Using Statistics Canada NOC Wage Data for Salary Ranges

Why Your BC or Ontario Salary Posting Needs More Than a Number

Your company is hiring a project coordinator in Vancouver. British Columbia's Pay Transparency Act has required a salary range — a real, bounded minimum and maximum — on every publicly advertised posting since November 1, 2023. An open-ended phrase like "$55,000 and up" does not satisfy the requirement; the BC legislation explicitly prohibits open-ended ranges (Stikeman Elliott, 2023; MLT Aikins, 2025). You need a specific floor and ceiling, and if a regulator or employment counsel ever asks how you arrived at them, "we looked it up online" is not documentation of methodology.

The same situation plays out in Ontario starting January 1, 2026, when employers with 25 or more employees must include expected compensation or a compensation range in publicly advertised postings — and must retain every posting for three years after it comes down (Littler, 2025; HRPA, 2026).

The authoritative starting point for that defensible number is Statistics Canada's Employee Wages by Occupation (NOC) dataset. It is the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program — a national, government-produced wage survey organized by occupation code and broken out by province and territory. This article walks you through what the dataset is, how to navigate it, and how to convert the wage percentiles it reports into a salary range you can post, document, and defend.

By the end, you will know how to pull a provincial wage benchmark, choose the right percentile as your range anchor, apply a range spread, and record your methodology in a format that holds up to scrutiny.

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What Statistics Canada NOC Wage Data Actually Is

Statistics Canada's Employee Wages by Occupation (NOC) is a survey-based dataset that estimates hourly wage distributions for employees across Canada, organized by the National Occupational Classification (NOC) — the federal taxonomy that groups jobs into a hierarchy of occupational categories.

A few structural facts that matter when you use this data for compensation purposes:

The NOC hierarchy has four levels of granularity. The system moves from broad occupational categories down through major groups, minor groups, and finally unit groups. Unit groups carry a four- or five-digit code (the format changed with NOC 2021) and represent the most specific, usable level for benchmarking a single job. A posting for a financial analyst belongs in a different unit group than a posting for a financial manager — choosing the wrong level of granularity overstates or understates the market rate.

Wages are reported as hourly figures with a percentile distribution. Like the BLS OEWS program in the United States (which you can read about in our companion guide, How to Read BLS OEWS Data), Statistics Canada reports wages at multiple points along the distribution — typically the low (10th percentile), median (50th), and high (90th), among others. A percentile is the wage below which a given share of workers in that occupation and geography earn. The median — the 50th percentile — means half of workers in that occupation/province earned less than that figure, and half earned more. It is the most commonly used anchor for setting a market-competitive range midpoint.

Data is available at the national level and by province/territory. Because compensation in Canada varies meaningfully by province — cost of labour, cost of living, and labour market tightness differ between, say, British Columbia and Manitoba — you should pull the provincial figure for the location where work is performed, not the national figure.

The dataset uses Canadian dollars (CAD). This is not interchangeable with U.S. dollar figures from BLS OEWS. Never compare a Statistics Canada NOC wage (CAD) to a BLS OEWS wage (USD) as if they represent the same market or the same currency. They are separate datasets, separate taxonomies, and separate currencies.

Source: Statistics Canada, Employee Wages by Occupation (NOC). Reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of Statistics Canada.

For a deeper look at how the NOC system itself differs from the U.S. Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system used by BLS, see our guide to NOC codes vs. SOC codes.

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How to Find the Right NOC Code for Your Role

Before you can pull a wage figure, you need the correct NOC unit group for the position you are hiring. Choosing the wrong code — even by one level of specificity — can anchor your range to the wrong market.

Step 1: Describe the job in plain language. Write two or three sentences capturing the primary duties: what the person makes or does, who they report to, and what credentials or experience are typically required. This description is also the foundation of the documentation you will keep on file.

Step 2: Search the NOC database. Statistics Canada's NOC browser (available at statcan.gc.ca) lets you search by keyword or browse the hierarchy. Search on the core duty, not the job title — titles vary by employer, but duties define the occupational classification. A "People Operations Coordinator" is more likely to map to a human resources unit group than to a general administration group.

Step 3: Read the lead statement and main duties of the candidate unit group. Every NOC unit group includes a lead statement describing what workers in that group do, a list of illustrative titles, and a list of main duties. Confirm your role's core duties align with the unit group's description before proceeding. If your role spans two unit groups — say, a combined marketing-and-communications role — identify the primary duty and classify there; note the judgment call in your documentation.

Step 4: Record the NOC code and its full title. Write both down. Your range-build documentation should state: "This position was classified under NOC [code], [title], based on the following duties: [summary]." That single line transforms a wage lookup into a defensible methodology record.

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Reading the Wage Table: Percentiles, Medians, and What to Do With Them

Once you have located your NOC unit group and filtered the dataset to your province, you will see a table of hourly wage estimates at several percentile points. Here is how to interpret and apply them.

The median (50th percentile) is your market anchor. For most salary range builds, the median wage for the occupation in your province is the logical starting point. It represents the midpoint of the actual labour market for that job in that geography — not an average skewed by outliers at the top of the distribution.

The 10th and 90th percentiles define the practical floor and ceiling of the market. If your range sits entirely below the 10th percentile, you will struggle to attract qualified candidates. If it sits near the 90th, you are paying at the top of the market — which may be intentional for a hard-to-fill role, but should be documented as a deliberate positioning decision, not an accident.

Wages are reported hourly — convert carefully. Statistics Canada NOC wage data is expressed in hourly terms. To build an annual salary range for a salaried, full-time role, you will need to convert. A standard full-time-equivalent conversion uses 2,080 hours per year (52 weeks × 40 hours). This is a worked example of the method:

Worked example — for illustration only; substitute the actual NOC percentile figure from the live dataset for your province and reference year:

Suppose the median hourly wage for your NOC unit group in your province is $28.00/hr (CAD). Full-time-equivalent annual midpoint = $28.00 × 2,080 = $58,240 CAD. That figure becomes the anchor for your range midpoint.

Always check the dataset's reference year when you pull figures, and note it in your documentation. Statistics Canada updates these estimates periodically; using an outdated vintage without noting it weakens your methodology record. Confirm the current release date and reference year at the live dataset: https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/f0f63701-d4bd-416b-8ed2-7a09f74abc6e.

Source: Statistics Canada, Employee Wages by Occupation (NOC). Reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of Statistics Canada.

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Building a Defensible Range Spread From NOC Wage Data

Pulling a median wage is not the same as building a salary range. A salary range has a minimum, a midpoint, and a maximum — and the distance between them is called the range spread, expressed as a percentage of the midpoint. A wider spread accommodates greater variation in experience and skill within a role family; a narrower spread fits highly standardized positions.

Ontario's $50,000 spread cap adds a binding constraint. Ontario's pay transparency rules (effective January 1, 2026) state that a posted range cannot exceed $50,000 unless the role — or the top of the range — pays over $200,000 annually (Littler, 2025). This is not a suggestion; it is a legal ceiling on your range width for most roles. Before you apply a spread percentage, check whether the resulting dollar gap between your minimum and maximum would breach $50,000. If it would, tighten the spread — or confirm the role qualifies for the over-$200,000 exception. Always verify the current rule with the Ontario Ministry of Labour or with employment counsel before acting.

A worked example of range spread construction (illustrative; substitute real NOC figures):

Anchor: $58,240 CAD annual midpoint (from the conversion above). Apply a 50% range spread centered on the midpoint: Minimum = midpoint ÷ 1.25 = $46,592 Maximum = midpoint × 1.25 = $72,800 Range width = $72,800 − $46,592 = $26,208 — within Ontario's $50,000 cap.

British Columbia's open-ended-range prohibition requires the same precision. BC requires a real floor and a real ceiling (Stikeman Elliott, 2023). A spread-based range satisfies this; an open-ended phrase does not. Verify current BC requirements with the BC Pay Transparency office before posting. Our detailed guide to the British Columbia Pay Transparency Act covers the full posting and reporting obligations.

For Ontario-specific obligations, including the three-year record-retention requirement, see our Ontario Pay Transparency Law guide.

The general methodology for building any salary range — anchoring, spreading, setting a midpoint, and documenting — is covered step by step in How to Build a Salary Range.

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Documenting Your Methodology for Audit and Counsel

Building the range is necessary. Documenting how you built it is what makes it defensible.

A complete methodology record for a Statistics Canada NOC–based range includes:

1. The NOC code and title used, and a one-sentence explanation of why that unit group was selected for this role.
2. The dataset, geography, and reference year — for example: "Statistics Canada, Employee Wages by Occupation (NOC), British Columbia, [reference year]."
3. The specific percentile(s) used as anchors — median for the midpoint, 10th and/or 90th if used to set the floor or ceiling.
4. The hourly-to-annual conversion factor (2,080 hours, or the actual scheduled hours if the role is not standard full-time).
5. The range spread applied and the rationale (standard for this role level; adjusted for hard-to-fill market conditions; constrained by Ontario's $50,000 cap, etc.).
6. The date the data was pulled and where (the live Statistics Canada URL or your benchmarking tool).
7. Any judgment calls — a role that straddled two NOC unit groups, a market adjustment applied on top of the provincial figure, a spread narrowed to comply with Ontario's cap.

Illinois employers must retain pay-scale and benefit information for five years (Greenberg Traurig / Illinois DOL, 2024) — that is a US obligation cited for context only; Canadian retention requirements differ by province. In Ontario, the posting itself must be retained for three years after it is taken down (HRPA, 2026). Build your documentation practice around the longest applicable clock and verify current requirements with the relevant authority.

A structured template makes this record-keeping tractable at scale. Our Compensation Benchmarking Spreadsheet (Excel) is designed to capture each of these fields — NOC code, percentile anchor, conversion, spread, and vintage — in a single row per role, so your methodology is documented by the time the range is built, not reconstructed later when an attorney asks.

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From Data to Posting: The Four-Step Summary

Statistics Canada NOC wage data answers the question "what does the market pay for this job in this province?" Your task is to translate that answer into a range that complies with BC's or Ontario's posting requirement, reflects your organization's compensation positioning, and can be explained clearly if questioned.

Step 1 — Find the NOC code. Match the role's primary duties to the correct unit group. Document the code, the title, and the rationale.

Step 2 — Pull provincial percentiles. Filter the Statistics Canada dataset to your province. Record the median (and 10th/90th if relevant), the reference year, and the date pulled. Confirm you are using the current release at the live Statistics Canada dataset.

Step 3 — Set the spread. Apply a range spread centered on your chosen anchor. Check the resulting dollar width against Ontario's $50,000 cap if applicable. Confirm BC's bounded-range requirement is met.

Step 4 — Document everything. Save the NOC code, the data vintage, the conversion, the spread, and any adjustments. That record is your methodology file — the evidence that your posting reflects a reasoned, market-grounded compensation decision.

Using statistics canada noc wage data correctly means completing all four steps, not just step two. The wage lookup is the easiest part; the documentation is what turns a number into a defensible range.

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Build Your Canadian Range With a Structured Template

Pulling Statistics Canada NOC figures into a blank spreadsheet and doing the conversion math manually works once. It does not scale to ten open roles in two provinces, and it does not produce a consistent methodology record across your organization.

Our Compensation Benchmarking Spreadsheet (Excel) gives you a structured workbook pre-formatted for NOC-based range builds: occupation-code fields, percentile-input rows, hourly-to-annual conversion, spread calculator, and a documentation tab designed to satisfy the record-retention expectations of both BC and Ontario. Download it, enter your NOC figures, and your methodology is documented before the posting goes live.

If your organization is managing multiple open roles across Canadian provinces — or across both Canada and the US — Salary Range Builder's Professional and Business plans include the Statistics Canada NOC data integration, the US + Canada geographic-adjustment calculator, and watermark-free compliance PDFs built to accompany an employment-counsel review.

Always confirm current pay transparency requirements with the BC Pay Transparency office, the Ontario Ministry of Labour, or qualified employment counsel before publishing any salary posting. Requirements evolve, and the obligation to stay current rests with the employer.