This tool searches all 516 unit groups of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 and marks the 186 that IRCC lists as high-wage occupations. The list and the points come from IRCC's pages "High-wage occupations and how we assess them" and "2026 changes to points for Canadian work experience and job offers", opened on October 19, 2026.
| NOC | Occupation | High-wage level | Experience bonus* | Job-offer points* |
|---|
* The experience bonus is added to the work-length points when you have at least 12 months of qualifying Canadian work experience in high-wage occupations. Do not add the two columns together: IRCC counts the higher of the experience route and the job-offer route.
What a high-wage occupation is
Under Express Entry, an occupation is high-wage if the median wage of everyone in Canada working in that NOC is at least 1.3 times the average median wage of the overall Canadian workforce. The level belongs to the occupation, not to you: your own salary does not decide or change it. IRCC groups the occupations into three levels: 2× (31 occupations), 1.5× (89) and 1.3× (66), 186 in total, using Job Bank, Labour Force Survey and Census data for 2023 to 2025.
What each level is worth
From November 3, 2026, the Labour Market Integration factor gives points for either Canadian work experience or a qualifying job offer, whichever is higher; they do not add together. The maximum is 150 points.
| Level | Canadian work experience: high-wage points added to the work-length points (needs at least 12 months, 1,560 hours, in high-wage occupations) | Qualifying job offer |
|---|---|---|
| 2× | 70 | 100 |
| 1.5× | 40 | 70 |
| 1.3× | 20 | 50 |
| Not high-wage | 0 (work-length points still apply) | 0 |
For the experience route, the 12 months can be continuous or not, full-time or an equal amount of part-time, and combined across more than one high-wage job; if you held two jobs at the same time, hours count only up to 30 per week. The level is the highest level in which you have at least 12 months combined (for example, 12 months in 1.5× and 2× occupations together count at the 1.5× level). From November 3, 2026, a job offer no longer needs an LMIA to count, and an LMIA no longer adds points.
How to use the result
- Confirm the NOC by duties, not the titleYour work must match the lead statement and most of the main duties of the unit group on noc.esdc.gc.ca (NOC 2021 Version 1.0). Our NOC finder explains how.
- Check that the experience or offer qualifiesOnly qualifying Canadian work experience and a valid Express Entry job offer count. Self-employment, unauthorized work and most study-period work do not.
- Put the level into the CRS calculatorThe CRS calculator has a "from November 3, 2026" mode that applies these points.
If the list changes
IRCC will update the list over time. If an occupation is added, removed or moves to another level after you receive an invitation to apply, IRCC keeps using the level that applied on the date you were invited. This list is used only for CRS points; it is separate from category-based selection lists and from LMIA wage rules (where "high-wage" means an offered wage at or above the provincial median plus 20%).