How to read the list
The occupation counts, not your salary. IRCC lists a NOC code when the median wage of everyone in Canada working in it is at least 1.3 times the average median wage. Your own pay does not change your level.
12 months of Canadian work. Work points need at least 12 months of eligible Canadian work in listed occupations. The bonus goes by the highest level at which you have 12 months, counting months in occupations at that level or above.
Work or job offer, not both. A qualifying job offer in a listed occupation also earns points, with no LMIA needed. When you have both, only the higher one counts.
Your level is fixed when you are invited. If the list changes after IRCC invites you, it keeps the level that applied on the date of your invitation.
| Level | Canadian work, 12 months | Job offer |
|---|---|---|
| 2 times the median wage or more | +70 | 100 |
| 1.5 times the median wage | +40 | 70 |
| 1.3 times the median wage | +20 | 50 |
Find your occupation
Occupations at 2 times the median wage or more
31 occupations. 12 months of Canadian work in one of them adds +70 points; a qualifying job offer is worth 100 points. See what it adds to your score.
| Occupation | NOC |
|---|---|
| Senior government managers and officials | 00011 |
| Senior managers - financial, communications and other business services | 00012 |
| Senior managers - health, education, social and community services and membership organizations | 00013 |
| Financial managers | 10010 |
| Human resources managers | 10011 |
| Purchasing managers | 10012 |
| Insurance, real estate and financial brokerage managers | 10020 |
| Banking, credit and other investment managers | 10021 |
| Engineering managers | 20010 |
| Architecture and science managers | 20011 |
| Computer and information systems managers | 20012 |
| Mining engineers | 21330 |
| Petroleum engineers | 21332 |
| Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine | 31100 |
| Specialists in surgery | 31101 |
| General practitioners and family physicians | 31102 |
| Veterinarians | 31103 |
| Nurse practitioners | 31302 |
| Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals | 31303 |
| Government managers - health and social policy development and program administration | 40010 |
| Government managers - economic analysis, policy development and program administration | 40011 |
| Government managers - education policy development and program administration | 40012 |
| Other managers in public administration | 40019 |
| Commissioned police officers and related occupations in public protection services | 40040 |
| Fire chiefs and senior firefighting officers | 40041 |
| Judges | 41100 |
| Lawyers and Quebec notaries | 41101 |
| University professors and lecturers | 41200 |
| Corporate sales managers | 60010 |
| Managers in natural resources production and fishing | 80010 |
| Utilities managers | 90011 |
No occupation at this level matches.
Occupations at 1.5 times the median wage
89 occupations. 12 months of Canadian work in one of them adds +40 points; a qualifying job offer is worth 70 points. See what it adds to your score.
| Occupation | NOC |
|---|---|
| Senior managers - trade, broadcasting and other services | 00014 |
| Senior managers - construction, transportation, production and utilities | 00015 |
| Other administrative services managers | 10019 |
| Advertising, marketing and public relations managers | 10022 |
| Other business services managers | 10029 |
| Telecommunication carriers managers | 10030 |
| Securities agents, investment dealers and brokers | 11103 |
| Professional occupations in business management consulting | 11201 |
| Physicists and astronomers | 21100 |
| Geoscientists and oceanographers | 21102 |
| Meteorologists and climatologists | 21103 |
| Other professional occupations in physical sciences | 21109 |
| Forestry professionals | 21111 |
| Public and environmental health and safety professionals | 21120 |
| Urban and land use planners | 21202 |
| Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries | 21210 |
| Data scientists | 21211 |
| Cybersecurity specialists | 21220 |
| Business systems specialists | 21221 |
| Information systems specialists | 21222 |
| Database analysts and data administrators | 21223 |
| Computer systems developers and programmers | 21230 |
| Software engineers and designers | 21231 |
| Software developers and programmers | 21232 |
| Civil engineers | 21300 |
| Mechanical engineers | 21301 |
| Electrical and electronics engineers | 21310 |
| Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) | 21311 |
| Chemical engineers | 21320 |
| Industrial and manufacturing engineers | 21321 |
| Metallurgical and materials engineers | 21322 |
| Geological engineers | 21331 |
| Aerospace engineers | 21390 |
| Other professional engineers | 21399 |
| Engineering inspectors and regulatory officers | 22231 |
| Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics | 22312 |
| Managers in health care | 30010 |
| Dentists | 31110 |
| Audiologists and speech-language pathologists | 31112 |
| Pharmacists | 31120 |
| Psychologists | 31200 |
| Physiotherapists | 31202 |
| Occupational therapists | 31203 |
| Nursing coordinators and supervisors | 31300 |
| Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses | 31301 |
| Dental hygienists and dental therapists | 32111 |
| Administrators - post-secondary education and vocational training | 40020 |
| School principals and administrators of elementary and secondary education | 40021 |
| Managers in social, community and correctional services | 40030 |
| Commissioned officers of the Canadian Armed Forces | 40042 |
| College and other vocational instructors | 41210 |
| Secondary school teachers | 41220 |
| Elementary school and kindergarten teachers | 41221 |
| Police investigators and other investigative occupations | 41310 |
| Probation and parole officers | 41311 |
| Educational counsellors | 41320 |
| Economists and economic policy researchers and analysts | 41401 |
| Business development officers and market researchers and analysts | 41402 |
| Health policy researchers, consultants and program officers | 41404 |
| Program officers unique to government | 41407 |
| Police officers (except commissioned) | 42100 |
| Firefighters | 42101 |
| Library, archive, museum and art gallery managers | 50010 |
| Managers - publishing, motion pictures, broadcasting and performing arts | 50011 |
| Librarians | 51100 |
| Construction managers | 70010 |
| Facility operation and maintenance managers | 70012 |
| Managers in transportation | 70020 |
| Postal and courier services managers | 70021 |
| Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations | 72011 |
| Contractors and supervisors, pipefitting trades | 72012 |
| Supervisors, railway transport operations | 72023 |
| Boilermakers | 72103 |
| Power system electricians | 72202 |
| Electrical power line and cable workers | 72203 |
| Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers | 72301 |
| Elevator constructors and mechanics | 72406 |
| Air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors | 72600 |
| Air traffic controllers and related occupations | 72601 |
| Railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators | 72604 |
| Railway and yard locomotive engineers | 73310 |
| Supervisors, mining and quarrying | 82020 |
| Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services | 82021 |
| Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers | 83101 |
| Manufacturing managers | 90010 |
| Supervisors, petroleum, gas and chemical processing and utilities | 92011 |
| Power engineers and power systems operators | 92100 |
| Central control and process operators, mineral and metal processing | 93100 |
| Central control and process operators, petroleum, gas and chemical processing | 93101 |
No occupation at this level matches.
Occupations at 1.3 times the median wage
66 occupations. 12 months of Canadian work in one of them adds +20 points; a qualifying job offer is worth 50 points. See what it adds to your score.
| Occupation | NOC |
|---|---|
| Legislators | 00010 |
| Financial auditors and accountants | 11100 |
| Financial and investment analysts | 11101 |
| Financial advisors | 11102 |
| Other financial officers | 11109 |
| Human resources professionals | 11200 |
| Insurance adjusters and claims examiners | 12201 |
| Assessors, business valuators and appraisers | 12203 |
| Chemists | 21101 |
| Biologists and related scientists | 21110 |
| Agricultural representatives, consultants and specialists | 21112 |
| Architects | 21200 |
| Landscape architects | 21201 |
| Land surveyors | 21203 |
| Web developers and programmers | 21234 |
| Technical occupations in geomatics and meteorology | 22214 |
| Occupational health and safety specialists | 22232 |
| Construction inspectors | 22233 |
| Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians | 22310 |
| Aircraft instrument, electrical and avionics mechanics, technicians and inspectors | 22313 |
| Dietitians and nutritionists | 31121 |
| Paramedical occupations | 32102 |
| Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists | 32103 |
| Medical laboratory technologists | 32120 |
| Medical radiation technologists | 32121 |
| Medical sonographers | 32122 |
| Social workers | 41300 |
| Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers | 41400 |
| Social policy researchers, consultants and program officers | 41403 |
| Education policy researchers, consultants and program officers | 41405 |
| Other professional occupations in social science | 41409 |
| Correctional service officers | 43201 |
| Border services, customs, and immigration officers | 43203 |
| Recreation, sports and fitness program and service directors | 50012 |
| Conservators and curators | 51101 |
| Archivists | 51102 |
| Authors and writers (except technical) | 51111 |
| Technical writers | 51112 |
| Producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations | 51120 |
| Broadcast technicians | 52112 |
| Retail and wholesale trade managers | 60020 |
| Accommodation service managers | 60031 |
| Managers in customer and personal services | 60040 |
| Contractors and supervisors, machining, metal forming, shaping and erecting trades and related occupations | 72010 |
| Contractors and supervisors, carpentry trades | 72013 |
| Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers | 72014 |
| Contractors and supervisors, mechanic trades | 72020 |
| Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews | 72021 |
| Sheet metal workers | 72102 |
| Ironworkers | 72105 |
| Industrial electricians | 72201 |
| Gas fitters | 72302 |
| Bricklayers | 72320 |
| Insulators | 72321 |
| Heavy-duty equipment mechanics | 72401 |
| Railway carmen/women | 72403 |
| Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors | 72404 |
| Crane operators | 72500 |
| Deck officers, water transport | 72602 |
| Engineer officers, water transport | 72603 |
| Railway conductors and brakemen/women | 73311 |
| Supervisors, logging and forestry | 82010 |
| Underground production and development miners | 83100 |
| Fishing masters and officers | 83120 |
| Supervisors, mineral and metal processing | 92010 |
| Pulping, papermaking and coating control operators | 93102 |
No occupation at this level matches.
If your occupation is not on the list
Your Canadian work still earns points for each year, exactly as before, and a job offer outside the list simply earns no points. Being off the list is common and does not lower your score.
Other factors still move your score. French is one of them: strong French can add up to 74 points, and the French bonus needs NCLC 7 or higher in all four skills. See how French adds Express Entry points, or calculate your score with the 3 November 2026 rules.
Source
This page reproduces IRCC's Express Entry high-wage occupations list, with IRCC's own occupation titles. IRCC's page was last modified on 16 October 2026; we checked it on 18 October 2026. IRCC: High-wage occupations and how we assess them
FAQ
Which jobs are high-wage occupations in Express Entry?
The 186 occupations on IRCC's list, identified by NOC code. Each sits at one of three levels: at least 2 times, 1.5 times or 1.3 times the average median wage in Canada.
Is my job high-wage if my salary is high?
Not by itself. IRCC decides by occupation: the median wage of everyone in Canada in your NOC, over the last 3 years of data. A high personal salary in an occupation that is not on the list does not count.
What if my occupation changes level after I am invited?
IRCC keeps the level that applied on the date it invited you, even if your occupation later moves level, leaves the list or joins it.
When does the high-wage occupations list take effect?
On 3 November 2026. The current list uses wage data from 2023 to 2025.
Our free calculator applies the 3 November 2026 rules to your full profile.