High-Wage Occupations for Express Entry (NOC Lookup)

IRCC compares each occupation’s median wage across all workers in Canada with the average median wage of the Canadian workforce, using Job Bank, Labour Force Survey and census data for 2023-2025. An occupation lands in the highest tier it reached in any of those three years: at least 2× (31 occupations), at least 1.5× (89) or at least 1.3× (66).

If you are invited and the list changes afterwards, the tier on the day of your invitation still applies.

The extra work points sit on top of your work-length points (up to 80 single, 70 with a spouse). IRCC then compares that work path with your job-offer points and keeps the higher one, up to 150 (140 with a spouse). Try your own numbers in the CRS calculator or the before/after check.

• At least 12 months, or 1,560 hours, of qualifying Canadian work in listed occupations — the same rules as any Canadian work experience (paid, in Canada, TEER 0–3, in the last 10 years, not self-employed, not during full-time study).
• The months don’t have to be continuous, and can be full-time or equivalent part-time, across more than one job.
• If you held jobs at the same time, only up to 30 hours a week count.
• The higher tier is checked first: 12 months in 2× occupations earns +70; otherwise months in 1.5× occupations are combined for +40; otherwise months in 1.3× occupations for +20. We count months in a higher tier towards a lower one — our reading of IRCC’s “at least 1.5 times” wording.

• Use the NOC 2021 code. The list uses five-digit NOC 2021 codes; older four-digit NOC 2016 codes don’t match.
• Your duties decide the code, not your job title. “Software developer” at one employer may be classified as 21231 (software engineers and designers) or 21232 (software developers and programmers) — both on the 1.5× tier — depending on what you actually do.
• Similar-sounding occupations can sit in different tiers — or off the list entirely. Web developers and programmers (21234) are on the 1.3× tier.
• Check the code you used on your work permit, LMIA or reference letters, and make sure your duties match the NOC description.

Download the CSV — NOC code, title, tier, job-offer points and experience points for all 186 occupations, transcribed from IRCC’s page on Oct 18, 2026. Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).