Average Soldier Salary in Canada for 2024

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

A Soldier working in Canada will typically earn around 87,800 CAD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 47,600 CAD to the highest average salary of 134,700 CAD.

Average Annual Salary
87,800 CAD
Average Monthly Salary
7,316 CAD

Lowest Annual Salary
47,600 CAD
Lowest Monthly Salary
3,966 CAD

Highest Annual Salary
134,700 CAD
Highest Monthly Salary
11,225 CAD

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

Soldier 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 Soldier Salaries in Canada

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

Salary ranges

We already know that a Soldier can earn between 47,600 CAD and 134,700 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 Soldier in Canada is 84,500 CAD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 84,500 CAD, and 50% of the population earn more than 84,500 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 Soldier salary in Canada, 25% of the population are earning less than 60,400 CAD while 75% of the population earn more than 60,400 CAD.

75% of the population earn less than 102,700 CAD, and 25% of the population earn more than 102,700 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.

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.

Soldier 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 soldier 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 Soldier in Canada that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 55,600 CAD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Soldier salary would increase to 67,400 CAD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Soldier, the average salary would be 94,900 CAD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 108,200 CAD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Soldier with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 121,800 CAD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Soldier with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 127,600 CAD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
55,600 CAD
2-5 Years +23%
67,400 CAD
5-10 Years +42%
94,900 CAD
10-15 Years +17%
108,200 CAD
15-20 Years +10%
121,800 CAD
20+ Years +6%
127,600 CAD

Soldier 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 Soldier in Canada 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 Soldier in Canada with a high school education can earn an average salary of 67,400 CAD.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Soldier in Canada with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 94,300 CAD.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Soldier in Canada with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 130,400 CAD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
67,400 CAD
Certificate or Diploma +40%
94,300 CAD
Bachelor's Degree +42%
130,400 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.

Soldier 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 soldier will earn an average of 91,700 CAD, while a female soldier will earn around 87,700 CAD.

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

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Canada

Male
91,700 CAD
Female -5%
87,700 CAD

Soldier 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 Soldier in Canada is around 13% every 14 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 ÷ 14 ) × 12  = 11%

What this means is that a Soldier in Canada can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 11% 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%

Soldier 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 Soldier is a low bonus based job, with 29% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

71% 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
29%
No Bonus
71%

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 Soldier

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

Job Title Category Salary
Armed Forces Officer Government and Defence 99,600 CAD
Army Officer Government and Defence 100,700 CAD
Cartographer Government and Defence 85,100 CAD
Customs Officer Government and Defence 83,300 CAD
Defense Officer Government and Defence 139,100 CAD
Electoral Project Coordinator Government and Defence 153,800 CAD
Federal Government Worker Government and Defence 107,300 CAD
Government Affairs Advisor Government and Defence 172,200 CAD
Government Affairs Director Government and Defence 205,400 CAD
Government Affairs Representative Government and Defence 193,400 CAD
Government Officer Government and Defence 157,600 CAD
Government Property Inspector Government and Defence 176,300 CAD
Government Relations Associate Government and Defence 167,100 CAD
International Cooperation Specialist Government and Defence 205,700 CAD
Military Personnel Government and Defence 142,100 CAD
Police Constable Government and Defence 99,400 CAD
Public Affairs Specialist Government and Defence 147,900 CAD
Public Information Officer Government and Defence 87,400 CAD
Rifleman Government and Defence 67,800 CAD
VAT Fraud Investigator Government and Defence 117,100 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.

City Average Salary
Brampton 90,600 CAD
Calgary 95,300 CAD
Edmonton 98,000 CAD
Gatineau 82,300 CAD
Halifax 86,300 CAD
Hamilton 86,600 CAD
Kitchener 87,200 CAD
Markham 90,000 CAD
Mississauga 95,100 CAD
Montreal 99,700 CAD
Ottawa 92,300 CAD
Quebec 87,400 CAD
Regina 79,800 CAD
Richmond 83,300 CAD
Saskatoon 87,200 CAD
Surrey 92,100 CAD
Toronto 98,300 CAD
Vancouver 94,000 CAD
Vaughan 83,800 CAD
Windsor 87,500 CAD
Winnipeg 91,600 CAD

Salary Comparison by State

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

City Average Salary
Alberta 94,000 CAD
British Columbia 103,600 CAD
Manitoba 92,300 CAD
New Brunswick 83,700 CAD
Newfoundland-Labrador 85,100 CAD
Northwest Territories 87,900 CAD
Nova Scotia 89,800 CAD
Nunavut 91,500 CAD
Ontario 105,800 CAD
Prince Edward Island 75,800 CAD
Quebec 102,700 CAD
Saskatchewan 87,700 CAD
Yukon 83,300 CAD

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