City of Ottawa vs City of Toronto: who pays more?
In 2025 City of Ottawa listed 5,181 employees with a median of $117,638; City of Toronto listed 13,079 with a median of $128,018 — that is 9% more at the median for City of Toronto, and City of Toronto lists 2.5× as many people.
On the list
- City of Ottawa
- 5,181
- City of Toronto
- 13,079
employees paid $100K+, 2025
Median salary
- City of Ottawa
- $117,638
- City of Toronto
- $128,018
salary paid, 2025
Average salary
- City of Ottawa
- $125,013
- City of Toronto
- $135,219
salary paid, 2025
Listed payroll
- City of Ottawa
- $651.5M
- City of Toronto
- $1.8B
total compensation, 2025
Median salary by year
1996–2025
- City of Ottawa
- City of Toronto
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 Ottawa | City of Toronto | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People | Median | People | Median | |
| 2025 | 5,181 | $117,638 | 13,079 | $128,018 |
| 2024 | 4,686 | $116,555 | 10,256 | $125,118 |
| 2023 | 3,913 | $115,592 | 9,256 | $123,848 |
| 2022 | 4,150 | $116,643 | 8,107 | $122,667 |
| 2021 | 3,285 | $113,172 | 7,345 | $119,193 |
| 2020 | 3,375 | $116,411 | 7,239 | $115,178 |
| 2019 | 3,251 | $112,390 | 6,806 | $113,267 |
| 2018 | 2,484 | $110,567 | 6,188 | $113,493 |
| 2017 | 2,115 | $111,625 | 5,872 | $114,019 |
| 2016 | 1,666 | $110,708 | 4,400 | $113,699 |
| 2015 | 1,885 | $110,367 | 4,382 | $113,021 |
| 2014 | 1,153 | $111,505 | 4,901 | $111,860 |
| 2013 | 1,149 | $110,967 | 4,892 | $111,793 |
| 2012 | 820 | $110,300 | 2,375 | $112,127 |
| 2011 | 781 | $110,248 | 2,189 | $110,973 |
| 2010 | 691 | $110,813 | 2,137 | $111,128 |
| 2009 | 722 | $110,103 | 2,072 | $113,447 |
| 2008 | 980 | $113,067 | 1,552 | $112,478 |
| 2007 | 195 | $110,585 | 1,738 | $110,895 |
| 2006 | 241 | $108,920 | 989 | $108,239 |
| 2005 | 191 | $107,169 | 732 | $109,811 |
| 2004 | 124 | $107,920 | 503 | $111,467 |
| 2003 | 192 | $107,317 | 527 | $114,005 |
| 2002 | 123 | $111,099 | 407 | $114,334 |
| 2001 | 80 | $110,700 | 198 | $112,434 |
| 2000 | 23 | $109,334 | 205 | $114,732 |
| 1999 | 14 | $110,072 | 116 | $107,570 |
| 1998 | — | — | 100 | $108,055 |
| 1997 | 8 | $105,591 | 52 | $110,437 |
| 1996 | 5 | $113,399 | 34 | $107,575 |
Related questions
- Who makes the most at City of Ottawa? →
- Who makes the most at City of Toronto? →
- How many City of Ottawa employees earn over $150,000? →
- How many City of Toronto employees earn over $150,000? →
- City of Ottawa vs City of Toronto – Toronto Transit Commission: who pays more? →
- Who makes the most in Municipalities & Services? →
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.