Living Standards

How well-off are Canadians? Output per person, household incomes, and material well-being

“Standard of living” has no single number, but a few measures get at the material side of it: how much an economy produces per person, how much households actually have to spend, and how the typical family is doing. This page pulls those threads together and points to the others — health, life satisfaction, and the day-to-day cost of living — that round out the picture.

Output per person: GDP per capita

GDP per capita is the value of everything an economy produces, divided by its population. It is a standard measure of economic output. This value shows that Canada is prosperous but unremarkable and middle-of-the-pack among its peers, well behind the leaders (Norway, Switzerland, the United States). It is not the last word in a discussion about economic success: it measures production, not what households receive, and an average also doesn’t describe how the gains are shared. The income measures below get closer to the lived experience.

Latest GDP per capita: ranked

What households have: disposable income

Production is not the same as prosperity at the kitchen table. Real household disposable income per capita is closer to what families can actually spend and save. This means income after taxes and transfers, adjusted for inflation. Shown as an index (2007 = 100, the OECD’s basis, set on the eve of the global financial crisis), it tracks how household purchasing power has changed over time across the peer group.

The typical Canadian: median income

Averages can be pulled up by high earners. The median is a better gauge of how a typical Canadian is doing. This is median after-tax income, in constant dollars, so it reflects real purchasing power over time.

Living standards are more than income

Material measures are only part of how well people live. Other pages of the site offer other details in the picture:

  • Productivity: output per hour worked, the engine of long-run living standards: Economy & Jobs
  • How the gains are shared: income distribution, inequality, and poverty: Income & Inequality
  • How long Canadians live: life expectancy and health: Health of Canadians
  • How satisfied people feel: self-reported life satisfaction: Well-being
  • What daily life costs: prices, and whether pay keeps up: Cost of Living
  • Whether a home is within reach: prices, rents, and affordability: Housing

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