Low income cut-offs (LICOs) before and after tax by community size and family size, in current dollars, annual.

This table contains 8840 series, with data for years 2012 - 2012 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (13 items: Canada; Atlantic provinces; Newfoundland and Labrador; Prince Edward Island; ...); Low income lines (4 items: Low income cut-offs after tax, 1992 base; Low income cut-offs before tax, 1992 base; Market basket measure, 2011 base; Low income measure after tax); Statistics (5 items: Number of persons in low income; Percentage of persons in low income; Average gap ratio (percent); Median gap ratio (percent); ...); Persons in low income (34 items: All persons; Persons under 18 years; Persons 18 to 64 years; Persons 65 years and over; ...).

In 2022, 9.9 percent of all Canadians were living in low income. Between 2000 and 2022, the percentage of population with low income experienced a decrease, reaching the lowest value in 2020. The highest share of Canadians with low income was recorded in 2015, with 14.5 percent of the total population.

Low Income Measures

The low income measures (LIMs) were developed by Statistics Canada in the 1990s. They, along with the low income cut-offs (LICOs) and the market basket measure (MBM), were created in order to measure and track the low income population of Canada. With low income measures, individuals are classified as being in low income if their income falls below fifty percent of the median adjusted household income. The median income is adjusted in order to reflect the differing financial needs of households based on the number of its members. The low income measures are a useful tool to compare low income populations between countries as they do not rely on an arbitrary standard of what constitutes the threshold for poverty. Statistics Canada insists that the low income measures are not meant to be representative of a poverty rate. The department has no measure which they define as a measurement of poverty in Canada. Latest data and trends In 2022, around 2.1 million people were living in low income families in Canada. This figure has been fluctuating over the years, both in absolute numbers and in proportion over the total population. More women than men were living in low income families in 2022, though the number of men in low income has risen at twice the rate as that of women. One of the more drastic changes has been the rise in the number of single individuals living in low income, increasing by more than 60 percent since 2000.

Number of persons in low income, low income rate and average gap ratio by age, sex and economic family type, annual.

Poverty and low-income statistics by visible minority group, Indigenous group and immigration status, Canada and provinces.

Low income measure (LIM) thresholds by household size for market income, total income and after-tax income, in current and constant dollars, annual.

The number of persons in economic families with low income in Canada was 2.8 million in 2022. Between 1976 and 2022, the number rose by 370,000, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

The statistic shows the percent of people in low income in Canada in 2014, by economic family type. In 2014, ** percent of elderly single females were in low income.

The number of persons not in an economic family with low income in Canada was 1.71 million in 2022. Between 1976 and 2022, the number rose by 1.13 million, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

In 2021, Canadians in the lowest decile had an average after-tax income of ****** Canadian dollars, while those in the highest decile had an income of ******* dollars, a gap of over ******* dollars. The province with the smallest average income for the lowest decile was Saskatchewan. By contrast, it was in Alberta that the income of the highest decile was the greatest, with an average after-tax income of almost ******* Canadian dollars. It was also in this province that the gap between the two deciles was the most significant.

This table contains 5600 series, with data for years 2012 - 2012 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years), and is no longer being released. This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (35 items: Canada; Atlantic provinces; Newfoundland and Labrador; Prince Edward Island; ...);   Low income lines (4 items: Low income cut-offs after tax, 1992 base; Low income cut-offs before tax, 1992 base; Market basket measure, 2011 base; Low income measure after tax);   Statistics (5 items: Number of persons in low income; Percentage of persons in low income; Average gap ratio (percent); Median gap ratio (percent); ...);  Persons in low income (8 items: All persons; Persons under 18 years; Persons 18 to 64 years; Persons 65 years and over; ...).

In 2022, the number of persons under 18 years in economic families with low income in Canada was 888,000. Between 1976 and 2022, the figure dropped by 139,000, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

This table provides information on the number of years in low income over an eight-year period among Canadian taxfilers. The years in low-income may or may not be adjacent to each other. The low income measure (LIM) is used to identify low income taxfilers. The LIM threshold is calculated as half of the median of the adjusted family after-tax income of all taxfilers and their family members. This table uses two different types of LIM: the variable LIM is based on the median total income re-calculated each year, while the fixed LIM is based on the median total income in 2002 adjusted yearly by the all-items Consumer Price Index.

This table provides statistics on year-over-year low-income transitions, including low income entry and exit rates, low income resistance, and low income immobility rates among Canadian taxfilers. The low income measure (LIM) is used to identify low income taxfilers. The LIM threshold is calculated as half of the median of the adjusted family after-tax income of all taxfilers and their family members. This table uses two different types of LIM: the variable LIM is based on the median total income re-calculated year, while the fixed LIM is based on the median total income in 2002 adjusted yearly by the all-items Consumer Price Index.

Low income statistics by age, sex and economic family type, annual.

In 2021, around 0.9 million people were living in low income families in Ontario. Ontario had the largest number of individuals living in low income households. Quebec and British Columbia followed with 504 thousand and 287 thousand, respectively.

Poverty and low-income statistics by disability status, age group, sex and economic family type, Canada, annual.

This table contains 8840 series, with data for years 2012 - 2012 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (13 items: Canada; Atlantic provinces; Newfoundland and Labrador; Prince Edward Island; ...); Low income lines (4 items: Low income cut-offs after tax, 1992 base; Low income cut-offs before tax, 1992 base; Market basket measure, 2011 base; Low income measure after tax); Statistics (5 items: Number of persons in low income; Percentage of persons in low income; Average gap ratio (percent); Median gap ratio (percent); ...); Persons in low income (34 items: All persons; Persons under 18 years; Persons 18 to 64 years; Persons 65 years and over; ...).

This table contains 5600 series, with data for years 2012 - 2012 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years), and is no longer being released. This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (35 items: Canada; Atlantic provinces; Newfoundland and Labrador; Prince Edward Island; ...); Low income lines (4 items: Low income cut-offs after tax, 1992 base; Low income cut-offs before tax, 1992 base; Market basket measure, 2011 base; Low income measure after tax); Statistics (5 items: Number of persons in low income; Percentage of persons in low income; Average gap ratio (percent); Median gap ratio (percent); ...); Persons in low income (8 items: All persons; Persons under 18 years; Persons 18 to 64 years; Persons 65 years and over; ...).

Individual low-income status for census family characteristics (in couple, with and without children, one-parent families) by low-income measure (before and after tax) and age.