Cheap? These Canadian cities? The cost of living is insane and tech hiring competition is already intense. It’s not going to be cheap to hire anyone there.
Software engineer salaries are significantly lower than in the US.
> The median Canadian “Software Engineer” salary is CA$72,000. The median US salary is US$91,000.... The cost of living in Vancouver is about 4.8% higher than Austin. While the median Software Engineer salary in Austin is 40% higher than Vancouver when accounting for the exchange rate.
As an aside, I passionately hate that graph. It implies that Canadian tech salaries are abnormally low. I wish it was either showing just the US, or included more countries than just US and Canada. Had they included London, Sydney, Berlin, Amsterdam, etc. in the graph, it would have showed that Canadian salaries are in line with and towards the higher end of world salaries except US, and that US salaries are a huge outlier in the world stage.
I'm a Canadian working for a US FAANMG company, and I've been based out of both their Canadian and European offices.
I make way more in Vancouver than my peers in ANY European office (which include Zurich, London, Berlin)
And those places are more expensive than Vancouver (not counting buying real estate which is not relevant to me as a renter)
But of course I'm keenly aware that I'd make 30% more in Seattle, and 50% more in Silicon Valley.
Does it bother me? Not really. I've been to those places and I would take the lifestyle quality of both Vancouver and Canada over any part of the US. Plus these days, I don't see a way of living in the US, and not feeling complicit in all the evils of the country. Not without radical participation in trying to destroy the system from within.
And despite what people say about the similarity in work culture, it's more reasonable in Canada from sick leave to vacation, to day-to-day expectations of work-life balance.
Sure you could add other cities, but the result of the graph is the same for Canadians. We are getting absolutely hosed on salary considering that nearly everything (minus housing) in Canada is pegged to the US dollar. It makes it really hard to attract talent when someone looking for a job could move 4 hours south and make 50-100% more money to have more purchasing power. Other countries being similar to our level doesn't change this fact, they are also being screwed over in purchasing power, but they at least have some insulation from being directly dependent on the US.
> nearly everything (minus housing) in Canada is pegged to the US dollar
This is another persistent myth I wish would die. For example, between 1998 and 2018 (a recent 20 year period for which data is readily available), USD/CAD exchange rate has been as favourable as 0.989 CAD per USD and as unfavourable as 1.570 CAD per USD [1], approximately a 59% difference between the highest and the lowest.
During the same period, purchasing power parity has only fluctuated between 1.185 and 1.248 CAD per USD [2], only a 5% difference between the highest and the lowest.
Contrary to the popular online belief, Canadian currency is not a proxy that is only good for exchanging for USD to buy good and services. It is an independent and strong currency on its own.
And that’s including our healthcare and other social services. That ~$2000 CAD goes a long, long way and I’d rather have it doing what it’s doing than gain it for what I’d lose.
And the marginal rate is not what you end up paying.
I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. In my example the $2000 CAD paid in Canada to taxes at the same income in Ontario versus California goes to fund one of the worlds highest ranked public education and healthcare systems. I’d call that a meaningful impact.
Healthcare is paid by the province. Take 42% of the province taxes only. Maybe $190. Most of the tax paid is federal. That means more of the $2000 goes to the military.
Still think it's a good idea? A lot of health related causes could use the remaining 2000.
And my 2000 figure is the difference you pay when making an extra 10,000 at the 100,000 level.
Marginal tax gets above 50% pretty quickly. For example Ontario takes a bit about 200k a year to get >50%. For average tax rate yes you’ll need a lot more. 800k a year gets you pretty close at 49.1%. Sounds like a lot but that’s “only” 600k usd at today’s exchange rate. High but in the ball park of a staff level engineer at Facebook or google.
I mean, you are technically correct. If you earn more than approximately 800k in Quebec, you would pay about 50% of your income in taxes. But how many people earn remotely that much? Is this really a concern for us mere mortals?
Average tax of 50% is pretty hard to hit you are right but I was more pointing at marginal tax rate which is what most people refer to when they say Canadian income tax are high. Just check the CRA tax brackets and add in the Revenu Quebec tax bracket for instance.
Fact of the matter is good talent can choose between Canada and the US, and it's pretty easy for a Canadian engineer (especially early in their career) to move to the US to work. The US is close to Canada geographically and culturally so of course it's going to be the logical alternative. Especially when the pay is so much better. Of course no one from Vancouver or Toronto will move to Sydney or Berlin for best-in-class career prospects. You go to the USA for that, so long as you're willing to stomach the environment.
That’s just less than astronomically expensive not cheap. If they were after cheap they’d go to Berlin or London - that’s cheaper than Canadian cities for cost of labour.
Each company faces different constraints, and in particular there can be downsides going to Europe that don't exist for Canada, e.g., language, timezone, regulations, travel costs, culture.) A sandwich in Ohio is reasonably called "cheap" when I've been living in NYC, and I don't feel the need to say "but it would be really cheap in rural India".
Yes cost of living is insane but market rate salaries for top tier software developers in cities like Vancouver or Toronto is 40-50% cheaper than Silicon Valley.
