Median after-tax income, adjusted for inflation, for families with two or more people rose 3.7% from 2006 to $61,800 in 2007. Significant growth was observed in seven provinces. Median after-tax income for unattached individuals rose 3.9 %from 2006 to $24,200 in 2007.
Since 2002, the year following the high-tech slowdown, the average annual growth of the median after-tax income for families was 1.8%. Over the same period, the average annual growth for unattached individuals was 1.4%.
Market income, that is, the sum of earnings from employment, investment income and private retirement income, was the main contributor to the increase in after-tax income. Median market income for families rose 3.0% from 2006 to $62,700 in 2007, while it increased 6.7% for unattached individuals to $20,600.
In 2007, Canadian families and unattached individuals saw little change in their median government transfers compared with 2006. Median government transfers among families amounted to $4,900. For unattached individuals, the median transfers were $700.
On the other hand, median income taxes paid by families amounted to $8,600 in 2007, down 6.5% from 2006. Median taxes were stable for unattached individuals at $2,200.
Canadians paid $16.70 in income taxes for each $100 of total income in 2007, down from $17.10 in 2006, as a result of the introduction of several changes to the tax system effective 2007. At the same time, growing market incomes meant that more tax filers found themselves in higher tax brackets.
In 2007, 3 million Canadians lived in a low-income situation, down by 400,000 from 2006. This represents 9.2% of the population, the lowest low-income rate since the current series began in 1976.
About 637,000 children aged 17 and under lived in low-income families in 2007, down more than 100,000 from 2006. The proportion of children in low-income families was 9.5% in 2007, about half its peak of 18% in 1996.
Children in female lone-parent families experienced among the largest declines in low-income rates in 2007. Their rate fell from 32% in 2006 to 27% in 2007, continuing a downward trend since the late 1990s.
In 2007, the 20% of families with the highest after-tax income had, on average, 5.4 times the after-tax income as those in the lowest 20%. This ratio was 5.6 in 2000.
Note: This release is based on the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics conducted in all the provinces and surveyed approximately 30,000 families. It examines the income of unattached individuals and families along with information related to low income.
Statistics Canada's low-income rate measures the percentage of persons below the low-income cutoff (LICO). The LICO is the after-tax income below which most Canadians spend at least 20 percentage points more than the average on food, shelter and clothing.
Starting with this release, Statistics Canada is providing analyses of income inequality based upon adult equivalent adjusted family after-tax income for unattached individuals and persons in families combined. This adjustment takes into account the economies of scale present in larger households, the growth of people living on their own and the fact that family size is on a long-term decline.
Available on CANSIM: tables 202-0101 to 202-0107, 202-0201 to 202-0203, 202-0301, 202-0401 to 202-0411, 202-0501, 202-0601 to 202-0605, 202-0701 to 202-0706 and 202-0801 to 202-0807.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 3502 and 3889.
For more information, or to enquire about concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-888-297-7355; 613-951-7355; income@statcan.gc.ca), Income Statistics Division.
A more detailed report, Income in Canada, 2007 (75-202-X, free), is available today. This report contains analysis and 15 tables at the Canada and province level. Also available today, the 2007 Income Trends in Canada (13F0022X, free) provides 40 tables at the Canada and province level, as well as some data at the census metropolitan area level.
Table 1
| Family Type | Market income | Government transfers | Income taxes | After-tax income | Market income | Government transfers | Income taxes | After-tax income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic families, two persons or more | 60,900 | 4,600 | 9,200 | 59,600 | 62,700 | 4,900 | 8,600 | 61,800 |
| Senior families | 23,800 | 23,100 | 2,900 | 43,400 | 25,300 | 23,300 | 2,800 | 44,900 |
| Non-senior couples without children | 66,900 | 700 | 10,700 | 59,200 | 67,900 | 300 | 10,400 | 61,000 |
| Two-parent families with children | 76,500 | 3,400 | 12,200 | 69,400 | 78,900 | 3,400 | 11,900 | 73,000 |
| Female lone-parent families | 23,600 | 7,600 | 700 | 32,400 | 24,400 | 7,800 | 0 | 34,600 |
| Unattached individuals | 19,300 | 600 | 2,200 | 23,300 | 20,600 | 700 | 2,200 | 24,200 |
Table 2
| Market income | Government transfers | Income taxes | After-tax income | Family after-tax low-income rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| median (2007 constant dollars) | % | ||||
| Canada | 62,700 | 4,900 | 8,600 | 61,800 | 5.8 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 43,800 | 11,500 | 6,300 | 50,900 | 3.9 |
| Prince Edward Island | 45,500 | 9,000 | 6,800 | 52,600 | 3.3 |
| Nova Scotia | 53,800 | 5,800 | 7,600 | 54,200 | 4.9 |
| New Brunswick | 47,000 | 7,800 | 6,000 | 50,600 | 6.4 |
| Quebec | 51,900 | 7,200 | 7,500 | 54,500 | 6.3 |
| Ontario | 67,500 | 4,500 | 9,500 | 65,900 | 5.9 |
| Manitoba | 59,300 | 4,500 | 8,100 | 58,300 | 6.6 |
| Saskatchewan | 63,200 | 3,400 | 8,700 | 59,900 | 4.6 |
| Alberta | 81,400 | 1,700 | 11,800 | 75,300 | 3.7 |
| British Columbia | 63,500 | 3,700 | 7,500 | 63,300 | 6.7 |