The other day I posted an article on Average Annual RRSP Contribution in Canada for Year 2007. The maximum RRSP contribution limit was $19,000 for year 2007; however, the national median contribution that year was only $2,780. Because of such a huge discrepancy, I decided to do a search on how much an average Canadian makes each year, and came to the following discoveries.
Top Six provinces/territories with highest median household incomes are NWT, Nunavut, Yukon, Ontario, Alberta, and BC. Unless you live in territories, your best bet to earn a high income is in ON, AB, and BC. Albertan seems to enjoy a fairly huge jump in their annual salary. I wonder why such is the case. Oil sand phenomenon?
Canadian Median Household Income – Overall
Overall refers to all types of households (all unattached individuals and all family types).
| Year | 2011 | 2006 | 2001 | 1996 |
| Canada | 53,634 | 52,438 | 49,142 | |
| Northwest Territories | 80,085 | 71,475 | 72,448 | |
| Alberta | 63,988 | 58,911 | 52,166 | |
| Ontario | 60,455 | 60,164 | 55,172 | |
| Nunavut | 60,221 | 50,971 | 48,896 | |
| Yukon Territory | 60,105 | 58,215 | 60,993 | |
| British Columbia | 52,709 | 52,490 | 51,530 | |
| Manitoba | 47,875 | 46,741 | 44,025 | |
| Saskatchewan | 46,705 | 45,129 | 43,213 | |
| Nova Scotia | 46,605 | 44,764 | 42,785 | |
| Prince Edward Island | 46,553 | 45,413 | 43,702 | |
| Quebec | 46,419 | 45,371 | 42,714 | |
| New Brunswick | 45,194 | 44,818 | 42,832 | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 44,136 | 42,190 | 41,593 |
Average Annual Household Incomes: Before Tax | After Tax
Canadian Median Household Income – For Census Family Only
Below is the latest release from Statistics Canada, as of June 2011.
- Census family includes couple families, with or without children, and lone-parent families.
- This summary table exludes unattached individuals, lone seniors, as well as individuals who may live with their married children or with their children who have children of their own. They may be living with a family to whom they are related or unrelated. They may also be liv ing alone or with other persons not in census families.
It appears that Alberta and Saskatchewan tend to higher annual family incomes than other provinces. Are there more high earning CEO’s in those two provinces, driving the figures up??? Or, oil gas and potash phenomenon???
| Year | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
| Canada | 68,410 | 68,860 | 66,550 | 63,600 |
| Northwest Territories | 98,300 | 98,530 | 94,220 | 88,800 |
| Yukon Territory | 84,640 | 85,070 | 81,080 | 76,000 |
| Nunavut | 60,160 | 58,590 | 56,160 | 54,300 |
| Alberta | 83,560 | 86,080 | 82,030 | 78,400 |
| Saskatchewan | 70,790 | 69,800 | 65,120 | 60,500 |
| Ontario | 69,790 | 70,910 | 69,190 | 66,600 |
| British Columbia | 66,700 | 67,890 | 65,780 | 62,600 |
| Manitoba | 65,550 | 64,530 | 62,070 | 58,700 |
| Quebec | 64,420 | 63,830 | 61,780 | 59,000 |
| Nova Scotia | 62,550 | 61,980 | 59,200 | 56,400 |
| Prince Edward Island | 62,110 | 61,010 | 58,610 | 56,100 |
| New Brunswick | 60,670 | 59,790 | 56,930 | 54,000 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 60,290 | 59,320 | 55,210 | 50,500 |
You should double check your numbers because they MAY be flawed. If the max contribution is 19k and the average was 3k it does not necessarily mean that people are under-contributing. You need to take into consideration the Pension Adjustment number from box 52 of the T4 if someone is so lucky as to have pension plan.
Is household income reported in ‘gross’ dollars??