Is a university degree worth it in Canada? | Blog

All Posts

A group of Canadian graduates, excited for the next stage of their life: earning money. Find out if you need a university degree to be well-off in Canada.

The Get

True or False: I need a university degree to become wealthy

For this week’s Reality Cheque, we’re looking at the money myth that you need university education to become wealthy.

By Robert Gerlsbeck

What do MrBeast, Lucy Guo and Khloé Kardashian have in common?

Yes, they’re all rich and famous. But they share something else: none of them graduated from university. MrBeast and Guo both dropped out of university, while Kardashian never went beyond high school.

Their success is Exhibit A for anyone arguing that higher education isn’t required to make a lot of money.

So, do you really need a university education to have a shot at wealth?

The short answer: For most people, yes.

Before digging deeper into this common belief about post-secondary school, let’s define “wealth.” For this article, we’re not talking Bill Gates-level money. We mean the comfortable upper-middle-class life many Canadians want. That includes a nice house, a new car every few years, winter trips somewhere warm, and enough money left over to save for a prosperous retirement.

Once, a high school diploma could get you close to that life. In the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, big companies hired people right out of high school for entry-level roles. With hard work and luck, some climbed the ladder and even made it to the executive floor. But those days are largely gone. Today, most employers expect a bachelor’s degree.

“It’s really difficult to get a good job now without higher education in a specialized, applied field.” says Roslyn Kunin, a Vancouver economist who specializes in the labour market and human resources.

How much will you earn with just a high school diploma? What about a degree?

A high school diploma alone, adds Kunin, now mostly leads to entry-level service jobs—often in retail—that start at minimum wage. You might move into management, but it likely won’t lead to the kind of six-figure income needed for a cottage and a Porsche.

The numbers back her up.

In 2020, the average income of an Ontario high school graduate aged 33 to 45 was $46,960. Someone with a bachelor’s degree in the same age group earned $80,100, according to a report from the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations.

If both kept the same salaries for the next 25 years, the university graduate would earn about $828,500 more—a massive gap in potential wealth, especially if some of that extra income went into a home, the stock market or other appreciating investments. It also represents a strong return on the cost of education.

The benefits of post-secondary education

Income isn’t the only factor. Those with only a high school diploma are more likely to face unemployment, especially early in their careers. In 2024, 10.3% of Canadians aged 20 to 29 with just a high school diploma didn’t have a job, compared to 6.6% of those with a university education and 5.9% for a college or trade education, according to Statistics Canada.

But here’s the caveat: while the odds of becoming wealthy with only a high school diploma are slim, it’s also false to assume that simply earning a university degree guarantees The Good Life. How well you do depends a lot on what you study, says Kunin. “You need a degree that teaches you how to do something,” she says. Today, that generally means science and technology-based degrees.

Again, the numbers make her case.

The value of a Canadian university education

Data from Course Compare shows how many years it takes graduates to break even on the cost of their education—comparing the time and money they invested in their education to their salaries two years post-graduation and future earnings potential. Graduates with degrees in computer science, nursing and engineering take about four years to break even. But those in liberal-arts programs take a lot longer: more than eight years for a political science degree, over 11 years for English and a staggering 21 years for fine arts.

Overall, Kunin says, the value of a university degree has declined simply because so many Canadians now have one. For university grads, “The scarcity in the market has disappeared.” In 1997, the wage premium for those with a university degree over those without post-secondary education was 63.4%. By 2018, the Bank of Canada reported it had fallen to 52.9%. (Find out how the Bank of Canada’s interest rate announcement affects Canadians.)

The value of a Canadian college education

For Canadian high schoolers uninterested in university, that can mean going to college or learning a trade, both of which often focus more on learning a specific occupation. And both offer the potential for solid salaries.

That’s especially true early in a career: Statistics Canada data shows the average salary for a 25- to 29-year-old with a trade certificate or diploma at $42,499, and for someone with a college diploma at $35,680. By comparison, someone with a university degree at that age is earning $40,498.

But over time, the gap favours the university grad. At age 55 to 59, the average college grad earns $55,088 and the average tradesperson earns $51,874—well behind the average university degree holder, who by then is averaging $94,543.

Should you go to university in Canada?

While MrBeast and company prove you don’t absolutely need a degree to become wealthy, for most people, it remains the most reliable path to getting there. But as Kunin points out, that is increasingly only likely if you’re earning a degree in an in-demand applied field like tech and sciences. It’s about making smart choices for your career and the work-life and life-life you want to live.

Robert Gerlsbeck is a freelance editor and journalist. He is based in Kingston, Ont.