Household spending and savings

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Key indicators

Selected geographical area: Canada

Average annual spending on goods and services per household - Canada
(2021)

$67,126
Median net worth of Canadian families - Canada
(2019)

$329,900

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All (81)

All (81) (30 to 40 of 81 results)

31. Consumer Price Inflation by Frequency of Purchase Archived
Articles and reports: 11-621-M2010084
Geography: Canada
Description:
This special study analyses price movements using three groupings of the CPI items based on frequency of purchase (frequent purchases, non-frequent purchases and contractual purchases), to provide a better understanding of the sources of consumer inflation and to help shed light on people's perception of inflation.
Release date: 2010-06-09
32. Changes in family wealth Archived
Articles and reports: 75-001-X200810613212
Geography: Canada
Description:
Buoyed by rising incomes coupled with stable inflation and low interest rates, Canadians went on a spending spree between 1999 and 2005. However, much of the increased spending was financed through credit, as the personal savings rate slumped and per capita debt jumped. This paper divides families into seven cohorts, based on the year of birth of the major income recipient, and compares family assets and debts in 2005 with the situation in 1999 to provide a rough life-cycle portrait of Canadian families.
Release date: 2008-09-24
33. Retail Trade: How the Provinces Fared in 2007 Archived
Articles and reports: 11-621-M2008071
Geography: Canada, Province or territory
Description:
Using data from the monthly Retail Trade Survey this study examines the sales for the year 2007. This annual review describes sales growth and trends by trade groups such as new motor vehicle dealers, supermarkets and general merchandise stores. This study focuses on provincial sales.
Release date: 2008-05-26
34. The Dynamics of Housing Affordability Archived
Articles and reports: 75F0002M2008001
Description:
Shelter is the biggest expenditure most households make and its affordability can have an impact on the wellbeing of household members. For this reason, housing affordability is closely watched by a wide range of stakeholders - from housing advocates to policy analysts - interested in the welfare of Canadians. Measuring affordability involves comparing housing costs to a household's ability to meet them. One common measure is the shelter-cost-to-income-ratio (STIR). The 30% level is commonly accepted as the upper limit for affordable housing. Housing affordability is also a critical input to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's core housing need indicator which is used by governments to help design, deliver, fund and evaluate social housing programs. This report, jointly authored by Statistics Canada and CMHC, focuses purely on the dynamics of housing affordability, not on core housing need. It examines the likelihood of spending 30% or more of household income on shelter, how often this occurs, whether it is occasional or persistent, and contrasts those spending 30% or more to those spending less. Cross-sectional estimates indicate that around 19% of Canadians lived in households spending more than the affordability benchmark in 2002. Longitudinally however, less than 9% lived in households that spent above the benchmark in each year between 2002 and 2004, while another 19% lived in households spending above the benchmark for either one or two years. The attributes associated with the highest probabilities of living in a household spending above the affordability benchmark were: living alone, being a female lone parent, renting, being an immigrant, or living in Vancouver or Toronto. In addition, those living in households experiencing some kind of transition between 2002 and 2004 period had a higher probability of exceeding the benchmark at least once during the period. Such transitions included renters with a change in rent-subsidy status, those who changed from owner to renter or vice versa, those who changed family type (for example, marrying or divorcing), and those who moved between cities. Notably, those experiencing these transitions did not exceed the benchmark persistently.
Release date: 2008-01-25
35. Spending patterns in Canada and the U.S. Archived
Articles and reports: 75-001-X200710913195
Geography: Canada
Description:
In addition to sharing a border, Canada and the United States share many demographic and economic characteristics. Both countries have aging populations and low unemployment rates. Consumer spending has also been similar, although differences exist in certain areas. A comparison of spending patterns in Canada and the U.S. between the early 1980s and 2003.
Release date: 2007-12-19
36. Blowing up a storm - snowblowers in Canada Archived
Articles and reports: 16-002-X200700310456
Geography: Canada, Province or territory, Census metropolitan area
Description:
Snowblower ownership is affected by a variety of socio-economic, cultural and climatic factors. This article shows household ownership of gas-powered snowblowers in 2006, by province, using data from the Households and the Environment Survey. It also presents data on snowblower ownership in certain cities, juxtaposed with data on average snowfall.
Release date: 2007-12-10
37. Canada's top online spenders: Who are they and what are they buying? Archived
Articles and reports: 88-003-X20070019624
Geography: Canada
Description:
The Internet has changed the way many Canadians conduct their everyday activities, from viewing weather, news and sports to banking and paying bills. It has also changed the way many shop. In 2005, Canadians placed almost 50 million online orders valued at $7.9 billion. However, many of these orders were made by a relatively small group of people. In fact, Canada's top online spenders represented fewer than 7% of adult Canadians and accounted for three-quarters of total online expenditures to consumers. Who are these Canadians and what are they buying?
Release date: 2007-05-10
38. What Canadian households spend on culture goods and services Archived
Articles and reports: 87-004-X20030049503
Geography: Canada
Description:
Using data from the Survey of Household Spending (SHS), this article explores household spending on culture goods and services over a five year period, from 1999 to 2004, and examines differences in average spending by household type.
Release date: 2006-11-02
39. Consumer demand for entertainment services outside the home Archived
Articles and reports: 63-018-X20060029223
Description:
In recent years, while Canadians have spent more on entertainment at home, there has concurrently been an increase in demand for entertainment outside the home. The entertainment services outside the home discussed in this article include attendance at movie theatres, performing arts and spectator sports events and admissions to heritage institutions. This shift in preferences along with growth in incomes, population and prices caused the consumer market for entertainment services to expand from $2.3 billion in 1998 to $3.2 billion in 2003, an increase of 41%.
Based primarily on Survey of Household Spending data from 1998 and 2003, this article examines changes over the five year period in household spending on entertainment services. In particular, it investigates how spending changed in each province and for some household types and each household income quintile. It also looks at how the performance of entertainment services providers may have been affected by such changes. As the entertainment services market grows, the providers of these services face the challenge of retaining existing customers and attracting new ones. Knowing how consumer characteristics such as income, type of household and geographical location affect entertainment spending can enable suppliers to better provide and market their services.
Release date: 2006-06-27
40. Out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs Archived
Articles and reports: 75-001-X200510913149
Geography: Canada
Description:
While spending on prescription drugs still constitutes less than 1% of the overall household budget, the average expenditure rose 71% between 1992 and 2002. Lack of universal coverage for prescription drugs could adversely affect seniors on fixed incomes and people with specific medical conditions. Spending is most affected by province of residence.
Release date: 2005-12-22

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Analysis (81)

Analysis (81) (0 to 10 of 81 results)

1. Estimation of Energy Poverty Rates Using the 2021 Census of Population
Articles and reports: 46-28-0001202400100001
Description: This report examines the energy poverty rates using the data from the 2021 Census. It presents the energy poverty rates by various dwelling and household characteristics. It examines the how energy poverty rates change when indirect payments for dwelling energy are estimated and included in the definition.
Release date: 2024-02-20
2. Market Basket Measure research paper: Examining shelter and transportation costs within census metropolitan area Market Basket Measure regions
Articles and reports: 75F0002M2024003
Description: This research paper examines shelter and transportation costs within census metropolitan areas (CMAs). The paper begins by describing a proposed methodology for delineating urban and suburban sub-regions within CMA Market Basket Measure (MBM) regions. It then presents new shelter and transportation costs based on the new delineations and assesses the extent to which differences in costs between urban and suburban sub-regions differ. The analysis concludes by examining how the new delineations would impact the estimation of poverty rates had they been implemented. This paper also provides an opportunity for the public and stakeholders to provide feedback and comments.
Release date: 2024-02-15
3. User Guide for the Survey of Household Spending, 2021
Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 62F0026M2023001
Description: This guide presents information of interest to users of data from the Survey of Household Spending (SHS). It includes descriptions of the survey terms and variables definitions as well as of the survey methodology and data quality. The guide also includes a section describing various examples of estimates that can be drawn from the survey data.
Release date: 2023-10-18
4. Estimating Expenditures on Children by Families in Canada, 2014 to 2017
Articles and reports: 11F0019M2023007
Description: Caring for children is among the key functions of families and the larger society. In Canada, the question of affordability issues for families with children has become an increasingly important area of public policy. Also, information on the monetary cost of meeting children’s needs for food, shelter, clothing, health care, and education is important for family planning and budgeting decisions made by people raising children.
Release date: 2023-09-29
5. Estimates of parental child care expenses in January to February 2022
Articles and reports: 36-28-0001202300700001
Description: Although several national surveys have collected information on child care expenses from the parent perspective, information on the amount parents pay out of pocket per child has been limited. More recent information is necessary given the parameters of the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework (Employment and Social Development Canada, 2017) to work towards a shared vision of high-quality, accessible, flexible, inclusive and affordable child care in Canada. This study provides recent estimates of how much parents in Canada report paying for their 0- to 5-year-old child’s main child care arrangement in early 2022.
Release date: 2023-07-26
6. Switching stores to cope with high inflation: Food sales at food and beverage stores and general merchandise stores
Articles and reports: 36-28-0001202300700005
Description: Increases in grocery prices have outpaced headline consumer inflation since late 2021. While the pace of food inflation has eased recently, prices for many grocery items continue to rise month after month. This article examines data from recent business and household surveys on how Canadians have been adjusting to higher food prices.
Release date: 2023-07-26
7. Registered education savings plan investments by family income and liquid wealth
Articles and reports: 36-28-0001202200900001
Description:
Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) are an important vehicle to help families save for postsecondary education. However, large differences in RESP savings persist between families of different income levels, despite targeted incentives aimed at encouraging low- and middle-income families to open RESP accounts and contribute to them. This article documents the differences in RESP contributions between families with different levels of income and liquid wealth.

Release date: 2022-09-28
8. A first look at shelter costs for households living on reserve using new data from the 2021 Census
Articles and reports: 46-28-0001202200100002
Description:
This report examines the shelter costs of households living on reserve using the new data from the 2021 Census. It describes the 2021 Census definition of shelter costs on reserve and describes important considerations when using this data to measure housing affordability. It presents the first statistics from the Census for shelter costs on reserve, including the number of households facing housing challenges due to shelter costs in addition to crowding and need for repairs.

Release date: 2022-09-21
9. Survey of Household Spending Modelled Annual Statistics, 2010 to 2017
Articles and reports: 62F0026M2020001
Description:
Since the 2010 Survey of Household Spending redesign, statistics on the annual proportion of households reporting expenditures and the annual average expenditure per reporting household have not been available for many good and service categories. To help fill this data gap for users, a statistical model was developed in order to produce approximations of these statistics. This product consists of data tables and a user guide.
Release date: 2021-01-07
10. Inter-generational comparisons of household economic well-being
Articles and reports: 13-605-X202000100006
Description:
This study of data from the Distributions of Household Economic Accounts compares households' economic well-being from a macro-economic accounts perspective, as measured by net saving and net worth for each generation when the major income earner for a household in one generation reached the same point in the life cycle as the major income earner for a household in another generation. The study finds that while younger generations have higher disposable income and higher consumption expenditure than older generations when they reached the same age, their net saving is relatively similar. As well, younger generations' economic well-being may be more at risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic since they depend more on employment as a primary source of income, they have higher debt relative to income, and they have less equity in financial and real estate assets from which to draw upon when needed.
Release date: 2020-12-10

Reference (1)

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1. User Guide for the Survey of Household Spending, 2021
Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 62F0026M2023001
Description: This guide presents information of interest to users of data from the Survey of Household Spending (SHS). It includes descriptions of the survey terms and variables definitions as well as of the survey methodology and data quality. The guide also includes a section describing various examples of estimates that can be drawn from the survey data.
Release date: 2023-10-18

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Date modified:: 2024-06-24