Average Government Officer Salary in Nova Scotia, Canada for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Government Officer salary for 2026 in Nova Scotia 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 Government Officer Make in Nova Scotia?

A Government Officer working in Nova Scotia will typically earn around 146,900 CAD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 71,200 CAD to the highest average salary of 233,600 CAD.

Average Annual Salary146,900 CAD
Average Monthly Salary12,241 CAD
Average Lowest Salary71,200 CAD
Lowest Monthly Salary5,933 CAD
Average Highest Salary233,600 CAD
Highest Monthly Salary19,466 CAD

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

Government 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 Government Officer Salaries in Nova Scotia

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

Salary ranges

We already know that a Government Officer can earn between 71,200 CAD and 233,600 CAD on average in Nova Scotia. 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 Government Officer in Nova Scotia is 156,200 CAD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 156,200 CAD, and 50% of the population earn more than 156,200 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 Government Officer salary in Nova Scotia, 25% of the population are earning less than 103,600 CAD while 75% of the population earn more than 103,600 CAD.

75% of the population earn less than 206,300 CAD, and 25% of the population earn more than 206,300 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.

Government Officer Salary by Experience Level in Nova Scotia

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 Government 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 Government Officer in Nova Scotia that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 80,800 CAD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Government Officer salary would increase to 111,700 CAD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Government Officer, the average salary would be 158,900 CAD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 192,600 CAD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Government Officer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 204,900 CAD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Government Officer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 219,500 CAD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
80,800 CAD
2-5 Years+38%
111,700 CAD
5-10 Years+42%
158,900 CAD
10-15 Years+22%
192,600 CAD
15-20 Years+6%
204,900 CAD
20+ Years+9%
219,500 CAD

Government Officer Salary by Education Level in Nova Scotia

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 Government Officer in Nova Scotia 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 Government Officer in Nova Scotia with a high school education can earn an average salary of 100,500 CAD.
  • Certificate or Diploma. A Government Officer in Nova Scotia with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 114,300 CAD.
  • Bachelor's Degree. A Government Officer in Nova Scotia with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 168,700 CAD.
  • Master's Degree. A Government Officer in Nova Scotia with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 219,500 CAD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School-
100,500 CAD
Certificate or Diploma+17%
114,300 CAD
Bachelor's Degree+45%
168,700 CAD
Master's Degree+31%
219,500 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.

Government 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 Nova Scotia, a male government officer will earn an average of 160,700 CAD, while a female government officer will earn around 153,800 CAD.

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

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Nova Scotia

Male-
160,700 CAD
Female-4%
153,800 CAD

Government Officer Average Pay Raise in Nova Scotia

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 Government Officer in Nova Scotia is around 13% every 15 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 ÷ 15 ) × 12  = 10%

What this means is that a Government Officer in Nova Scotia can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 10% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Nova Scotia 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%

Government Officer Bonus and Incentive Rates in Nova Scotia

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 Government Officer is a low bonus based job, with 32% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

68% 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-
32%
No Bonus-
68%

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 Government Officer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Government Officer in Nova Scotia.

Job TitleCategorySalary
Armed Forces OfficerGovernment and Defence99,600 CAD
Army OfficerGovernment and Defence100,700 CAD
CartographerGovernment and Defence85,100 CAD
Customs OfficerGovernment and Defence83,300 CAD
Defense OfficerGovernment and Defence139,100 CAD
Electoral Project CoordinatorGovernment and Defence153,800 CAD
Federal Government WorkerGovernment and Defence107,300 CAD
Government Affairs AdvisorGovernment and Defence172,200 CAD
Government Affairs DirectorGovernment and Defence205,400 CAD
Government Affairs RepresentativeGovernment and Defence193,400 CAD
Government Property InspectorGovernment and Defence176,300 CAD
Government Relations AssociateGovernment and Defence167,100 CAD
International Cooperation SpecialistGovernment and Defence205,700 CAD
Military PersonnelGovernment and Defence142,100 CAD
Police ConstableGovernment and Defence99,400 CAD
Public Affairs SpecialistGovernment and Defence147,900 CAD
Public Information OfficerGovernment and Defence87,400 CAD
RiflemanGovernment and Defence67,800 CAD
SoldierGovernment and Defence87,800 CAD
VAT Fraud InvestigatorGovernment and Defence117,100 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
Brampton167,100 CAD
Calgary177,100 CAD
Edmonton164,100 CAD
Gatineau151,800 CAD
Halifax153,700 CAD
Hamilton165,900 CAD
Kitchener153,800 CAD
Markham153,700 CAD
Mississauga166,600 CAD
Montreal183,900 CAD
Ottawa163,500 CAD
Quebec158,900 CAD
Regina148,300 CAD
Richmond151,800 CAD
Saskatoon146,700 CAD
Surrey158,700 CAD
Toronto187,500 CAD
Vancouver168,700 CAD
Vaughan153,700 CAD
Windsor156,200 CAD
Winnipeg166,600 CAD

Salary Comparison by State

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

StateAverage Salary
Alberta168,700 CAD
British Columbia187,500 CAD
Manitoba172,300 CAD
New Brunswick151,800 CAD
Newfoundland-Labrador151,800 CAD
Northwest Territories169,700 CAD
Nunavut167,100 CAD
Ontario184,700 CAD
Prince Edward Island147,900 CAD
Quebec172,300 CAD
Saskatchewan153,700 CAD
Yukon147,900 CAD

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