NOC 31121: Dietitians and nutritionists
What dietitians and nutritionists do
Dietitians and nutritionists assess nutrition related issues of individuals and groups and develop, implement and evaluate nutrition care plans to prevent, treat and manage disease. They manage food and nutrition service systems, and plan health promotion programs. They are employed in a variety of settings including hospitals, home health-care agencies and extended care facilities, community health centres, the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries, educational institutions, and government and sports organizations, or they may work as private consultants.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Develop, implement and evaluate nutrition programs and services for individuals, communities and populations
- Manage food service systems in hospitals, long-term care facilities, schools, privately owned-food service outlets or similar settings
- Provide nutrition guidance, label interpretation and consultation services to health professionals, individuals, dietetic interns, community groups, government and the media
- Evaluate nutritional status of individuals and aid in the prevention and/or treatment of inadequate nutrition
- Plan, evaluate and conduct nutrition education programs and develop educational materials for various audiences
- Practice on an individual basis or as a member of an interdisciplinary team to determine nutritional needs of patients and to plan, implement and evaluate normal and therapeutic diets to maintain and enhance general health
- Analyze current scientific nutritional studies, conduct research and evaluate program effectiveness to improve the nutritional value, taste, appearance and preparation of food
- Work within industry in the development, testing and evaluation, and marketing of food and nutrition products or as a company representative supplying product related information to health professionals
- Confer with other health professionals, community groups, government and the media to provide consultation and advice in areas of nutrition interpretation, intervention and policy
- Supervise training of dietetic interns.
- Dietitians and nutritionists may specialize in areas such as administrative dietetics, clinical dietetics, community dietetics, public health nutrition or research dietetics.
Job titles under NOC 31121
30 job titles are classified here, including administrative dietitian, clinical dietitian, community nutritionist.
- administrative dietitian
- administrative nutritionist
- clinical dietitian
- clinical nutritionist
- community dietitian
- community nutritionist
- consultant dietitian
- consultant nutritionist
- dietetic consultant
- dietician
- dietitian
- dietitian-nutritionist
- nutrition and dietetics researcher
- nutrition consultant
- nutrition researcher
- nutrition specialist
- nutritionist
- professional dietitian (P.Dt.)
- professional nutritionist
- public health dietitian
- public health nutritionist
- registered dietitian (RD)
- registered dietitian-nutritionist (RDN)
- registered nutritionist
Employment requirements
- Dietitians require a bachelor's degree in dietetics, nutrition or a related field such as food and nutritional science from a program accredited by the Partnership for Dietetic Education and Practice (PDEP), and a period of supervised practical training.
- Successful completion of the Canadian Dietetic Registration Exam (CDRE) is required in all provinces except Quebec.
- Registration with a regulatory body is required in all provinces for dietitians.
- Membership in the national association, Dietitians of Canada, is voluntary.
- Registration with a regulatory body is required for nutritionists in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Alberta. In the remaining provinces, nutritionists may require the same education and practical training as dietitians.
- Membership with the national association, Dietitians of Canada, and/or a provincial regulatory body is available for nutritionists who have the same education and practical training as dietitians.
Dietitians and nutritionists wages in Canada
Low, median and high hourly wages from Job Bank’s 2025 wage data. Annual figures assume full-time work (1,950 hours a year).
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada | $22.53/hr | $41.63/hr | $50.00/hr |
Toronto ON | $20.00/hr | $42.00/hr | $50.00/hr |
Montréal QC | $29.08/hr | $41.07/hr | $48.25/hr |
Vancouver Lower Mainland region, BC | $32.85/hr | $44.00/hr | $49.00/hr |
Calgary AB | $31.78/hr | $45.09/hr | $54.03/hr |
Edmonton AB | $33.45/hr | $46.56/hr | $55.97/hr |
Ottawa ON | $31.17/hr | $43.39/hr | $52.78/hr |
Winnipeg MB | $30.00/hr | $34.36/hr | $45.00/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $26.75/hr | $40.00/hr | $50.00/hr |
Hamilton Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula region, ON | $31.77/hr | $43.65/hr | $51.71/hr |
Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, ON | $24.62/hr | $42.00/hr | $48.08/hr |
London ON | $29.07/hr | $40.56/hr | $48.41/hr |
Halifax NS | $27.92/hr | $39.46/hr | $49.62/hr |
Victoria Vancouver Island and Coast region, BC | $37.44/hr | $44.00/hr | $50.00/hr |
Saskatoon Saskatoon–Biggar region, SK | $39.00/hr | $41.00/hr | $48.00/hr |
Regina Regina–Moose Mountain region, SK | $34.38/hr | $41.16/hr | $48.03/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Newfoundland and Labrador | $25.00/hr | $40.00/hr | $46.00/hr |
Nova Scotia | $28.89/hr | $41.94/hr | $53.94/hr |
New Brunswick | $20.00/hr | $40.00/hr | $46.00/hr |
Quebec | $26.75/hr | $40.00/hr | $50.00/hr |
Ontario | $20.00/hr | $42.00/hr | $50.00/hr |
Manitoba | $29.50/hr | $34.36/hr | $45.00/hr |
Saskatchewan | $38.75/hr | $42.00/hr | $48.00/hr |
Alberta | $32.22/hr | $46.24/hr | $57.46/hr |
British Columbia | $32.85/hr | $44.00/hr | $50.00/hr |
Using NOC 31121 for your resume or Express Entry profile
- IRCC asks you to make sure the main duties listed for your NOC match what you actually did at your job. If they don’t, look for another unit group whose duties do.
- Describe your own work in your own words. Recruiters and ATS software look for concrete tools, results and scope, not text copied from the NOC.
- Applying from outside Canada? Run your resume through the Canadian resume format checker to catch things Canadian employers don’t expect, like a photo or date of birth.
- Use the job title the employer’s posting uses. The 30 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
- Dietary technician (NOC 32129)
- Director of dietetics (NOC 30010)
- Food service supervisors (NOC 62020)
- Holistic nutritionist (NOC 32209)
- Home economist (NOC 41403)
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for dietitians and nutritionists?
Dietitians and nutritionists are NOC 2021 unit group 31121. Example job titles in this group include administrative dietitian, clinical dietitian, community nutritionist, consultant dietitian.
What TEER is NOC 31121?
NOC 31121 is TEER 1 (University degree). Usually requires a university degree (bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate), or experience from a related TEER 2 occupation. TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do dietitians and nutritionists earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $41.63/hr, about $81,000 a year full-time, with a range of $22.53/hr to $50.00/hr.
Related occupations
Sources: Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wages (2025). Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. OfferJetAI is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Check IRCC’s NOC guidance before you apply.