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Household income

Domain

Prosperity

Subdomain

Income and growth

Indicator

Household income

Note: This indicator is a headline indicator. Headline indicators are intended to provide a high-level assessment of overall quality of life in Canada.

Household income data snapshot
Description - Household income data snapshot

$70,500 the median after-tax income, for economic families and persons not in an economic family.*

Household income
  2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Median after-tax income $68,300 $68,500 $68,800 $73,700 $73,000 $70,500

*All figures in 2022 constant dollars.

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Income Survey, 2017-2022.

Definition

  • Median after-tax income among economic families and persons not in an economic family, unadjusted.
  • Median after-tax income among economic families and persons not in an economic family, adjusted for family size.

Measurement

This indicator is measured in the Canadian Income Survey (CIS) and in the Census of Population. Each of these sources measures this indicator using a combination of survey responses and administrative data.

After-tax income is the total of market income and government transfers, less income tax. Market income consists of employment income and private pensions, as well as income from investments and other market sources. Government transfers include benefits such as Old Age Security, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, social assistance, the goods and services tax or harmonized sales tax credit, provincial tax credits, and child benefits.

An economic family refers to a group of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling and are related to each other by blood, marriage, common-law union, adoption or a foster relationship.

The median is the level of income at which half the population had higher income and half had lower.

Estimates are reported in constant dollars to factor in inflation and enable comparisons across time in real terms.

This indicator includes two measures of median after-tax income among economic families and persons not in economic families: unadjusted (not adjusted for family size), and adjusted for family size. Adjusting for family size allows users to compare the income of families of different sizes. The adjustment is made by dividing the family income by the square root of the family size and assigning this value to all persons in the family. This adjustment distributes income among the members of the family, and takes into account the economies of scale present in larger families, the increasing number of individuals living on their own and the decline in family size over time.

Data sources

This indicator is measured through more than one Statistics Canada survey. Estimates can vary between data sources due to differences in reference periods, targeted or sampled populations, data collection and other methodology.

Data visualizations

Data analysis

Additional information

For additional information on income from the Census of Population, please refer to:

Frameworks

This indicator aligns with the following frameworks:

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