Average Software QA Engineer Salary in Richmond, Canada for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Software QA Engineer salary for 2026 in Richmond 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 Software QA Engineer Make in Richmond?

A Software QA Engineer working in Richmond will typically earn around 95,500 CAD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 46,200 CAD to the highest average salary of 150,100 CAD.

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

Software QA Engineer 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 Software QA Engineer Salaries in Richmond

So we've looked at the average salaries a Software QA Engineer will earn in Richmond. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Software QA Engineer can earn between 46,200 CAD and 150,100 CAD on average in Richmond. 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 Software QA Engineer in Richmond is 96,800 CAD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 96,800 CAD, and 50% of the population earn more than 96,800 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 Software QA Engineer salary in Richmond, 25% of the population are earning less than 63,500 CAD while 75% of the population earn more than 63,500 CAD.

75% of the population earn less than 127,700 CAD, and 25% of the population earn more than 127,700 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.

Software QA Engineer Salary by Experience Level in Richmond

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 Software QA Engineer 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 Software QA Engineer in Richmond that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 54,900 CAD.
• 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Software QA Engineer salary would increase to 70,700 CAD.
• 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Software QA Engineer, the average salary would be 100,200 CAD.
• 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 123,000 CAD.
• 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Software QA Engineer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 130,500 CAD.
• 20+ Years Experience. For a Software QA Engineer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 141,000 CAD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

Software QA Engineer Salary by Education Level in Richmond

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 Software QA Engineer in Richmond 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. A Software QA Engineer in Richmond with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 70,700 CAD.
• Bachelor's Degree. A Software QA Engineer in Richmond with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 96,600 CAD.
• Master's Degree. A Software QA Engineer in Richmond with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 148,300 CAD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Software QA Engineer 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 Richmond, a male software qa engineer will earn an average of 109,700 CAD, while a female software qa engineer will earn around 105,200 CAD.

This means that a male software qa engineer earns approximately 4% more than a female software qa engineer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Richmond

Software QA Engineer Average Pay Raise in Richmond

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 Software QA Engineer in Richmond is around 11% 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 = ( 11 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Software QA Engineer in Richmond can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Richmond 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.

Software QA Engineer Bonus and Incentive Rates in Richmond

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 Software QA Engineer is a moderate bonus based job, with 55% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

45% 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 5%.

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.

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Software QA Engineer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Software QA Engineer in Richmond.

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.

Salary Comparison by State

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