CPP or QPP, EI, and Quebec's parental insurance premium.
- Left out: retirement savings (RRSPs) and workplace pension contributions, union dues, benefit premiums, Quebec's public drug insurance premium for people not on a group plan, and refundable credits and benefits such as the Canada Child Benefit. The table doesn't cover the territories or people who arrive part-way through a year.
- Quebec: less exact, because one deduction on the Quebec return couldn't be confirmed with a primary source. It's worth at most about $214 a year in tax.
Between $50,000 and $100,000, these deductions take about 19% to 26% of pay outside Quebec and 22% to 30% in Quebec. At $120,000 they reach about 26% to 27% and 32%.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's guide to preparing financially says pay cheque deductions can reduce pay by as much as 25% to 35%. The difference is mainly in what's counted. This table has tax, CPP or QPP and EI for a single filer, while a workplace pension, union dues, benefit premiums and similar deductions move a real pay cheque toward IRCC's range. The same difference helps explain why a budget converted to gross pay with IRCC's range, as the budget guide linked above does, can land above this page's city lines.
For this one profile, take-home is highest in British Columbia and lowest in Quebec at every salary shown, and the spread among BC, Alberta and Ontario stays under 2% of pay. One profile can't make BC the low-tax province for everyone, and the table doesn't value Quebec's public programs. Before rounding, the Ontario-Alberta gap is about $300 a year at $70,000 and about $900 at $120,000, so the larger differences in moving from Ontario to Alberta sit outside this table. Alberta's low-tax reputation doesn't put it ahead of BC in any row.
Where does your salary rank?
| Employment income | Full-year, full-time workers earning less | All earners earning less |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | 28.1% | 53.0% |
| $60,000 | 39.7% | 61.4% |
| $70,000 | 49.7% | 68.3% |
| $80,000 | 58.2% | 73.9% |
| $90,000 | 65.7% | 78.8% |
| $100,000 | 72.2% | 82.9% |
Source: Statistics Canada, CIS, Table 11-10-0240, Canada, 2024, in 2024 dollars. Cumulative sums of published, rounded shares.
So $70,000 is almost exactly the middle of full-year, full-time workers. Six figures isn't as rare as it may sound: 27.7% of that group earned $100,000 or more in 2024.
Tax data counts a different crowd. Among all Canadian tax filers in 2023, including retirees and part-timers, the top 10% started at $116,500, the top 5% at $152,700 and the top 1% at $293,800, using total income excluding capital gains. A $130,000 salary is past that top-10% line. The two sets don't merge: "top 28%" of full-time workers and "top 10%" of filers come from separate populations and years.
How does a household change the number?
The medians below are household totals after tax, which can include more than one income, so none of them is a salary target.
| Median after-tax income, 2024 | Single, not in a family | Couple, no children | Couple with children | One parent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | $41,000 | $106,200 | $133,900 | $68,700 |
| Toronto | $42,800 | $116,600 | $132,400 | $71,900 |
| Vancouver | $43,100 | $111,800 | $137,800 | $72,400 |
| Calgary | $46,900 | $112,400 | $133,100 | $69,700 |
| Montréal | $41,100 | $105,200 | $139,700 | $77,600 |
Sources: Statistics Canada, CIS, The Daily, Apr 29, 2026 and Table 11-10-0190, in 2024 dollars. The single column includes seniors; the family columns cover non-senior families. Calgary's one-parent figure is graded E, use with caution.
Statistics Canada's low-income measures scale a household by the square root of its size: two people need about 1.41 times what one needs, and four need twice as much. Take about $54,000 after tax, roughly what $70,000 leaves in Ontario, BC or Alberta. Matching that standard of living takes about $76,400 for two and $108,000 for four. It's a rule of thumb, and it can't see a specific bill such as childcare.
Some worked cases, using the Ontario estimates above and treating each person as a single filer:
- Two earners at $70,000 each take home about $107,600. That's near the national median for couples without children and below Toronto's $116,600.
- Two earners at $90,000 each take home about $134,400, near the national median for couples with children. Child benefits count in that median but not in the model, so these salaries sit higher than the match suggests: before tax, the same median is $157,600 with transfers included, against $180,000 here.
- One household, $120,000, split two ways. Two earners at $60,000 each take home about $94,700. One earner at $120,000 takes home about $87,300, a gap of about $7,300 a year. The model excludes credits a one-earner couple may be able to claim, so the real gap can be smaller.
The floors: poverty line, living wage, minimum wage
These three mark the bottom of the range, not a good salary. The Market Basket Measure (MBM) is Canada's official poverty line, and it's compared with money after tax rather than gross pay. The living wage, a cost-based hourly figure published by advocacy networks, has no legal force.
| City | MBM 2025, family of four | MBM scaled to one person | Living wage 2025, per hour | Living wage at 35 hours for 52 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | $64,351 | $32,176 | $27.85 | $50,687 |
| Toronto | $62,880 | $31,440 | $27.20 | $49,504 |
| Calgary | $59,153 | $29,577 | $26.50 | $48,230 |
| Ottawa | $58,803 | $29,402 | $23.40 | $42,588 |
| Edmonton | $58,876 | $29,438 | $22.30 | $40,586 |
Sources: Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0066 (Ottawa is the Ontario part); Ontario Living Wage Network (Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa); Living Wage for Families BC (Metro Vancouver); Alberta Living Wage Network (Calgary, Edmonton). New living wage rates typically arrive by mid-November.
The one-person column halves the family figure, following Statistics Canada's square-root method, which its own costing work suggests may slightly overstate a single person's line. Each network uses its own household model, so the rates aren't a ranking of provinces. The 35-hour week is Living Wage Canada's basis; the Alberta network's page doesn't state hours.
In Toronto, the $53,800 that $70,000 leaves after tax sits far above the one-person MBM line and below the $62,880 family line, before the child benefits and family credits a family of four would receive.
Minimum wage sits well below those living wage rates. Worked 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, it comes to $37,336 in Ontario ($17.95 an hour from October 1, 2026), $37,960 in British Columbia ($18.25 from June 1, 2026) and $31,200 in Alberta ($15).
What about US dollars and US salaries?
The Bank of Canada's daily rate on November 3, 2026 was 1.3994 Canadian dollars per US dollar. At that rate C$50,000 is about US$35,700, C$70,200 is about US$50,200 and C$100,000 is about US$71,500. The rate moves, so a real offer needs a fresh one.
Median to median, the US comes out ahead at market exchange rates. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics put median full-time earnings at US$1,232 a week in the third quarter of 2026. Canada's Labour Force Survey median of C$1,350 a week in September 2026 converts to about US$965, so the US figure is about 28% higher. The US median works out to about C$89,700 a year.
An exchange-rate comparison of pay doesn't show that one country's workers live better. The US figure is for a quarter and the Canadian one for a month, and the US counts full-time as 35 or more hours where Canada counts 30. Nothing here adjusts for taxes, for what things cost in each country, or for health insurance, which is arranged differently in the two countries and can come out of a US worker's pay. The wider Canada or US question takes more than a wage table.
What do newcomers earn at first?
Statistics Canada reports a median entry wage of $39,800 for immigrants one year after admission in 2023, down 10.6% from $44,500 a year earlier. That covers permanent residents only and includes part-time and part-year work, so the fair comparison is the overall median wage of Canadians, $47,650 in the same release, not the $70,000 full-time reference.
The range by admission route is wide, from $60,600 for the Canadian Experience Class, whose applicants already have Canadian work experience, to $25,900 for refugees. Pay can also rise with time, as it did for the group admitted in 2013, from $27,400 in 2014 to $47,900 in 2023 in real terms.
Three-year-old group medians can't forecast what any one person will earn. At the overall median entry wage, 30% of pay is about $995 a month, below the average vacant one-bedroom rent in every city in the table above, though the years differ. Renting as a newcomer has its own steps.
How to judge a specific offer
Take a hypothetical $90,000 offer in Toronto. About two-thirds of full-year, full-time workers nationally earn less. Under the Ontario estimate it brings home about $67,200 a year, or $5,600 a month, and it clears Toronto's $80,960 line. For someone living alone, it clears every yardstick here.
Now make it the only income for two adults and two children. Its $67,200, before any child benefits or family credits, is about half the $132,400 median for Toronto couples with children, a median that includes second incomes and those benefits.
Run your own number the same way: its rank, its monthly take-home in your province, the rent test in your city, and the household it has to carry.
Then step outside these tables. Every benchmark here covers all occupations, so none says whether an offer is good for your job. Pay data for your role and region answers that, and pension matching and benefit premiums can make two equal offers land differently on the pay cheque. If role-specific data shows your pay running behind, that's a reasonable thing to bring to an employer.