Toronto 
A recent study conducted by the Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian public policy think-tank, has shed light on significant disparities in employment incomes between metropolitan areas in Canada and the United States.
The study, titled “Comparing Median Employment Income in Large Canadian and American Metropolitan Areas,” analyzed data from the largest 141 metropolitan areas with a population of over 400,000 in both countries, focusing on median employment income, including wages, salaries, and commissions from paid and self-employment before taxes and government transfers.
Although higher incomes in U.S. cities might be expected, it’s noteworthy that Canada’s most populous CMAs – Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal – find themselves among the bottom 15 on the list.
The study, which utilized 2019 data to avoid distortion from the COVID-19 pandemic, highlights the following key findings:
Key Findings:
- Only two Canadian cities rank in the top half of employment incomes among the studied metropolitan areas, with most Canadian metro areas positioned at the lower end of the rankings.
- Ottawa-Gatineau leads the Canadian cities in the study, ranking 52nd out of 141, with a median employment income of $45,500, closely followed by Edmonton at $45,470.
- Canadian cities like St. Catharines-Niagara, London, and Montreal rank among the lowest employment incomes, with St. Catharines-Niagara being the lowest at $31,540.
Credit: Fraser Institute/Comparing Median Employment Income in Large Canadian and American Metropolitan Areas
- Notably, major Canadian cities like Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, which collectively represent a substantial portion (35.9%) of the country’s population, rank poorly in terms of median employment income.
- The highest-performing Canadian metropolitan areas tend to have smaller populations, in contrast to the United States, where top-ranked areas are often densely populated.
- In Canada, cities with strong government and oil and gas sectors, such as Ottawa, Edmonton, and Calgary, tend to perform relatively well in terms of employment incomes.
- High-performing American metropolitan areas are characterized by economic diversity, encompassing industries like technology, finance, and public administration.
- Silicon Valley, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., emerge as top performers in the U.S., with the latter two benefiting from their tech-driven economies and high concentrations of public administration jobs.
- Canada’s top performers often rely on government and natural resource sectors, high-ranking U.S. cities benefit from economic diversity and innovation-driven industries.
Credit: Fraser Institute/Comparing Median Employment Income in Large Canadian and American Metropolitan Areas
The study underscores the economic disparities between Canadian and American metropolitan areas in terms of employment incomes. While Canadian cities like Ottawa and Edmonton, with strong government and oil sectors, manage to achieve higher rankings, the majority of Canadian metropolitan areas struggle to compete with their U.S. counterparts in terms of income levels. The economic diversity of high-performing U.S. cities contributes to their better employment income outcomes.
