Survey of Household Spending, 2023

Released: 2025-05-21

Canadian households spent an average of $76,750 on goods and services in 2023, up 14.3% from 2021. Amid the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the largest two-year increase observed since the series began in 2010. The rise in household spending was partly attributed to consumer inflation, as the Consumer Price Index increased by 10.9% from 2021 to 2023.

Shelter accounted for 32.1% of total consumption of goods and services in 2023, followed by transportation (15.8%) and food (15.7%), which remained the three largest spending categories.

Household spending on food purchased from restaurants, recreation, and accommodation away from home rebounded and exceeded pre-pandemic levels

In 2023, Canadian households spent an average of $12,046 on food, an increase of 16.9% from 2021. Average spending on food purchased from stores was $8,659, up 7.4% from 2021. Following a 21.1% decline from 2019 to 2021, average spending on food purchased from restaurants rose to $3,351 in 2023 as pandemic restrictions eased.

Households spent an average of $5,231 on recreation in 2023, up 23.9% from 2021, following an 8.7% decrease from 2019 to 2021. The increase in 2023 was primarily driven by a rebound in spending on recreational services (+120.7%), such as movie theatres, live sporting and performing arts events, and package trips, which aligned with record high operating revenue in the spectator sports, event promoters, artists and related industries sector in 2023.

Following a 44.9% decrease from 2019 to 2021, average spending on accommodation away from home, such as hotels and motels, increased to $910 in 2023, rising by 129.2% from 2021 and surpassing the pre-pandemic level of 2019.

Homeowners spent more on mortgage payments and condo fees in 2023

In 2023, homeowners spent an average of $27,831 on shelter, up 17.4% from 2021. Homeowners without mortgages spent an average of $13,750 (+7.5%) on shelter, while those with mortgages spent an average of $38,718 (+16.9%). Mortgage payments ($21,342) accounted for more than half of this total and increased by 15.3% from 2021, reflecting in part the impacts of rising interest rates from 2022 to 2023. On average, homeowners with mortgages—who made up more than half of homeowners—spent 37.2% of their total consumption on shelter, the highest proportion recorded since 2010. For homeowners, average spending on condo fees was $1,118 in 2023, up 52.9% from 2021, the largest two-year increase rate observed since 2010.

Renters spent an average of $18,333 on shelter in 2023, up 20.2% from 2021. Of this total, $15,272 went to rent, up 16.9% from 2021. On average, rent payments accounted for approximately one-quarter of renters' total consumption, a proportion that has remained relatively stable since 2010.

Household spending on transportation and clothing and accessories increased but remained below pre-pandemic levels

Average spending on transportation was $12,090 in 2023, up 19.7% from 2021, following a 20.7% decline from 2019 to 2021. However, it remained below the pre-pandemic level of 2019. The rise in spending on transportation was largely driven by a significant increase in expenditures on public transportation (+200.8%). In 2023, average spending on public transportation rose to $1,799 and surpassed the pre-pandemic 2019 level. Of this total, $1,158 went to air travel, which increased by 403.5% from 2021, following a 73.6% decline from 2019 to 2021. The rise in air travel expenditures corresponded with a sharp rise in airplane passenger volume from 2021 to 2023.

In 2023, households spent an average of $2,739 on clothing and accessories, up 18.9% from 2021. Despite this rise, average spending on clothing and accessories remained below the pre-pandemic level of 2019.

Household spending on personal care and health care rose substantially after the pandemic

Average spending on personal care reached $1,860 in 2023, up 30.1% from 2021. This increase was largely driven by higher spending on makeup, skin care, manicure and fragrance products (+66.2%), as well as personal care services (+40.3%), such as hair grooming services.

Average spending on health care rose by 11.2% from 2021 to $3,087 in 2023, mainly driven by higher expenditures for non-prescribed medicines, pharmaceutical products, health care supplies and equipment (+29.6%), eye-care goods and services (+13.5%), and dental services (+10.4%).

Chart 1 
Average spending on selected major expenditure categories, Canada, 2019 to 2023

All income groups saw a rise in spending, with distinct patterns by household income level

Distributing the population into five equal income groups, or quintiles, allows for a comparison of spending between households with different income levels. From 2021 to 2023, average spending on goods and services increased for all income quintile groups and surpassed 2019 levels. In 2023, households in the highest income quintile spent an average of $123,447 on goods and services, more than triple those in the bottom quintile ($40,080).

Households at different income levels allocated their spending in distinct ways. On average, households in the lowest income quintile allocated a larger share of their total consumption to shelter (34.8%) and food (17.9%) in 2023, compared with households in the highest income quintile, which allocated 32.2% to shelter and 14.6% to food. In contrast, households in the highest income quintile allocated a greater share of their total consumption to transportation (15.9%), recreation (7.7%) and education (2.9%), compared with households in the lowest income quintile (13.3% for transportation, 5.4% for recreation, and 1.3% for education).

Infographic 1 
Shares of total current consumption on selected major categories by income quintile, Canada, 2023

One-person households allocated a larger share of spending to shelter, while couples without children allocated a larger share to recreation

In 2023, one-person households accounted for 30.4% of all households, a proportion that has gradually increased since it was first measured in 2010. Among all household types, one-person households were those which reported the highest share of total consumption allocated to shelter (36.9%), while having the lowest share in transportation (13.2%). Couples without children were those which had the highest share of total consumption allocated to recreation (8.2%), while having the lowest share in shelter (30.5%). Couples with children spent, on average, $33,199 more on goods and services than couples without children.

Household expenditures varied across provinces

Among the provinces, households in Alberta ($88,186) reported the highest average spending on goods and services in 2023, followed by those in British Columbia ($82,657) and Ontario ($81,975). In contrast, households in New Brunswick ($64,227) and Quebec ($65,344) reported the lowest average spending. From 2021 to 2023, households in Ontario (+17.8%) and Alberta (+17.6%) had the largest percentage increases in average spending on goods and services.

On average, in 2023, households in Ontario spent the most on shelter ($29,312) and allocated the highest share of total consumption to shelter (35.8%), followed by those in British Columbia ($28,739 or 34.8% of their total consumption). From 2021 to 2023, Ontario (+21.6%) and British Columbia (+16.9%) also saw the highest percentage increases in shelter expenditures.

In 2023, households in Alberta ($14,539) reported the highest average transportation spending among the provinces, while households in Quebec ($11,022) reported the lowest. This was partly due to households in Alberta ($12,188) spending the most on private transportation, while households in Quebec ($9,597) spent the least. Alberta households also reported the highest average spending on public transportation ($2,351), nearly triple New Brunswick ($835), where households reported the lowest. Households nationwide spent an average of $2,567 on gasoline and other fuels, with households in New Brunswick (+84.8%) and Alberta (+72.6%) reporting the largest percentage increases in spending.

Of all provinces, households in Newfoundland and Labrador spent the most on food purchased from stores ($10,892) and reported the highest share of total consumption allocated to food purchased from stores (16.2%) in 2023. From 2021 to 2023, households in Manitoba (+21.8%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+21.6%) experienced the largest percentage increases in spending on food purchased from stores.

Infographic 2 
Average spending on goods and services by province, 2023

Household expenditures in the territorial capitals

In 2023, average spending on goods and services was $98,568 in Yellowknife, compared with $97,585 in Iqaluit and $89,933 in Whitehorse.

Households in Yellowknife reported the highest average shelter expenditures ($34,049) and the highest share of total consumption allocated to shelter (34.5%), compared with those in Whitehorse ($27,647 or 30.7% of their total consumption) and Iqaluit ($31,122 or 31.9% of their total consumption).

Rent payments accounted for approximately half of expenditures for principal residences in Iqaluit, compared with 17.6% in Whitehorse and 21.4% in Yellowknife. This is partly because the homeownership rate was substantially lower in Iqaluit (27.6%) compared with Whitehorse (73.0%) and Yellowknife (65.8%).

Households in Iqaluit ($16,519) and Yellowknife ($16,058) reported higher average food expenditures and allocated a larger share of their total consumption to food, compared with households in Whitehorse ($12,043).

Products

The report "User Guide for the Survey of Household Spending, 2023," available as part of the Household Expenditures Research Paper Series (Catalogue number62F0026M), presents information about the survey methodology, concepts and data quality.

The infographic "How Canadian households spent their money in 2023," which is part of Statistics Canada — Infographics (Catalogue number11-627-M), is also available.

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).