Income

Annual Income

Measure: Median Annual Income

Annual income is the amount of money an individual, family or household receives over the course one calendar year. Median income is the mid-point of all incomes.  In a grouping of household income amounts, half the incomes will be below the median number and half will be above the median. After-tax household income is the total income of a household minus relevant taxes that would be paid (such as, income taxes).^[8] 

Key Findings

In 2015, the median after-tax income was highest for households in Wellington County (including Guelph) followed by Ontario and Canada. 

Source: Statistics Canada. 2017. Guelph, CY [Census subdivision], Wellington, CTY [Census division], Ontario; Canada [Country], Ontario [Province] (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001. Ottawa. Released September 13, 2017. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed October 10, 2017).

Key Findings

In 2015 in Wellington County, median after-tax household income was highest in Puslinch and Guelph/Eramosa. Median after-tax income was lowest in Wellington North.

Source: Statistics Canada. 2017. Erin T [Census subdvision], Minto T (Census Subdivision], Centre Wellington TP [Census subdivision], Guelph/Eramosa [Census subdivision], Mapleton TP Ontario [Census subdvision], Puslinch TP [Census subdvision], Wellington North TP [Census subdvision] (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001. Ottawa. Released September 13, 2017. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed October 10, 2017).

Statistics Canada. 2017. Guelph, CY [Census subdivision], Wellington, CTY [Census division], Ontario (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001. Ottawa. Released September 13, 2017. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed October 10, 2017).

Why is Annual Income Important?

Annual income is an important part of understanding income inequality, low income and economic growth, all of which affect an individual's social, physical and mental wellbeing. 

Low Income

Measure: Low-income Population in Households

The charts below use Low Income Measure After-Tax (LIM-AT) to present the percent of the population in private households living in low income.  "The LIM is a fixed percentage (50%) of median adjusted household income, where "adjusted" indicates that household needs are taken into account". People live in low-income (or below the LIM-AT) when their household income is less than 50% of the equivalent household median income.^[9] In 2015, the LIM-AT for a 4-person household (in constant dollars) was $47,105 ^[10]

Key Findings

The percent of the population living with low-income in Guelph was higher than the percent of the population living with low-income in Wellington County. A higher percent of the population of Ontario and Canada live with low income when compared to Guelph and Wellington County, as a whole. 

*Wellington County does not include Guelph

Source: Statistics Canada. 2017. Guelph, CY [Census subdivision], Wellington, CTY [Census division], Ontario; Canada [Country], Ontario [Province] (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001. Ottawa. Released September 13, 2017. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed October 10, 2017).

Key Findings

The percent of the population living with low-income varies across the municipalities in Wellington County. Wellington North has the highest proportion of people living with low-income (15%), while Guelph/Eramosa and Puslinch have the lowest proportion (6%).

Source: Statistics Canada. 2017. Guelph, CY [Census subdivision], Wellington, CTY [Census division], Ontario; Canada [Country], Ontario [Province] (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001. Ottawa. Released September 13, 2017. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed October 10, 2017).

Why is Low Income Important?

People with the lowest incomes have higher rates of mortality;^[3] are more likely to rate their physical and mental health as fair or poor and are more likely to report having multiple chronic conditions. They are also more likely to deal with a disability that limits their participation in daily activities and to experience depression, anxiety, mood disorders, Alzheimer's, dementia and schizophrenia. People living in poverty also experience more barriers to health care, including access to health care insurance. They are also less likely to feel that their service provider has met their health need.^[4] Poverty has a particularly significant effect on children; not only do they experience many of the same negative impacts as adults, but even if they move out of poverty, they continue to experience more health issues throughout their life.^[5]

Income Inequality

Measure: Income Distribution

Income inequality is defined "as the extent to which income is distributed unevenly in a group of people".^[6]

Key Findings

Household after-tax income distribution patterns in Guelph and Wellington County were simliar to income distribution patterns in Ontario and Canada.  The percent of households that fell into each income bracket, increased steadily for households with an after-tax income of less than $5,000 up to $49,999. After that, the percent of households in each income bracket stayed the same or decreased up to $99,999. When household after-tax income increased to between $100,000 and $124,999 so did the percent of households in that income bracket. For Guelph (11.6%), Wellington County (12.6%), and Ontario (10.4%), the largest proportion of households had after-tax incomes between $100,000 and $124,999, when compared to all other income groupings. The percent of households with an after-tax income of $125,000 to $149,000 dipped about 4% from the previous income income bracket and moved up again for the highest incomes ($150,000 and over).

Source: Statistics Canada. 2017. Guelph, CY [Census subdivision], Wellington, CTY [Census division], Ontario; Canada [Country], Ontario [Province] (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001. Ottawa. Released September 13, 2017. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed October 10, 2017).

Why is Income Inequality Important?

Income inequality has negative consequences for individuals, communities and economies. Higher rates of income inequality are associated with higher rates of mental illness, drug use, infant mortality, teenage births, obesity and homicide. Countries with more financial equality benefit from improved child wellbeing, increased feelings of trust, increased life expectancy, improved educational scores and higher social mobility.^[7]