How Much do CPAs Earn in Toronto in 2023?
Whether you are a student considering different career paths, a current CPA Candidate, or an experienced professional, you may be wondering how you’ll be compensated for putting in the time and effort to obtain the Canadian CPA designation.
Below we break down expected salaries for CPAs and accountants in Toronto and across Canada at various career stages.
This article combines data from various sources to provide average guidance for salary and compensation for Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA). This article focuses on Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Ontario, Canada. Note that there will always be variance in compensation between titles, companies, and locations, however this article should be accurate to serve as a general guide for 2023 numbers.
CPA Earnings in Toronto
The median annual earnings of a CPA in Toronto are $151K while the mean is $218K. Generally, the median is a more realistic estimation as the mean can be influenced by outliers. This does not mean however that most CPAs will be limited to an annual salary or earnings of $151K. It is entirely possible that once achieving a certain level of income with which they are comfortable, many CPAs choose to focus on other things such as working hours or flexibility. Further, Toronto CPAs earn $113K and $226K annually at the 25th and 75th percentiles of CPAs respectively. What this means is that of all Toronto CPAs, 1 in 4 will earn $113K annually or less while 1 in 4 will earn $226K or more. Most Toronto CPAs will earn somewhere between $113K and $226K annually, as evidenced by the median salary or earnings of $151K per annum.
CPA Earnings in Toronto by Years of Experience
While the above section analyzes CPAs in Toronto as a whole it is important to understand how long it will take to arrive at the median $151K annual salary or earnings mentioned above. Below, earnings of Toronto CPAs are shown by experience level. Note that in order to obtain the CPA designation, candidates must submit a minimum of 30 months of qualifying work experience. Therefore, the figures displayed for candidates with 2 years or less of experience are generally for non-CPA designated individuals such as CPA candidates or young professionals who have not yet gone through the program. This $66K annual earnings is a fair expectation for a new grad or someone fairly early on in their career. The salary/compensation reported in the 2 to 5 year experience bucket of $94K per annum is reflective of a relatively newly designated CPA.
Based on the above data, it is evident that the CPA path can be lucrative in Toronto. While the starting salaries of ~$66K may not sound incredible, there is a clear and quick ramp-up in earnings during the first several years into one’s CPA career. For accounting or business students graduating from university at the age of 22, a six-figure income is realistically achievable well before turning 30.
CPA Earnings Across Canada
Canadian CPAs enjoy the highest median annual compensation in Calgary, Alberta, followed closely by Toronto, Ontario.
Calgary is the highest-paying city in Canada for CPAs, with an average median annual salary/earnings reported of $154K. This is slightly higher than Toronto’s $151K, which is $13K ahead of 3rd place Ottawa at $138K. A trend which generally holds true across all professions is that the largest cities tend to pay more, as evidenced by Halifax and Winnipeg having the lowest reported salaries of all major Canadian cities at $123K and $127K respectively. However, it is worth noting that CPAs are compensated fairly well across all major Canadian cities which suggests pursuing the CPA designation may be lucrative regardless of your location within Canada, and the local cost of living (COL) is more likely to influence your quality of life (QOL) than the difference in earnings.
For more CPA Canada content, check out the Chartered Perspective Blog:
