Average General Counsel Salary in Kitchener, Canada for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average General Counsel salary for 2026 in Kitchener 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 General Counsel Make in Kitchener?

A General Counsel working in Kitchener will typically earn around 291,000 CAD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 153,800 CAD to the highest average salary of 448,400 CAD.

Average Annual Salary291,000 CAD
Average Monthly Salary24,250 CAD
Average Lowest Salary153,800 CAD
Lowest Monthly Salary12,816 CAD
Average Highest Salary448,400 CAD
Highest Monthly Salary37,366 CAD

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

General Counsel 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 General Counsel Salaries in Kitchener

So we've looked at the average salaries a General Counsel will earn in Kitchener. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a General Counsel can earn between 153,800 CAD and 448,400 CAD on average in Kitchener. 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 General Counsel in Kitchener is 281,100 CAD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 281,100 CAD, and 50% of the population earn more than 281,100 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 General Counsel salary in Kitchener, 25% of the population are earning less than 193,200 CAD while 75% of the population earn more than 193,200 CAD.

75% of the population earn less than 350,000 CAD, and 25% of the population earn more than 350,000 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.

General Counsel Salary by Experience Level in Kitchener

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 General Counsel 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 General Counsel in Kitchener that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 172,100 CAD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average General Counsel salary would increase to 231,400 CAD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a General Counsel, the average salary would be 300,500 CAD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 365,400 CAD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A General Counsel with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 399,100 CAD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a General Counsel with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 418,700 CAD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
172,100 CAD
2-5 Years+34%
231,400 CAD
5-10 Years+30%
300,500 CAD
10-15 Years+21%
365,400 CAD
15-20 Years+9%
399,100 CAD
20+ Years+5%
418,700 CAD

General Counsel Salary by Education Level in Kitchener

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 General Counsel in Kitchener 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 General Counsel in Kitchener with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 243,000 CAD.
  • Master's Degree. A General Counsel in Kitchener with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 336,500 CAD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree-
243,000 CAD
Master's Degree+39%
336,500 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.

General Counsel 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 Kitchener, a male general counsel will earn an average of 313,300 CAD, while a female general counsel will earn around 299,200 CAD.

This means that a male general counsel earns approximately 5% more than a female general counsel for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Kitchener

Male-
313,300 CAD
Female-5%
299,200 CAD

General Counsel Average Pay Raise in Kitchener

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 General Counsel in Kitchener 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 General Counsel in Kitchener can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 10% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Kitchener for 2026

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%

General Counsel Bonus and Incentive Rates in Kitchener

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 General Counsel is a low bonus based job, with 36% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

64% 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 0% to 4%.

Received Bonus-
36%
No Bonus-
64%

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 General Counsel

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a General Counsel in Kitchener.

Job TitleCategorySalary
Administrative Law JudgeLegal320,500 CAD
ArbitratorLegal152,700 CAD
Associate AttorneyLegal158,700 CAD
AttorneyLegal243,000 CAD
BailiffLegal71,200 CAD
BarristerLegal60,100 CAD
Candidate AttorneyLegal128,400 CAD
ConciliatorLegal115,600 CAD
Contracts AssociateLegal79,600 CAD
Contracts ManagerLegal130,500 CAD
Contracts NegotiatorLegal114,600 CAD
Contracts SpecialistLegal74,500 CAD
Conveyancing SecretaryLegal60,700 CAD
Corporate CounselLegal172,200 CAD
CounselLegal175,200 CAD
Court ClerkLegal54,200 CAD
Court Judicial AssistantLegal88,600 CAD
Court Liaison SpecialistLegal107,300 CAD
Court ReporterLegal86,100 CAD
Court RepresentativeLegal68,900 CAD
Crown Prosecution Service LawyerLegal336,800 CAD
Immigration ExecutiveLegal167,100 CAD
In House CounselLegal175,200 CAD
Intellectual Property SpecialistLegal119,700 CAD
Judge AdvocateLegal245,600 CAD
Law ClerkLegal51,800 CAD
LawyerLegal238,300 CAD
Legal Administrative AssistantLegal60,100 CAD
Legal AdvisorLegal141,000 CAD
Legal AssistantLegal61,700 CAD
Legal AssociateLegal114,900 CAD
Legal ConsultantLegal146,700 CAD
Legal ConsultantLegal148,300 CAD
Legal CounselLegal175,100 CAD
Legal EditorLegal111,700 CAD
Legal ExecutiveLegal206,100 CAD
Legal Executive SecretaryLegal63,500 CAD
Legal IP OfficerLegal57,100 CAD
Legal OfficerLegal72,700 CAD
Legal SecretaryLegal64,600 CAD
Legal Services DirectorLegal274,700 CAD
Legal Services ManagerLegal280,400 CAD
Legal Support WorkerLegal43,400 CAD
Legislative LiaisonLegal114,900 CAD
Litigation AttorneyLegal294,300 CAD
Litigation ParalegalLegal151,800 CAD
Magistrate JudgeLegal360,200 CAD
ParalegalLegal92,900 CAD
Patent AttorneyLegal167,100 CAD
Staff AttorneyLegal175,100 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.

CityAverage Salary
Brampton307,400 CAD
Calgary310,200 CAD
Edmonton330,900 CAD
Gatineau291,000 CAD
Halifax280,400 CAD
Hamilton317,100 CAD
Markham283,400 CAD
Mississauga300,500 CAD
Montreal332,800 CAD
Ottawa313,300 CAD
Quebec302,100 CAD
Regina285,300 CAD
Richmond283,400 CAD
Saskatoon268,200 CAD
Surrey295,700 CAD
Toronto336,800 CAD
Vancouver330,700 CAD
Vaughan296,500 CAD
Windsor286,400 CAD
Winnipeg299,200 CAD

Salary Comparison by State

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

StateAverage Salary
Alberta330,700 CAD
British Columbia344,300 CAD
Manitoba300,500 CAD
New Brunswick286,400 CAD
Newfoundland-Labrador272,900 CAD
Northwest Territories296,400 CAD
Nova Scotia300,500 CAD
Nunavut325,800 CAD
Ontario340,500 CAD
Prince Edward Island255,000 CAD
Quebec349,800 CAD
Saskatchewan301,800 CAD
Yukon267,900 CAD

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