Average Interpreter Salary in Canada for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Interpreter 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 an Interpreter Make in Canada?

An Interpreter working in Canada will typically earn around 114,600 CAD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 54,600 CAD to the highest average salary of 177,200 CAD.

Average Annual Salary
114,600 CAD
Average Monthly Salary
9,550 CAD

Lowest Annual Salary
54,600 CAD
Lowest Monthly Salary
4,550 CAD

Highest Annual Salary
177,200 CAD
Highest Monthly Salary
14,766 CAD

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

Interpreter 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 Interpreter Salaries in Canada

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

Salary ranges

We already know that an Interpreter can earn between 54,600 CAD and 177,200 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 an Interpreter in Canada is 119,700 CAD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 119,700 CAD, and 50% of the population earn more than 119,700 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 Interpreter salary in Canada, 25% of the population are earning less than 78,200 CAD while 75% of the population earn more than 78,200 CAD.

75% of the population earn less than 158,900 CAD, and 25% of the population earn more than 158,900 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.

Interpreter 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 interpreter 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. An Interpreter in Canada that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 63,200 CAD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Interpreter salary would increase to 83,100 CAD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as an Interpreter, the average salary would be 119,700 CAD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 148,300 CAD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. An Interpreter with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 153,700 CAD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For an Interpreter with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 168,700 CAD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
63,200 CAD
2-5 Years +38%
83,100 CAD
5-10 Years +42%
119,700 CAD
10-15 Years +22%
148,300 CAD
15-20 Years +6%
153,700 CAD
20+ Years +9%
168,700 CAD

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

  • Certificate or Diploma. An Interpreter in Canada with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 74,500 CAD.

  • Bachelor's Degree. An Interpreter in Canada with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 114,300 CAD.

  • Master's Degree. An Interpreter in Canada with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 160,600 CAD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Certificate or Diploma
74,500 CAD
Bachelor's Degree +58%
114,300 CAD
Master's Degree +39%
160,600 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.

Interpreter 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 interpreter will earn an average of 114,300 CAD, while a female interpreter will earn around 111,700 CAD.

This means that a male interpreter earns approximately 2% more than a female interpreter for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Canada

Male
114,300 CAD
Female -2%
111,700 CAD

Interpreter 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 an Interpreter in Canada is around 12% 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 = ( 12 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 9%

What this means is that an Interpreter in Canada can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 9% 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%

Interpreter 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.

An Interpreter is a low bonus based job, with 35% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

65% 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
35%
No Bonus
65%

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 an Interpreter

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to an Interpreter in Canada.

Job Title Category Salary
Bilingual Paraprofessional Bilingual 127,600 CAD
Language Specialist Bilingual 152,700 CAD
Linguist Bilingual 151,800 CAD
Multilingual Host Bilingual 116,400 CAD
Teacher Bilingual 92,200 CAD
Translator Bilingual 105,200 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 102,700 CAD
Calgary 108,200 CAD
Edmonton 112,700 CAD
Gatineau 97,600 CAD
Halifax 107,300 CAD
Hamilton 112,700 CAD
Kitchener 100,700 CAD
Markham 105,200 CAD
Mississauga 114,600 CAD
Montreal 119,700 CAD
Ottawa 112,700 CAD
Quebec 116,400 CAD
Regina 93,800 CAD
Richmond 98,300 CAD
Saskatoon 103,600 CAD
Surrey 105,800 CAD
Toronto 116,400 CAD
Vancouver 112,700 CAD
Vaughan 105,200 CAD
Windsor 105,800 CAD
Winnipeg 107,700 CAD

Salary Comparison by State

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

City Average Salary
Alberta 112,700 CAD
British Columbia 125,400 CAD
Manitoba 116,400 CAD
New Brunswick 105,200 CAD
Newfoundland-Labrador 105,200 CAD
Northwest Territories 107,700 CAD
Nova Scotia 102,700 CAD
Nunavut 114,300 CAD
Ontario 128,200 CAD
Prince Edward Island 92,000 CAD
Quebec 117,100 CAD
Saskatchewan 105,800 CAD
Yukon 100,300 CAD

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