Canada
Latest Average Wage
−0.3% · 5 years
$67,901
Country Comparison
Canada vs South Korea
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Canada
vs
South Korea
$67,9012025
Latest Average Wage
Canada +10.8%
(vs South Korea)
$61,2592025
−0.3%2025
5-Year Wage Change
South Korea +3.4 pts
(vs Canada)
+3.1%2025
+5.0%2025
10-Year Wage Change
South Korea +13.3 pts
(vs Canada)
+18.3%2025
862024
Overall Price Level
Canada +25.9 index points
(vs South Korea)
60.12024
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
South Korea
Latest Average Wage
+3.1% · 5 years
$61,259
Wage Milestones
Canada
10 Years Ago
$64,667 (2015)
Historical Peak
$68,434 (2021)
Latest Wage
$67,901 (2025)
South Korea
10 Years Ago
$51,769 (2015)
Historical Peak
$61,259 (2025)
Latest Wage
$61,259 (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)South Korea (KOR)
Overall
+25.9 index points
100
86vs60.1
Food
−28.0 index points
100
108vs136
Clothing
+15.0 index points
100
118vs103
Housing
+45.1 index points
100
83.1vs38
Health
+25.2 index points
100
62.2vs37
Transport
+29.2 index points
100
103vs73.8
Recreation
+20.4 index points
100
92vs71.6
Restaurants & Accommodation
+15.2 index points
100
97.6vs82.4
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Canada's latest average wage is $67,901 for 2025, about 10.8% higher than South Korea's $61,259 for 2025 — computed straight from the two reported values. That is roughly $6,641 a year on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, South Korea shows the stronger movement at +0.6%, against +0.2% for Canada. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +3.1% against −0.3%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Housing shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 83.1 for Canada against 38 for South Korea. Canada sits on the higher side of that 45.1-point spread; South Korea reads 45.1 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 South Korea 103 for 2024, just 15.0 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Restaurants & Accommodation at 15.2 index points apart. Two readings this close mean the category sits at nearly the same point of the US=100 scale for both.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Canada's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is $67,901 for 2025, moderately higher than South Korea's $61,259 for 2025. In relative terms the gap is 10.8% — calculated from the two reported values — equivalent to about $6,641 a year on the same purchasing-power basis. 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 South Korea +18.3%, 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%. South Korea sits at the highest point of its series — $61,259 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +18.3%. With the five-year changes at −0.3% for Canada and +3.1% for South Korea, 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 South Korea's reads 60.1, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Canada reads higher in 7 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Housing: 83.1 for Canada against 38 for South Korea, a gap of 45.1 index points. At the other end, Clothing brings the two closest — 118 versus 103, a gap of just 15.0 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Canada reads above 100 in 3 of its 8 reported categories, and South Korea in 2 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
