Average Customs Officer Salary in Canada for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Customs Officer salary for 2024 in Canada and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Canadian dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the CAD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does a Customs Officer Make in Canada?

A Customs Officer working in Canada will typically earn around 83,300 CAD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 44,300 CAD to the highest average salary of 123,800 CAD.

Average Annual Salary
83,300 CAD
Average Monthly Salary
6,941 CAD

Lowest Annual Salary
44,300 CAD
Lowest Monthly Salary
3,691 CAD

Highest Annual Salary
123,800 CAD
Highest Monthly Salary
10,316 CAD

These are average salaries for a Customs Officer in Canada and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Customs Officer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Customs Officer salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Customs Officer Salaries in Canada

So we've looked at the average salaries a Customs Officer will earn in Canada. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Customs Officer can earn between 44,300 CAD and 123,800 CAD on average in Canada. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Customs Officer in Canada is 78,500 CAD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 78,500 CAD, and 50% of the population earn more than 78,500 CAD.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Customs Officer salary in Canada, 25% of the population are earning less than 53,800 CAD while 75% of the population earn more than 53,800 CAD.

75% of the population earn less than 95,100 CAD, and 25% of the population earn more than 95,100 CAD.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Customs Officer Salary by Experience Level in Canada

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average customs officer salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Customs Officer in Canada that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 49,800 CAD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Customs Officer salary would increase to 61,600 CAD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Customs Officer, the average salary would be 88,600 CAD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 103,600 CAD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Customs Officer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 112,700 CAD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Customs Officer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 118,900 CAD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
49,800 CAD
2-5 Years +23%
61,600 CAD
5-10 Years +42%
88,600 CAD
10-15 Years +17%
103,600 CAD
15-20 Years +10%
112,700 CAD
20+ Years +6%
118,900 CAD

Customs Officer Salary by Education Level in Canada

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Customs Officer in Canada based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. A Customs Officer in Canada with a high school education can earn an average salary of 61,600 CAD.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Customs Officer in Canada with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 87,500 CAD.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Customs Officer in Canada with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 123,000 CAD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
61,600 CAD
Certificate or Diploma +40%
87,500 CAD
Bachelor's Degree +42%
123,000 CAD

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Canada is around 49,800 to 149,000 CAD and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Customs Officer Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Canada, a male customs officer will earn an average of 83,800 CAD, while a female customs officer will earn around 80,900 CAD.

This means that a male customs officer earns approximately 4% more than a female customs officer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Canada

Male
83,800 CAD
Female -4%
80,900 CAD

Customs Officer Average Pay Raise in Canada

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Customs Officer in Canada is around 13% every 14 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Canada is around 9% every 15 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 13 ÷ 14 ) × 12  = 11%

What this means is that a Customs Officer in Canada can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 11% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Canada for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Canada.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
2%
Energy
4%
Information Technology
6%
Healthcare
8%
Travel
1%
Construction
3%
Education
5%

Customs Officer Bonus and Incentive Rates in Canada

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Customs Officer is a low bonus based job, with 29% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

71% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3%.

Received Bonus
29%
No Bonus
71%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Canada earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
123,000 CAD
Private Sector -6%
115,600 CAD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Customs Officer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Customs Officer in Canada.

Job Title Category Salary
Armed Forces Officer Government and Defence 99,600 CAD
Army Officer Government and Defence 100,700 CAD
Cartographer Government and Defence 85,100 CAD
Defense Officer Government and Defence 139,100 CAD
Electoral Project Coordinator Government and Defence 153,800 CAD
Federal Government Worker Government and Defence 107,300 CAD
Government Affairs Advisor Government and Defence 172,200 CAD
Government Affairs Director Government and Defence 205,400 CAD
Government Affairs Representative Government and Defence 193,400 CAD
Government Officer Government and Defence 157,600 CAD
Government Property Inspector Government and Defence 176,300 CAD
Government Relations Associate Government and Defence 167,100 CAD
International Cooperation Specialist Government and Defence 205,700 CAD
Military Personnel Government and Defence 142,100 CAD
Police Constable Government and Defence 99,400 CAD
Public Affairs Specialist Government and Defence 147,900 CAD
Public Information Officer Government and Defence 87,400 CAD
Rifleman Government and Defence 67,800 CAD
Soldier Government and Defence 87,800 CAD
VAT Fraud Investigator Government and Defence 117,100 CAD

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Canada, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Brampton 79,000 CAD
Calgary 89,800 CAD
Edmonton 89,300 CAD
Gatineau 72,700 CAD
Halifax 79,500 CAD
Hamilton 78,700 CAD
Kitchener 81,300 CAD
Markham 79,800 CAD
Mississauga 81,600 CAD
Montreal 92,900 CAD
Ottawa 83,700 CAD
Quebec 86,600 CAD
Regina 75,500 CAD
Richmond 72,700 CAD
Saskatoon 77,000 CAD
Surrey 79,000 CAD
Toronto 84,800 CAD
Vancouver 87,000 CAD
Vaughan 76,900 CAD
Windsor 75,800 CAD
Winnipeg 83,300 CAD

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in Canada.

City Average Salary
Alberta 87,000 CAD
British Columbia 86,600 CAD
Manitoba 83,700 CAD
New Brunswick 75,000 CAD
Newfoundland-Labrador 74,500 CAD
Northwest Territories 80,500 CAD
Nova Scotia 78,200 CAD
Nunavut 84,300 CAD
Ontario 93,300 CAD
Prince Edward Island 72,700 CAD
Quebec 92,500 CAD
Saskatchewan 83,700 CAD
Yukon 75,400 CAD

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