Canada
Latest Average Wage
−0.3% · 5 years
$67,901
Country Comparison
Canada vs Switzerland
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Canada
vs
Switzerland
$67,9012025
Latest Average Wage
Switzerland +35.9%
(vs Canada)
$92,2852025
−0.3%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Switzerland +7.4 pts
(vs Canada)
+7.1%2025
+5.0%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Switzerland +0.8 pts
(vs Canada)
+5.8%2025
862024
Overall Price Level
Switzerland +33.0 index points
(vs Canada)
1192024
Wages are PPP-adjusted average annual wages; price levels use the United States reference of 100. Years shown are each country's latest reported observation.
How Wages Have Changed
Follow PPP-adjusted average annual wages in constant prices across both economies.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
Switzerland
Latest Average Wage
+7.1% · 5 years
$92,285
Wage Milestones
Canada
10 Years Ago
$64,667 (2015)
Historical Peak
$68,434 (2021)
Latest Wage
$67,901 (2025)
Switzerland
10 Years Ago
$87,262 (2015)
Historical Peak
$92,285 (2025)
Latest Wage
$92,285 (2025)
Compare Everyday Price Levels
See how eight consumer price categories compare with the United States reference value of 100.
United States = 100 · Differences shown in index points
Canada (CAN)Switzerland (CHE)
Overall
−33.0 index points
100
86vs119
Food
−29.0 index points
100
108vs137
Clothing
−5.0 index points
100
118vs123
Housing
−35.9 index points
100
83.1vs119
Health
−32.3 index points
100
62.2vs94.5
Transport
−31.0 index points
100
103vs134
Recreation
−44.0 index points
100
92vs136
Restaurants & Accommodation
−42.4 index points
100
97.6vs140
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Switzerland's latest average wage is $92,285 for 2025, about 35.9% higher than Canada's $67,901 for 2025 — computed straight from the two reported values. That is roughly $24,384 a year on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Canada shows the stronger movement at +0.2%, against +0.1% for Switzerland. The five-year horizon reverses the ordering — Canada at −0.3% and Switzerland at +7.1% — so the latest year is not the whole story. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Recreation shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 92 for Canada against 136 for Switzerland. Switzerland sits on the higher side of that 44.0-point spread; Canada reads 44.0 index points lower on the US=100 scale. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Clothing: Canada reads 118 and Switzerland 123 for 2024, just 5.0 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Food at 29.0 index points apart. A gap this small leaves the category effectively tied on the shared US=100 scale.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
A clear separation shows in the latest wage figures — Switzerland at $92,285 for 2025, and Canada at $67,901 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 35.9% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $24,384 a year. Both figures are expressed in USD PPP at constant 2025 prices, so they can be set side by side without any further conversion. For scale, neither series has moved by that much within any single reported year, so the gap is structural rather than the product of one unusual observation. Over ten years Canada recorded +5.0% and Switzerland +5.8%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction.
Wage Direction
No single shared direction describes this pairing; each side follows its own recent path. Canada stands just below its historical high of $68,434 in 2021, only 0.8% away, with a ten-year change of +5.0%. Switzerland sits at the highest point of its series — $92,285 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +5.8%. With the five-year changes at −0.3% for Canada and +7.1% for Switzerland, the horizons are clearer when read side by side rather than folded into one trend statement. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
Canada's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 86, and Switzerland's reads 119, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Switzerland reads higher in 8 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Recreation: 92 for Canada against 136 for Switzerland, a gap of 44.0 index points. At the other end, Clothing brings the two closest — 118 versus 123, a gap of just 5.0 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Canada reads above 100 in 3 of its 8 reported categories, and Switzerland in 7 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
