Six-figure public-sector salaries are no longer rare. Hundreds of thousands of Ontario workers — not just executives — now appear on the Sunshine List at $100,000 or more. The data shows exactly which paths get you there.
The sectors that pay
Health care and education dominate the list by headcount, but pay concentrates in a few areas: hospital and Crown-corporation leadership, senior medicine, university faculty, and experienced police and fire roles. Browse the sectors to see average pay and headcount for each.
Roles that reliably cross $100K
- Registered nurses with overtime and seniority — see the nursing pay data.
- Senior teachers and principals at the top of the grid.
- Police constables and firefighters with years of service and overtime.
- Engineers, IT specialists, and managers in Crown corporations like OPG.
- University faculty and physicians in academic health centres.
The fastest route isn't always a promotion — overtime-eligible front-line roles (nursing, policing, paramedicine) push many workers over $100K through hours, not title.
Use the data to plan
Pick a target role, open its position page to see the salary range and which employers pay most, then run the numbers through the take-home calculator to see what $100K+ actually means after tax. Want to know if you're already there? The salary calculator shows your percentile against the list.