The Salary differences between Canada and USA for software engineers.
There’s no doubt that you will get paid more if you’re working in the US opposed to Canada as a software engineer. There are two things that are always quoted when talking about why that is;
- Cost of Living
- Exchange Rate
I wanted to figure out if these higher expenses were actually enough to justify the differences in wages.
According to this report from CBRE. The average Software Engineer Salary in these Canadian cities are:
Toronto: $82,805 CAD
Vancouver: $84,261 CAD
Calgary: $94,682 CAD
Victoria: $77,563 CAD
These reports on glass door show that the average Software Engineer Salary in these US cities are:
Seattle: $123,452 USD ($162,957 CAD)
San Francisco: $134,025 USD ($176,913 CAD)
Los Angeles: $106,616 USD ($140,733 CAD)
New York: $113,245 USD ($149,483 CAD)
Before tax, the average software developer working in the US is earning roughly 2x what a Canadian employed software engineer is.
After Tax:
Canada
Toronto: $61,501 CAD
Vancouver: $64,011 CAD
Calgary: $69,647 CAD
Victoria: $59,033 CAD
USA
Seattle: $92,970 USD ($122,720 CAD)
San Francisco: $91,237 USD ($120,433 CAD)
Los Angeles: 74,703 USD ($98,608 CAD)
New York: 79,585 USD ($105,052 CAD)
Living Expenses (Yearly) as a single, renting a 1 bedroom apartment:
Canada
USA
After Tax income minus living expenses (Yearly)
Canada
Toronto: $19,585 CAD
Vancouver: $25,587 CAD
Calgary: $41,627 CAD
Victoria: $27,413 CAD
USA
Seattle: 72,584 CAD
San Francisco: 47,089 CAD
Los Angeles: 47,968 CAD
New York: 35,944 CAD
Comparables
- As a software engineer working in Seattle, you will be able to save up 3x the amount of money per year compared to working in Vancouver. You could buy a new Tesla every year.
- Working in New York is less profitable than working in Calgary.
- Toronto is the least profitable place to work from our 8 cities.
- The high salaries of San Francisco don’t give you an advantage over the living expenses compared to working in Los Angeles.
- Working in Canada will net you significantly less money unless you want to live in the prairies.
Conclusion
As a software engineer living in the Victoria/Vancouver area, the salaries down south make moving to America appealing for the first time in my life.
