Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. Along with the Kitchener—Waterloo region and the City of Hamilton Toronto belongs to the “digital corridor” — a region highly concentrated with technology companies similar to Silicon Valley in California. This Canadian IT center with 15,000 companies and 200,000 tech workers is the third-largest in North America after New York City and Silicon Valley. In 2019, Toronto was ranked as the 13th global startup ecosystem by Startup Genome.
IT salaries in Toronto
The average IT salary in Toronto is C$6,100 per month (C$73,000 per year, before taxes). It can vary from C$4,598 for web designers to C$7,242 per month for DevOps engineers.
The average IT salaries in Toronto (CAD per month):
- Software developer: 6,596
- Back-end developer: 6,833
- Front-end developer: 5,204
- Full-stack developer: 6,381
- DevOps engineer: 7,242
- Database administrator: 8,138
- Web designer: 4,598
- System administrator: 5,823
- Project manager: 6,845
- QA engineer: 5,432
- Technical writer: 4,680
- Security analyst: 5,264
Junior .net/C# developer’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$70,000, at C$78,000 for a Middle developer, and at C$91,000 for a Senior developer.
Junior Java developer’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$66,000, at C$74,000 for a Middle developer, and at C$99,000 for a Senior developer.
Junior mobile application developer’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$67,000, at C$83,000 for a Middle developer, and at C$98,500 for a Senior developer.
Junior front-end developer’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$66,000, at C$75,000 for a Middle developer, and at C$86,000 for a Senior developer.
Junior full-stack developer’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$65,000, at C$73,000 for a Middle developer, and at C$95,000 for a Senior developer.
Junior DevOps engineer’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$81,500, at C$103,500 for a Middle engineer, and at C$120,000 for a Senior engineer.
Junior DevOps engineer’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$82,000, at C$104,000 for a Middle engineer, and at C$121,000 for a Senior engineer.
Junior QA engineer’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$80,500, at C$89,000 for a Middle engineer, and at C$99,500 for a Senior engineer.
Junior UI/UX designer’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$63,000, at C$70,000 for a Middle designer, and at C$80,000 for a Senior designer.
Junior data analyst’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$53,000, at C$65,000 for a Middle analyst, and at C$82,000 for a Senior analyst.
Junior data scientist’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$77,000, at C$90,000 for a Middle analyst, and at C$103,000 for a Senior analyst.
Junior database administrator’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$66,000, at C$75,000 for a Middle analyst, and at C$86,000 for a Senior analyst.
Junior technical writer’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$60,000, at C$70,000 for a Middle analyst, and at C$80,000 for a Senior analyst.
Junior project manager’s annual salary in Toronto starts at C$61,000, at C$80,000 for a Middle analyst, and at C$90,000 for a Senior analyst.
Economy
The unemployment rate in Toronto is 5.5% — almost at the level with the national average of 5.7%. With BioTech and software engineering being among the important sectors, this city’s thriving technology and startup scene attracts both international IT workers and giant tech corporations.
Here are the important economic sectors in Toronto:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Big Data
- BioTech
- Electronics
- Finance
- Film production
- Life sciences
- Media
- Software engineering
- Tourism
And the largest technology companies present in Toronto include:
- Apple
- Intel
- Microsoft
- SAP SE
Cost of living
Toronto is one of the top 10 most expensive cities in the world, according to a study by Demographia. It’s also one of the most expensive property markets in Canada along with Vancouver.
The average prices in Toronto (CAD):
- Meal at McDonald’s: 8–15
- Meal at another inexpensive restaurant: 13–30
- Average food basket (milk, bread, eggs, cheese, chicken, apples, potatoes, water, beer): 56
- Monthly fee at a fitness club: 25–100
- Monthly pass: 134–160
- Monthly rent (1 bedroom): 1,200 – 2,500
- Monthly rent (3 bedrooms): 2,000 – 5,000
- Property prices per square meter: 5,300 – 13,000
- Utilities: 60–265 per month
Travel
Toronto is home to Canada’s busiest airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport. It serves more than 180 destinations around the world including Canadian, US and European destinations as well as Beijing, Buenos Aires, Chongqing, Delhi, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Incheon, Karachi, Kyiv, Shanghai, Tokyo, and many others.
Limited service to nearby destinations in Canada and the US is also offered from the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Alternate airports for the Toronto area are also located in the cities of Hamilton and Buffalo.
Entertainment
Toronto is the most populous and one of the most vibrant cities in Canada. You will never be bored there. This city has many theaters, opera houses, and museums, as well as a rich bar scene and lively nightlife. Toronto is home to many festivals including Caribana, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and others. Also, Toronto is sharing the nickname “Hollywood North” with Vancouver as it is the largest film and TV production center after Los Angeles and New York City.