Data on income of families and individuals: Subprovincial data from the T1 Family File, 2022
Released: 2024-06-27
According to data from tax filings, families in Canada reported an average total (pre-tax) income of $97,170 in 2022, up 3.1% from 2021, before adjusting for inflation. The annual inflation rate was 6.8% in 2022, so in inflation-adjusted terms, family total income fell by 3.4%.
Average income from government transfers for a family was down 15.1% year over year in 2022, after adjusting for inflation. This decrease was partly attributed to the gradual discontinuation of relief benefit programs related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ending of temporary expansions to employment insurance eligibility and benefits.
Average family market income edged down 1.3% from a year earlier to $83,940 in 2022, after accounting for inflation.
In 2022, over 9 in 10 families (93.2%) received government transfers, up 6.2 percentage points year over year, while the national share of families with market income edged up 0.3 percentage points to 90.3%.
Average family total income was down in every province and territory in 2022. The largest decreases, adjusted for inflation, were in the Northwest Territories (-6.2%), Prince Edward Island (-5.4%) and Ontario (-5.1%).
Average government transfers and benefits were also down in every province and territory in 2022, with Nunavut (-23.6%), British Columbia (-20.4%) and Ontario (-19.4%) reporting the largest year-over-year declines.
As a result, all provinces and territories have returned to pre-pandemic (2019) averages for government transfers, when the national average family government transfer was $12,890 after adjusting for inflation.
Nunavut (+0.9%), Quebec (+0.4%) and Alberta (+0.2%) reported an increase in average inflation-adjusted family market income in 2022, while every other province and territory reported a decrease, led by the Northwest Territories (-4.4%), Prince Edward Island (-3.5%) and Manitoba (-2.9%).
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Note to readers
Data in this release refer to census family units, which consist of census families and persons not in a census family. A census family refers to a married or a common-law couple, with or without children at home, or a one-parent family. Statistics also include data for persons not in a census family.
Data for this release are derived from personal income tax returns filed in spring 2023, and are not adjusted on the basis of Statistics Canada's population estimates.
In this release, income has been adjusted for inflation, as measured by the Canada-level all-items Consumer Price Index, and all dollar amounts are expressed in 2022 dollars, except if stated otherwise.
Market income is defined as total income excluding government transfers. For example, it would include employment income, interest and dividend income, private pension income and other non-governmental income.
Because of the retirement of most benefits related to COVID-19, web tables 11-10-0100-01 and 11-10-0101-01 related to the COVID-19 pandemic have not been updated but are available from infostats@statcan.gc.ca upon request.
Products
The Technical Reference Guide for the Annual Income Estimates for Census Families, Individuals and Seniors, T1 Family File, Final Estimates (72-212-X) presents information about the methodology, concepts and data quality for the data available in this release.
The free tables linked to this release are available for Canada, the provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, and census agglomerations. Versions of these tables are also available as a custom service, upon request, for lower levels of geography. The tables are available for Canada, the provinces and territories, federal electoral districts, economic regions, census divisions, census subdivisions, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census tracts, and postal-based geographies.
The most recent sub-provincial income information for families and individuals for metropolitan areas can also be explored in an interactive format by visiting the ''Income of men and women, sub-provincial regions, T1 Family File: Interactive tool'' and the ''Sources of family income by family type, sub-provincial regions, T1 Family File: Interactive tool.''
The Income, pensions, spending and wealth portal is accessible from the Subjects module of the Statistics Canada website and provides users with access to a wide variety of information related to revenue, pensions, spending and wealth.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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