Total income for Canadians rose in 2004
By CO Staff @canadaone | May 23, 2006
For the first time in three years the median* total income for individuals increased as they rose 1.5% to $24,400 over the 2003 values. Among census metropolitan areas, the largest increase in median total income was in Greater Sudbury/Grand Sudbury (+2.8%) followed by Edmonton (+2.2%), Québec (+2.0%) and Calgary (+2.0%).
Meanwhile median employment income, in which only people with employment income are included, rose by 0.5% to $25,400.
Amongst the provinces and territories the Northwest Territories maintained the highest median employment income in the country at $35,400, up 3.7% from 2003. This was the largest gain among all provinces and territories.
The Yukon had the next highest median employment income of $28,300 (+1.4%) followed by Ontario at $27,900 (-0.1%) and Alberta at $27,500 (+2.2%). While Newfoundland and Labrador had the lowest at $17,000 their median employment income rose 3.0% in 2004, second only to the Northwest Territories.
Median employment income increased in 19 of 27 census metropolitan areas. The largest increases occured in Saguenay (+2.6%), Edmonton (+2.4%) and Greater Sudbury/Grand Sudbury (+2.3%) while the biggest declines were in Windsor, Thunder Bay and Victoria where median employment income was down by about 1.8%.
Table: Median total income and median employment income by census metropolitan area 2004
| Median total income: $ | Median total income: % change 2003 to 2004 | Median employment income: $ | |
| Canada | 24,400 | 1.5 | 25,400 |
| Abbotsford | 22,400 | 1.8 | 23,200 |
| Calgary | 29,200 | 2.0 | 30,000 |
| Edmonton | 27,700 | 2.2 | 29,000 |
| Greater Sudbury/Grand Sudbury | 26,400 | 2.8 | 24,700 |
| Halifax | 26,300 | 0.8 | 26,700 |
| Hamilton | 27,900 | 1.0 | 29,700 |
| Kingston | 27,700 | 1.1 | 26,300 |
| Kitchener | 28,900 | 1.3 | 30,400 |
| London | 27,100 | 1.9 | 27,800 |
| Montréal | 23,800 | 1.1 | 25,800 |
| Oshawa | 31,900 | 1.0 | 33,400 |
| Ottawa-Gatineau | 31,600 | 1.0 | 33,200 |
| Québec | 26,400 | 2.0 | 27,400 |
| Regina | 27,900 | 1.4 | 28,500 |
| Saguenay | 22,400 | 1.8 | 23,100 |
| Saint John | 23,200 | 1.7 | 24,100 |
| Saskatoon | 25,200 | 1.8 | 25,000 |
| Sherbrooke | 22,900 | 0.7 | 24,000 |
| St. Catharines-Niagara | 25,000 | 0.9 | 23,400 |
| St. John's | 23,200 | 1.2 | 25,100 |
| Thunder Bay | 27,100 | 0.8 | 27,000 |
| Toronto | 25,500 | 0.1 | 29,000 |
| Trois-Rivières | 21,200 | 1.5 | 22,800 |
| Vancouver | 23,100 | 0.7 | 25,800 |
| Victoria | 27,900 | 1.0 | 26,000 |
| Windsor | 28,200 | -0.7 | 29,400 |
| Winnipeg | 25,400 | 1.3 | 25,900 |
As it has in the past, employment income represents 75% of the total income. Employment income includes:
- wages and salaries,
- commissions from employment,
- training allowances,
- tips and gratuities, and
- self-employment income.
Government transfers represented the second largest source of income, accounting for 12% of total income at the national level. The main components of transfers were Old Age Security and Canada/Quebec Pension Plan benefits.
The relative reliance of individuals on government transfers compared to employment income is referred to as the economic dependency ratio. It measures the amount of transfer payments received for every $100 of employment income.
At the national level, taxfilers received $15.68 in government transfers for every $100 of employment income in 2004, down from $15.97 in 2003.
Among census metropolitan areas, people in Calgary relied least on transfer payments again, receiving only $7.46 for every $100 in employment income. Those in Trois-Rivières received the most ($23.98).
* The median is the point where one half of incomes are higher and the other half are lower.
Source: Statistics Canada
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