Mexico
Latest Average Wage
+8.9% · 5 years
$24,463
Country Comparison
Mexico vs Canada
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Mexico
vs
Canada
$24,4632025
Latest Average Wage
Canada +177.6%
(vs Mexico)
$67,9012025
+8.9%2025
5-Year Wage Change
Mexico +9.2 pts
(vs Canada)
−0.3%2025
+9.7%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Mexico +4.7 pts
(vs Canada)
+5.0%2025
50.92024
Overall Price Level
Canada +35.1 index points
(vs Mexico)
862024
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
Canada
Latest Average Wage
−0.3% · 5 years
$67,901
Wage Milestones
Mexico
10 Years Ago
$22,304 (2015)
Historical Peak
$27,014 (1994)
Latest Wage
$24,463 (2025)
Canada
10 Years Ago
$64,667 (2015)
Historical Peak
$68,434 (2021)
Latest Wage
$67,901 (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
Mexico (MEX)Canada (CAN)
Overall
−35.1 index points
100
50.9vs86
Food
−19.7 index points
100
88.3vs108
Clothing
−46.0 index points
100
72vs118
Housing
−40.4 index points
100
42.7vs83.1
Health
−16.2 index points
100
46vs62.2
Transport
−22.4 index points
100
80.6vs103
Recreation
−28.7 index points
100
63.3vs92
Restaurants & Accommodation
−32.5 index points
100
65.1vs97.6
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Canada's latest average wage is $67,901 for 2025, about 177.6% higher than Mexico's $24,463 for 2025 — a percentage worked out directly from the two reported figures. In annual terms the gap comes to about $43,437 on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Mexico shows the stronger movement at +1.3%, against +0.2% for Canada. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +8.9% against −0.3%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Clothing shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 72 for Mexico against 118 for Canada. That is a separation of 46.0 index points on the US=100 scale, with Canada on the higher side and Mexico on the lower one. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Health: Mexico reads 46 and Canada 62.2 for 2024, just 16.2 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Food at 19.7 index points apart. Closeness here describes the index readings only, not the baskets behind them.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Few pairings separate this cleanly — Canada's latest average wage of $67,901 for 2025 stands well above Mexico's $24,463 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 177.6% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $43,437 a year. Because both values already sit on the same USD PPP, constant-2025-price footing, the comparison adjusts for price-level differences between the two economies. 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 Mexico recorded +9.7% and Canada +5.0%, 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. Mexico is partway through a recovery: the latest year added +1.3%, though the level remains 9.4% below its peak. Canada stands just below its historical high of $68,434 in 2021, only 0.8% away, with a ten-year change of +5.0%. With the five-year changes at +8.9% for Mexico and −0.3% for Canada, 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
Mexico's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 50.9, and Canada's reads 86, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Canada reads higher in 8 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Clothing: 72 for Mexico against 118 for Canada, a gap of 46.0 index points. At the other end, Health brings the two closest — 46 versus 62.2, a gap of just 16.2 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Mexico reads above 100 in 0 of its 8 reported categories, and Canada in 3 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
