How Much do CPAs Earn in Vancouver 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 Vancouver 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 Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver Area (GVA) in British Columbia, 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 Vancouver
The median annual earnings of a CPA in Vancouver are $132K while the mean is $188K. 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 $132K. 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, Vancouver CPAs earn $99K and $198K annually at the 25th and 75th percentiles of CPAs respectively. What this means is that of all Vancouver CPAs, 1 in 4 will earn $99K annually or less while 1 in 4 will earn $198K or more. Most Vancouver CPAs will earn somewhere between $99K and $198K annually, as evidenced by the median salary or earnings of $132K per annum.
CPA Earnings in Vancouver by Years of Experience
While the above section analyzes CPAs in Vancouver as a whole, it is important to understand how long it will take to arrive at the median $132K annual salary or earnings mentioned above. Below, earnings of Vancouver 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 $59K 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 $86K 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 Vancouver. While the starting salaries of ~$59K 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.
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