Income of Canadians, 2020

Warning View the most recent version.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

Release date: March 23, 2022
Infographic: Income of Canadians, 2020
Description: Income of Canadians, 2020


Median after-tax income of families and unattached individuals, 2020
Table summary
This table displays the results of Median after-tax income of families and unattached individuals. The information is grouped by Geography (appearing as row headers), Median after-tax income in dollars (appearing as column headers).
Geography Median after-tax income in dollars
Canada 66,800
Newfoundland and Labrador 59,300
Prince Edward Island 59,400
Nova Scotia 57,500
New Brunswick 56,900
Quebec 59,700
Ontario 70,100
Manitoba 63,000
Saskatchewan 67,700
Alberta 77,700
British Columbia 67,500

Sources of total income, 2019 and 2020
Table summary
This table displays the results of Sources of total income 2019 and 2020 (appearing as column headers).
2019 2020
Market income 87% 81%
Wages, salaries and commissions 77% 76%
Self-employment income 4% 4%
Investment income 7% 7%
Retirement income 10% 10%
Other income 2% 2%
Government transfers 13% 19%
OAS, GIS and AAS 27% 19%
CPP and QPP benefits 31% 21%
Child benefits 13% 9%
Employment Insurance benefits 9% 8%
Social assistance 9% 5%
COVID-19 benefits Note ..: not available for a specific reference period 28%
Other government transfers 12% 10%

Fewer persons were living in povertyNote 1 in 2020
Table summary
This table displays the results of Fewer persons were living in poverty in 2020 Number of persons in 2019, Number of persons in 2020, Percentage in 2019, Percentage in 2020 and Percentage point decrease (appearing as column headers).
Number of persons in 2019 Number of persons in 2020 Percentage in 2019 Percentage in 2020 Percentage point decrease
All age groups 3,793,000 2,357,000 10.3% 6.4% -3.9 p.p.
Under 18 years 665,000 333,000 9.4% 4.7% -4.7 p.p.
18 to 64 years 2,760,000 1,817,000 11.8% 7.8% -4.0 p.p.
65 years and older 369,000 207,000 5.7% 3.1% -2.6 p.p.

Note: CPP – Canada Pension Plan; QPP – Quebec Pension Plan; OAS – Old Age Security; GIS – Guaranteed Income Supplement; AAS – Allowance or Allowance for the Survivor; p.p. – percentage points.

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Income Survey.

Date modified: