A person working in Developers and Programmers in Canada typically earns around 110,000 CAD per year. Salaries range from 88,900 CAD (lowest average) to 151,000 CAD (highest average, actual maximum salary is higher).
This is the average yearly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Salaries vary drastically between different Developers and Programmers careers. If you are interested in the salary of a particular job, see below for salaries for specific job titles.
Job Title | Average Salary |
ABAP Developer | 108,000 CAD |
Android Developer | 110,000 CAD |
Angular Developer | 104,000 CAD |
AS400 Programmer | 116,000 CAD |
Avaloq Developer | 108,000 CAD |
BizTalk Developer | 123,000 CAD |
Build and Release Engineer | 107,000 CAD |
Business Intelligence Developer | 128,000 CAD |
Business Objects Developer | 114,000 CAD |
C# Developer | 129,000 CAD |
C++ Developer | 122,000 CAD |
CMS Developer | 93,400 CAD |
Curam Developer | 98,500 CAD |
Developer / Programmer | 117,000 CAD |
Flash Developer | 105,000 CAD |
Front End Developer | 96,000 CAD |
Full Stack Developer | 117,000 CAD |
Game Developer | 108,000 CAD |
GIS Developer | 119,000 CAD |
Graphical User Interface ( GUI ) Programmer | 100,000 CAD |
Graphics Programmer | 103,000 CAD |
Imaging Programmer | 104,000 CAD |
IOS Developer | 121,000 CAD |
Java Developer | 120,000 CAD |
Javascript Developer | 112,000 CAD |
Lead Developer | 139,000 CAD |
Mobile Developer | 115,000 CAD |
Multimedia Developer | 101,000 CAD |
Nodejs Developer | 126,000 CAD |
Oracle Developer | 117,000 CAD |
Perl Developer | 102,000 CAD |
PHP Developer | 100,000 CAD |
Python Developer | 125,000 CAD |
Remedy Developer | 95,400 CAD |
Ruby Developer | 106,000 CAD |
Salesforce Developer | 88,700 CAD |
SAS Programmer | 103,000 CAD |
Sharepoint Developer | 127,000 CAD |
Software Development Manager | 147,000 CAD |
Software QA Engineer | 107,000 CAD |
Software Test Engineer | 105,000 CAD |
Teradata Developer | 98,900 CAD |
TIBCO Developer | 103,000 CAD |
User Experience Designer | 102,000 CAD |
VB Developer | 90,700 CAD |
VB.NET Developer | 124,000 CAD |
Developers and Programmers salaries in Canada range from 88,900 CAD per year (minimum average salary) to 151,000 CAD per year (maximum average salary, actual maximum is higher).
The median salary is 112,000 CAD per year, which means that half (50%) of people working in Developers and Programmers are earning less than 112,000 CAD while the other half are earning more than 112,000 CAD. The median represents the middle salary value. Generally speaking, you would want to be on the right side of the graph with the group earning more than the median salary.
Closely related to the median are two values: the 25th and the 75th percentiles. Reading from the salary distribution diagram, 25% of people working in Developers and Programmers are earning less than 90,300 CAD while 75% of them are earning more than 90,300 CAD. Also from the diagram, 75% of people working in Developers and Programmers are earning less than 134,000 CAD while 25% are earning more than 134,000 CAD.
Both are indicators. If your salary is higher than both of the average and the median then you are doing very well. If your salary is lower than both, then many people are earning more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. How to compare your salary
The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally the more years of experience the higher the wage.
Generally speaking, employees having experience from two to five years earn on average 32% more than freshers and juniors across all industries and disciplines.
Professionals with experience of more than five years tend to earn on average 36% more than those with five years or less of work experience.
As you hit the ten years mark, the salary increases by 21% and an additional 14% for those who have crossed the 15 years mark.
Those figures are presented as guidelines only. The numbers become more significant if you consider one job title at a time.
Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? Male employees in Canada who work in Developers and Programmers earn 5% more than their female counterparts on average.
Male | 112,000 CAD | |
Female | -4% | 107,000 CAD |
Developers and Programmers professionals in Canada are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 10% every 16 months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 9% granted to employees every 15 months.
The term 'Annual Salary Increase' usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rarely that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase.
The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 ÷ Increase Frequency
Banking | 2% | |
Energy | 4% | |
Information Technology | 6% | |
Healthcare | 8% | |
Travel | 1% | |
Construction | 3% | |
Education | 5% |
Listed above are the average annual increase rates for each industry in Canada for the year 2022. Companies within thriving industries tend to provide higher and more frequent raises. Exceptions do exist, but generally speaking, the situation of any company is closely related to the economic situation in the country or region. These figures tend to change frequently.
Developers and Programmers is considered to be a moderate bonus-based field due to the generally limited involvement in direct revenue generation, with exceptions of course. The people who get the highest bonuses are usually somehow involved in the revenue generation cycle.
44% of surveyed staff in Developers and Programmers reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 56% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.
Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 3% to 6% of their annual salary.
Received Bonus | 56% | |
No Bonus | 44% |
The most standard form of bonus where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance.
Company Performance BonusesOccasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization.
Goal-Based BonusesGranted upon achieving an important goal or milestone.
Holiday / End of Year BonusesThese types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token.
People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned.
The main two types of jobs | |
Revenue Generators | Supporting Cast |
Employees that are directly involved in generating revenue or profit for the organization. Their field of expertise usually matches the type of business. | Employees that support and facilitate the work of revenue generators. Their expertise is usually different from that of the core business operations. |
Example: | Example: |
Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation.
Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid.
The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Usually jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaried jobs pay a fix amount regardless of the hours worked. Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff.
The average salary for Developers and Programmers is 9% less than that of Information Technology. Also, Information Technology salaries are 0% more than those of All Jobs.
City | Average Salary |
Brampton | 112,000 CAD |
Calgary | 116,000 CAD |
Edmonton | 115,000 CAD |
Gatineau | 105,000 CAD |
Halifax | 107,000 CAD |
Hamilton | 113,000 CAD |
Kitchener | 111,000 CAD |
Markham | 109,000 CAD |
Mississauga | 116,000 CAD |
Montreal | 123,000 CAD |
Ottawa | 117,000 CAD |
Quebec | 115,000 CAD |
Regina | 104,000 CAD |
Richmond | 98,500 CAD |
Saskatoon | 105,000 CAD |
Surrey | 108,000 CAD |
Toronto | 123,000 CAD |
Vancouver | 118,000 CAD |
Vaughan | 107,000 CAD |
Windsor | 106,000 CAD |
Winnipeg | 114,000 CAD |
State | Average Salary |
Alberta | 118,000 CAD |
British Columbia | 120,000 CAD |
Manitoba | 113,000 CAD |
New Brunswick | 101,000 CAD |
Newfoundland-Labrador | 98,900 CAD |
Northwest Territories | 110,000 CAD |
Nova Scotia | 103,000 CAD |
Nunavut | 114,000 CAD |
Ontario | 123,000 CAD |
Prince Edward Island | 95,000 CAD |
Quebec | 121,000 CAD |
Saskatchewan | 106,000 CAD |
Yukon | 97,500 CAD |
Where can you get paid more, working for a private company or for the government? Public sector employees in Canada earn 4% more than their private sector counterparts on average across all sectors.
Private Sector | 117,000 CAD | |
Public Sector | +4% | 122,000 CAD |