Average Household Income in Canada by Province (2024)
Median and average household income by province
In 2024, the median before-tax income of Canadian families and people not living with family was $86,000, and the average was $115,000. Counting only families of two or more people, the median was $125,600. Statistics Canada publishes these figures for economic families, meaning people who live together and are related by blood, marriage, common-law union, adoption or fostering, plus individuals who live alone or only with unrelated people. That is the closest published measure to household income: a household can also include roommates or lodgers, and their incomes are not combined with the family's here.
| Province | Median | Average | Median after tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | $96,600 | $125,800 | $85,300 |
| Ontario | $90,200 | $122,400 | $79,500 |
| British Columbia | $85,700 | $115,700 | $75,800 |
| Saskatchewan | $85,600 | $110,100 | $75,500 |
| Manitoba | $81,900 | $103,100 | $72,000 |
| Quebec | $79,000 | $105,000 | $68,800 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $77,300 | $102,800 | $68,000 |
| Prince Edward Island | $75,300 | $95,500 | $65,900 |
| Nova Scotia | $73,500 | $93,800 | $64,200 |
| New Brunswick | $73,000 | $93,300 | $65,100 |
| Canada | $86,000 | $115,000 | $75,500 |
| City | Median | Average | Median after tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary | $104,200 | $136,800 | $88,900 |
| Ottawa-Gatineau | $99,100 | $126,600 | $85,500 |
| Toronto | $94,300 | $134,200 | $82,500 |
| Edmonton | $91,100 | $116,800 | $80,700 |
| Vancouver | $89,900 | $124,600 | $78,900 |
| Winnipeg | $82,100 | $105,900 | $71,800 |
| Montréal | $81,100 | $111,200 | $70,100 |
| Québec City | $79,900 | $103,200 | $68,700 |
Alberta had the highest median of the ten provinces, at $96,600, and New Brunswick the lowest, at $73,000. Among the eight metropolitan areas the survey reports, Calgary had the highest median, at $104,200, and Québec City the lowest, at $79,900. Each city figure covers the whole census metropolitan area, suburbs included, so Toronto here means the Toronto region rather than the City of Toronto alone, and Ottawa-Gatineau spans both sides of the Ontario-Quebec border.
The average sits well above the median in every province and city. A relatively small number of high-income families pull the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical family has, while the average is the better guide to how much income a province's families have in total, spread evenly across all of them.
Household income by family type
Family type moves income more than location does. Across Canada in 2024, couples with children under 18 had a median before-tax income of $157,600, single parents with children under 18 had $73,800, and people not living with family had $45,200. These family-type figures are shown for Canada only: Statistics Canada also publishes them for provinces and cities, but many of the smaller groups carry weaker data-quality grades at that level.
| Family type | Median | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Couples with children under 18 | $157,600 | $183,900 |
| Couples without children | $125,400 | $146,200 |
| Couples aged 65 and over | $89,000 | $115,400 |
| Single parents with children under 18 | $73,800 | $87,300 |
| People not living with family | $45,200 | $57,800 |
| All families of two or more | $125,600 | $153,400 |
Two incomes explain most of the difference. Couples usually combine two earners' incomes, while a single parent or a person living alone relies on one. Age matters as well: couples aged 65 and over had a median of $89,000, below the $125,400 of younger couples without children, because most of their income comes from pensions, the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security and savings rather than from employment.
Before tax and after tax
The tables lead with total income before tax, the way household income is most often quoted. Total income includes employment and self-employment earnings, investment income, private pensions and government transfers such as the Canada Child Benefit, the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security. After-tax income subtracts federal and provincial income tax. Across Canada, the median after-tax income of families and people not living with family was $75,500 in 2024, against $86,000 before tax.
After-tax income is lower everywhere, and the dollar gap between the highest- and lowest-income provinces is smaller after tax than before it, because income tax takes more dollars from higher incomes. Provincial tax rates and credits also differ, which can shift the after-tax order of provinces with similar incomes.
Why family income is higher than individual income
The province pages on this site show income for individuals: the national median for people aged 15 and over with income was $41,200 in 2020, from the 2021 Census. Family income is higher for three reasons. A family often has two or more earners whose incomes are added together. These figures are for 2024, four years later, and incomes rose over that period. And they come from a different source, the Canadian Income Survey, which measures income somewhat differently from the Census.
Setting one person's income against a household median therefore makes that person look further behind than they are. The fairer comparison sets one earner's income against the individual figures on the province pages, and a couple's combined income against the family figures here.
How reliable these figures are
The Canadian Income Survey is a sample survey, so every figure here is an estimate with a margin of error. Statistics Canada grades each estimate from A, excellent, to E, use with caution, according to how precise it is. Every Canadian Income Survey figure on this page is graded A or B: the national and provincial figures are almost all A, and the city figures, which rest on smaller samples, are A or B. A figure graded C or lower would carry a † mark and a note under its table.
Family-type figures are left out for provinces and cities for the same reason. Smaller groups, such as single parents in one city, rest on fewer survey responses, and several of those estimates are graded D or E. The Canada-wide family-type figures shown above are all graded A.
Related
This page is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not financial, tax, or investment advice. Figures are estimates derived from public Statistics Canada data and may not reflect your circumstances. Contains information licensed under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this is not an endorsement by Statistics Canada.