Canada vs United States of America: Median hourly earnings of employees
Median hourly earnings of employees over time
- Canada
- United States of America
How they compare
Canada currently reports 32 against 26.8 in United States of America, a difference of 5.2.
That makes Canada's figure about 1.2 times United States of America's.
Across all 29 years both countries report, Canada has been ahead every year.
Canada ranks 33rd and United States of America ranks 34th of 55 countries.
Canada has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 14.2 | 11.51 | 2.69 | Canada |
| 2000s | 17.09 | 14.4 | 2.69 | Canada |
| 2010s | 22.26 | 17.71 | 4.54 | Canada |
| 2020s | 28.92 | 24.3 | 4.62 | Canada |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher median hourly earnings of employees, Canada or United States of America?
- Canada, at 32 against 26.8 in United States of America as of 2025.
- What is the difference in median hourly earnings of employees between Canada and United States of America?
- 5.2, with Canada ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and United States of America?
- 29 years are reported by both, from 1997 to 2025.
- How do Canada and United States of America rank globally for median hourly earnings of employees?
- Canada ranks 33rd and United States of America ranks 34th of 55 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Labour Organization, published as Median hourly earnings of employees (15+). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. The earnings of employees relate to the gross remuneration in cash and in kind paid to employees, as a rule at regular intervals, for time worked or work done together with remuneration for time not worked, such as annual vacation, other type of paid leave or holidays. Earnings exclude employers' contributions in respect of their employees paid to social security and pension schemes and also the benefits received by employees under these schemes. Earnings also exclude severance and termination pay. The median is the middle value, with half of employees earning less and half earning more. For more information, refer to the Wages and Working Time Statistics (COND) database description.