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The Daily. Tuesday, August 15, 2000
The median income of census, or nuclear, families increased 2.1% from 1997 to 1998 to $47,300, after adjusting for inflation. Oshawa ($60,000) had the highest family income of all Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), followed by Windsor ($59,800).
Median income was much higher for husband-wife families ($52,500) than for lone-parent families ($22,700). The CMA with the highest median family income for husband-wife families was Windsor ($66,500); for lone-parent families it was Calgary ($28,500).
For both types of families, employment income was the largest single source of income: 77% of the total for husband-wife families, but only 63% for lone-parent families. From 1997 to 1998, the average income from employment increased for both types: by 3.6% for husband-wife families and by 3.1% for lone-parent families. Among husband-wife families in CMAs, only those in Sudbury recorded a drop in average employment income (-2.6%). Among lone-parent families, those in St. John's (-3.1%), Sudbury (-2.4%) and Thunder Bay (-0.7%) saw drops in average earnings.
While both family types derived the largest part of their income from employment, the similarity largely ends there. Among husband-wife families, the remaining 23% of total income comes from: private pension income, contributing 5.3% of the total; investment income, 4.1%; Canada or Quebec Pension Plan, 2.8%; and Old Age Security/Net Federal Supplements, 2.4%. The remaining 8% is distributed among other sources.
Among lone-parent families, the remaining 37% of total income comes from government transfers (25%) and 12% from all other sources. The combination of social assistance (8.3%) and the Canada Child Tax Benefit (4.2%) represent about half of income from government transfers. From 1997 to 1998, half of the CMAs reported increases in the average receipts from government transfers to lone-parent families, and half showed declines. The increases were in the CMAs in the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
In many two-parent families in 1998, both the husband and the wife worked. The employment income they earned also varied among the CMAs. Windsor had the highest, $73,600, followed by Oshawa ($72,800) and Hamilton ($69,300).
In senior husband-wife families, the highest median total family income was found in Ottawa-Hull ($58,400) followed by Victoria ($46,900) and London ($43,600). These three CMAs led for senior lone-parent families as well.
1998 median family income
| Family type | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Husband-wife | Lone-parent | Total | |
| Canada | 52,500 | 22,700 | 47,300 |
| Calgary | 62,700 | 28,500 | 57,400 |
| Chicoutimi | 50,700 | 23,200 | 46,600 |
| Edmonton | 58,300 | 24,800 | 52,600 |
| Halifax | 56,200 | 20,400 | 50,100 |
| Hamilton | 62,000 | 25,000 | 56,400 |
| Kitchener | 61,400 | 25,500 | 56,300 |
| London | 59,200 | 23,600 | 53,200 |
| Montréal | 51,800 | 23,700 | 46,300 |
| Oshawa | 66,200 | 25,600 | 60,000 |
| Ottawa-Hull | 64,300 | 26,200 | 57,700 |
| Québec | 53,500 | 26,600 | 49,000 |
| Regina | 61,200 | 24,000 | 53,900 |
| Saint John | 50,600 | 17,300 | 44,100 |
| Saskatoon | 54,900 | 20,400 | 48,900 |
| Sherbrooke | 48,500 | 23,100 | 43,700 |
| St. Catharines | 55,400 | 23,600 | 50,200 |
| St. John's | 51,100 | 19,100 | 44,600 |
| Sudbury | 57,700 | 20,000 | 51,700 |
| Thunder Bay | 59,700 | 21,700 | 53,900 |
| Toronto | 57,800 | 26,800 | 51,800 |
| Trois-Rivières | 47,900 | 21,900 | 42,700 |
| Vancouver | 52,600 | 25,100 | 47,700 |
| Victoria | 57,300 | 25,700 | 51,900 |
| Windsor | 66,500 | 25,100 | 59,800 |
| Winnipeg | 55,000 | 24,000 | 49,600 |
Note: The data for this release were obtained from income tax returns filed in the spring of 1999. Median income is determined by ranking all incomes declared (excluding incomes equal to zero) and selecting the one that sits at the mid-point of the list. Census family refers to a married couple, with or without children at home; a common-law couple, with or without children of either or both partners at home; or a lone-parent of any marital status, with at least one child living at home. There is no restriction on the age of the children. Husband-wife families include married couples and those living common-law, with or without children. In a senior husband-wife family, one partner of the couple must be at least 65 years of age. Lone-parent families consist of one parent (male or female) with at least one child. In a senior lone-parent family, the parent must be at least 65 years of age.
The data for Family income (13C0016) and Seniors income (89C0022) are available for letter carrier routes, urban forward sortation areas (the first three characters of the postal code), cities, towns, census divisions, CMAs, the provinces and territories and Canada.
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (613-951-9720; fax: 613-951-4745), Small Area and Administrative Data Division.