Average Family Support Specialist Salary in Canada for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Family Support Specialist 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 Family Support Specialist Make in Canada?

A Family Support Specialist working in Canada will typically earn around 160,700 CAD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 79,800 CAD to the highest average salary of 250,600 CAD.

Average Annual Salary
160,700 CAD
Average Monthly Salary
13,391 CAD

Lowest Annual Salary
79,800 CAD
Lowest Monthly Salary
6,650 CAD

Highest Annual Salary
250,600 CAD
Highest Monthly Salary
20,883 CAD

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

Family Support Specialist 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 Family Support Specialist Salaries in Canada

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

Salary ranges

We already know that a Family Support Specialist can earn between 79,800 CAD and 250,600 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 Family Support Specialist in Canada is 164,100 CAD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 164,100 CAD, and 50% of the population earn more than 164,100 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 Family Support Specialist salary in Canada, 25% of the population are earning less than 109,700 CAD while 75% of the population earn more than 109,700 CAD.

75% of the population earn less than 210,400 CAD, and 25% of the population earn more than 210,400 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.

Family Support Specialist 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 family support specialist 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 Family Support Specialist in Canada that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 92,500 CAD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Family Support Specialist salary would increase to 119,700 CAD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Family Support Specialist, the average salary would be 163,800 CAD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 205,700 CAD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Family Support Specialist with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 218,700 CAD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Family Support Specialist with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 232,500 CAD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
92,500 CAD
2-5 Years +29%
119,700 CAD
5-10 Years +38%
163,800 CAD
10-15 Years +24%
205,700 CAD
15-20 Years +7%
218,700 CAD
20+ Years +7%
232,500 CAD

Family Support Specialist 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 Family Support Specialist in Canada based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Family Support Specialist in Canada with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 109,700 CAD.

  • Master's Degree. A Family Support Specialist in Canada with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 151,800 CAD.

  • PhD. A Family Support Specialist in Canada with a phd education can earn an average salary of 246,200 CAD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
109,700 CAD
Master's Degree +38%
151,800 CAD
PhD +64%
246,200 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.

Family Support Specialist 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 family support specialist will earn an average of 157,600 CAD, while a female family support specialist will earn around 163,500 CAD.

This means that a male family support specialist earns approximately 4% less than a female family support specialist for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Canada

Male
157,600 CAD
Female +4%
163,500 CAD

Family Support Specialist 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 Family Support Specialist in Canada is around 13% every 16 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 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 10%

What this means is that a Family Support Specialist in Canada can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 10% 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%

Family Support Specialist 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 Family Support Specialist is a moderate bonus based job, with 59% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

41% 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 3% to 6%.

Received Bonus
59%
No Bonus
41%

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 Family Support Specialist

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Family Support Specialist in Canada.

Job Title Category Salary
Adoption Services Director Counseling 161,300 CAD
Alcohol and Drug Counselor Counseling 128,400 CAD
Assistant Instructor Counseling 61,400 CAD
Career Counselor Counseling 140,700 CAD
Consultant Counseling 147,900 CAD
Director of Rehabilitation Services Counseling 187,500 CAD
Disability Consultant Counseling 118,900 CAD
Employment Counselor Counseling 151,800 CAD
Family Advocate Counseling 97,100 CAD
Family Services Specialist Counseling 109,700 CAD
Family Youth Worker Counseling 48,600 CAD
Guidance Counselor Counseling 152,900 CAD
Guidance Director Counseling 166,600 CAD
Mental Health Counselor Counseling 163,800 CAD
Mental Health Therapist Counseling 150,100 CAD
Programs Coordinator Counseling 77,000 CAD
Psychologist Counseling 200,600 CAD
Supervising Counselor Counseling 152,700 CAD
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Counseling 156,200 CAD
Youth Advocate Counseling 83,800 CAD
Youth Care Counselor Counseling 142,300 CAD
Youth Care Specialist Counseling 87,500 CAD
Youth Development Manager Counseling 177,200 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 147,900 CAD
Calgary 156,200 CAD
Edmonton 161,300 CAD
Gatineau 146,700 CAD
Halifax 148,300 CAD
Hamilton 157,600 CAD
Kitchener 146,700 CAD
Markham 152,700 CAD
Mississauga 152,700 CAD
Montreal 163,800 CAD
Ottawa 163,800 CAD
Quebec 160,600 CAD
Regina 132,000 CAD
Richmond 139,100 CAD
Saskatoon 140,200 CAD
Surrey 152,700 CAD
Toronto 165,900 CAD
Vancouver 161,300 CAD
Vaughan 140,200 CAD
Windsor 148,300 CAD
Winnipeg 153,800 CAD

Salary Comparison by State

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

City Average Salary
Alberta 161,300 CAD
British Columbia 172,200 CAD
Manitoba 158,900 CAD
New Brunswick 146,700 CAD
Newfoundland-Labrador 146,900 CAD
Northwest Territories 152,700 CAD
Nova Scotia 153,800 CAD
Nunavut 158,900 CAD
Ontario 175,100 CAD
Prince Edward Island 130,500 CAD
Quebec 171,300 CAD
Saskatchewan 157,600 CAD
Yukon 134,700 CAD

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