City of Hamilton vs City of Ottawa: who pays more?
City of Hamilton had 3,382 people on the 2025 Sunshine List with a median of $127,716, City of Ottawa 5,181 with a median of $117,638 — that is 9% more at the median for City of Hamilton, and City of Ottawa lists 1.5× as many people.
On the list
- City of Hamilton
- 3,382
- City of Ottawa
- 5,181
employees paid $100K+, 2025
Median salary
- City of Hamilton
- $127,716
- City of Ottawa
- $117,638
salary paid, 2025
Average salary
- City of Hamilton
- $133,050
- City of Ottawa
- $125,013
salary paid, 2025
Listed payroll
- City of Hamilton
- $452.6M
- City of Ottawa
- $651.5M
total compensation, 2025
Median salary by year
1996–2025
- City of Hamilton
- City of Ottawa
Median salary paid on each employer’s Sunshine List filing. A gap is a year the employer filed nobody under this name.
Year by year
| Year | City of Hamilton | City of Ottawa | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People | Median | People | Median | |
| 2025 | 3,382 | $127,716 | 5,181 | $117,638 |
| 2024 | 2,991 | $123,413 | 4,686 | $116,555 |
| 2023 | 2,588 | $118,574 | 3,913 | $115,592 |
| 2022 | 2,208 | $119,917 | 4,150 | $116,643 |
| 2021 | 2,105 | $117,209 | 3,285 | $113,172 |
| 2020 | 2,042 | $115,734 | 3,375 | $116,411 |
| 2019 | 1,849 | $118,506 | 3,251 | $112,390 |
| 2018 | 1,761 | $117,257 | 2,484 | $110,567 |
| 2017 | 1,569 | $112,456 | 2,115 | $111,625 |
| 2016 | 1,235 | $111,611 | 1,666 | $110,708 |
| 2015 | 1,651 | $113,197 | 1,885 | $110,367 |
| 2014 | 973 | $111,547 | 1,153 | $111,505 |
| 2013 | 849 | $111,412 | 1,149 | $110,967 |
| 2012 | 819 | $110,902 | 820 | $110,300 |
| 2011 | 751 | $109,574 | 781 | $110,248 |
| 2010 | 868 | $111,061 | 691 | $110,813 |
| 2009 | 335 | $106,695 | 722 | $110,103 |
| 2008 | 310 | $107,771 | 980 | $113,067 |
| 2007 | 259 | $109,318 | 195 | $110,585 |
| 2006 | 140 | $117,456 | 241 | $108,920 |
| 2005 | 115 | $114,629 | 191 | $107,169 |
| 2004 | 134 | $111,780 | 124 | $107,920 |
| 2003 | 101 | $109,573 | 192 | $107,317 |
| 2002 | 64 | $113,342 | 123 | $111,099 |
| 2001 | 38 | $107,206 | 80 | $110,700 |
| 2000 | 6 | $127,863 | 23 | $109,334 |
| 1999 | 11 | $112,654 | 14 | $110,072 |
| 1998 | 8 | $114,821 | — | — |
| 1997 | 9 | $112,301 | 8 | $105,591 |
| 1996 | — | — | 5 | $113,399 |
Related questions
Method. Medians and averages are salary paid; listed payroll is total compensation (salary plus taxable benefits), as filed. Both sides come from the same Ontario Sunshine List, which covers only public-sector employees paid $100,000 or more — so this compares the shape of each employer’s six-figure payroll, not its whole workforce, and an employer with more low-paid staff simply lists fewer of them. A side with fewer than five people keeps its count but shows “<5” instead of a median, average or payroll figure, since any of those would be that handful of people’s own numbers. Sector: Municipalities & Services. Data runs through 2025.