The Daily. Friday, August 10, 2001

Family income

In 1999, the median income of families rose for a third year in a row.

The median total family income of census, or nuclear, families was $48,600, up 1% over 1998, after adjusting for inflation. This continues a trend of steady modest increases since 1996.

Median total income for husband-wife families rose from $53,400 in 1998 to $54,100. For lone-parent families, median total income increased to $23,400, compared with $23,100 in 1998. (Median income is determined by ranking all the declared incomes for an area, and then selecting the middle figure at which half the incomes are higher and half are lower.)

Families in most provinces and territories saw increases in median total family income in 1999; however, those in Nunavut saw a decline. Once inflation was taken into account, median total family income also declined in Alberta and British Columbia.

For a sixth consecutive year, the highest median family incomes were found in Oshawa ($62,500) and Windsor ($62,400). The area with the largest increase was Saint John, where median income climbed 2.8% - from $44,850 in 1998 to $46,100 in 1999.

The number and percentage of dual-earner families continued to increase in 1999. The median employment income of husband-wife families where both spouses/partners earned income rose 1.2% to $60,000.

Women in single-earner husband-wife families saw a larger increase in their median employment income than their male counterparts did, but the men still had a much higher median employment income. In husband-wife families where the sole income earner was male, median employment income was $30,000, an increase of 0.3% over 1998. In families where the single earner was female, the median employment income was $16,600, up 1.4% from 1998.

After employment income, government transfer payments was the next largest component of total family income for both husband-wife and lone-parent families. For husband-wife families, employment earnings made up 78% of total income, government transfers 9%, and private pensions more than 5% - virtually unchanged from 1998. Lone-parent families, however, depended on employment earnings for 65% of their total income, government transfers for 24%, and private pensions for just over 3% of their total income - also about the same as in 1998.

The median income for senior husband-wife families (i.e., those in which at least one person was aged 65 or over) rose to $38,000, an increase of 1.8% over 1998. Senior husband-wife families derived a much lower percentage of their income from employment (22%). An additional 17% came from Old Age Security/Net Federal Supplements and Canada/Quebec Pension Plan (16%). Private pensions accounted for 25% of total income and investment income comprised an additional 13%.

Note: The data for this release were obtained primarily from income tax returns filed in the spring of 2000. All income data are before tax and after transfers. 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 must be at least 65 years of age. Lone-parent families consist of one parent (male or female) with at least one child at home. In a senior lone-parent family, the parent must be at least 65 years of age.

The data for family income (Family data, 13C0016, various prices) and seniors' income (Seniors, 89C0022, various prices) are available for letter carrier routes, urban forward sortation areas (the first three characters of the postal code), cities, towns, census divisions, census metropolitan areas, provinces, 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; saadinfo@statcan.gc.ca), Small Area and Administrative Data Division.

Family median income by family type