TODD HIRSCH
  • About Todd
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • BIOGRAPHY and IMAGES
  • SPEAKING TOPICS
  • Spiders in COVID Space
  • Request Todd to speak
  • CONNECT
  • About Todd
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • BIOGRAPHY and IMAGES
  • SPEAKING TOPICS
  • Spiders in COVID Space
  • Request Todd to speak
  • CONNECT

Bringing home the bacon: Income levels in Alberta

11/17/2017

0 Comments

 
Statistics Canada recently released detailed income statistics from the 2016 Census. What are they telling us?

Alberta stands out with the highest median incomes among the provinces. This is the case across all family types and before and after income tax is subtracted. The median household income in Alberta in 2015 was $93,800. The number for Canada as a whole was $70,300 -- $23,500 less.

Adjusted for inflation, income was up in every province in 2015 compared to 2005. The median household income in Alberta grew by 24 per cent over this period. Only Saskatchewan (37 per cent) and Newfoundland (29 per cent) outpaced Alberta’s growth. The growth rate for the country was 11per cent.

Calgary had a slightly higher median income than Edmonton ($99,600 vs. $94,500) but the Census Agglomeration of Wood Buffalo (which includes Fort McMurray) had by far the highest at a whopping $193,500. The median income of unattached individuals (a.k.a. people who live alone) was $54,400 in Alberta compared to $134,700 in Fort McMurray (it was $38,000 for Canada as a whole). This reflects the large number of unattached Canadians who move to Fort McMurray to take high-paying jobs in the oil patch.

We don’t have income data for 2016, but we do know that the number of earners in Fort McMurray in the top 1 per cent of Canadian earners fell by 43 per cent between 2014 and 2015 from 5,460 to 3,130. The effects of provincial recession of 2015-16 would also have been felt at lower income levels.

These income statistics show once again that Alberta is an economic force and one that has benefited the rest of the country as hundreds of thousands of Canadians have moved here over the years to find good jobs and enjoy higher incomes. Recession or not, Alberta is a place of opportunity.

It's also important to note that median incomes are up since 2005 -- even after taking into account inflation and income taxes. We tend to focus on the negative and it might seem like income and the standard of living it makes possible have been spiralling downward, but the opposite is the reality. This is something to celebrate.

With that said, not everyone in Alberta is raking it in. Many are still reeling from the recession and almost 1 in 10 Albertans lives in a low-income household. We still have a lot of work to do to make sure everyone in Alberta is able to fully participate in the economic opportunities found here. And we can’t forget that our prosperity going forward is far from a given. Hard work, creative thinking and good public policy will be needed to keep Alberta’s economy strong in the decades ahead.

​
This post is written by guest writer Rob Roach, ATB Financial's Director of Insight.
Picture
0 Comments

    Archives

    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    November 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    November 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011