Household wealth

Net worth of economic families and persons not in economic families.

Often reported as:
Median net worth among economic families and persons not in an economic family.

This indicator is measured in the Survey of Financial Security (SFS).

The net worth of an economic family or person not in an economic family is the value of all the assets (non-financial and financial) owned by this family unit less the value of its outstanding liabilities.

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. A person not in an economic family is a person living either alone or with others to whom they are unrelated.

Net worth is derived based on responses to a number of questions on the value of all major financial and non-financial assets and on the money owing on mortgages, vehicles, credit cards, student loans and other debts. The following SFS questionnaire blocks are used:

• Previous employer pension plans
• Pension plan benefits – in pay
• Principal residence
• Sub-block Other real estate/property
• Other real estate/property
• Cars and other vehicles
  • Sub-block Cars
  • Sub-block other vehicles
• Financial assets
• Other assets
• Student loans
• Debts
• Businesses – Incorporated and unincorporated

• Survey of Financial Security (SFS)
  • Table 11-10-0016-01 – Assets and debts held by economic family type, by age group, Canada, provinces and selected metropolitan areas. Survey of Financial Security (x1,000,000)

• Financial vulnerability of Canadians with the lowest incomes (Statistics Canada – Infographics, February 8, 2023)
• Assets, debts and net worth of Canadian families, 2019 (Statistics Canada – Infographics, December 22, 2020)
• Wealth and debt: How are millennials doing? (Statistics Canada – Infographics, April 18, 2019)

• Distributions of household economic accounts for income, consumption, saving and wealth of Canadian households, third quarter 2024 (The Daily, January 30, 2025)
• National balance sheet and financial flow accounts, third quarter 2024 (The Daily, December 12, 2024)
• The Wealth of Unattached Men and Women Aged 50 and Older, 1999 to 2016 (Analytical Studies Brand Research Paper Series, May 4, 2021)
• Survey of Financial Security, 2019 (The Daily, December 22, 2020)
• Economic Well-being Across Generations of Young Canadians: Are Millennials Better or Worse Off? (Economic Insights, April 18, 2019)
• The Wealth of Immigrant Families in Canada (Analytical Studies Brand Research Paper Series, April 16, 2019)
• Debt and assets among senior Canadian families (Insights on Canadian Society, April 3, 2019)
• Indebtedness and Wealth Among Canadian Households (Economic Insights, March 26, 2019)
• The Economic Well-Being of Women in Canada (Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report, May 16, 2018)

Household wealth is also measured on a quarterly basis within the Financial Flow Accounts, National Balance Sheet Accounts and the Distributions of Household Economic Accounts. These accounts measure wealth according to economic principles and accounting conventions as described in the System of National Accounts guide. In this context, a household is defined as a group of persons who share the same living accommodation, who pool some, or all, of their income and wealth and who consume certain types of goods and services collectively.