Affordability

The high cost of living puts people at risk of poverty

Overview

For a region to be healthy and vital, it needs to be affordable for everyone across the economic spectrum. A prohibitive cost of living makes people more vulnerable to poverty and may start to undermine the social fabric of our region.

Citizen Grade

D+

Citizen Priorities

  • 27% Make home ownership more affordable
  • 16% Increase minimum wage

  • Earnings $68,670

    is our median family income — ranking metro Vancouver 21st out of 33 Canadian metro areas 2008

  • Housing risk 17%

    increase in five years in the number of homeowners at risk of losing their housing, while the number of renters at risk decreased 11% 2006

  • The gap between rich and poor 10X

    The richest residents earn 10 times more than the poorest and the gap is growing faster than in Toronto and Montreal 2006

  • Homeless 2,660

    people reported in the 2008 Homeless Count up 137% from 2002 2008

View All
  • Trends The growing gap

    It’s not that poor are getting poorer, but that the rich are getting richer. The gap between incomes of our richest and poorest residents is vast, and grew wider from 2001 to 2006.

    • The richest 10% of residents earn 10 times more than the poorest 10%. Families at the low end would need nearly four times their income to earn a livable wage, according to an estimate from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
    • The wealthiest 10% of our residents saw their incomes grow 14% from 2001 to 2005, and 7% from 2005 to 2006.
    • Toronto’s gap between rich and poor was slightly higher than Vancouver’s.
      Census 2006
  • Challenges Economic pressures
    • The number of homeowners at risk of losing their housing increased 17% from 2001 to 2006, which means more people are living under tight budget constraints to keep a roof over their heads. This can affect other aspects of their lives, including their nutrition, health and general well-being. The pressure on renters eased somewhat, with the number of renters at risk of homelessness dropping 11% in that time.
      • Metro Vancouver
    • Consumer bankruptcies in our region climbed 28% to 4,686 from 2005 to 2009. In the same period, the number of bankruptcies in Toronto increased by 40%, and Montreal had a 50% increase.
      Industry Canada, Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada, Annual Statistics Report
  • Progress Low incomes

    The rate of people classified as low income steadily decreased from a high of 20% in 1995 to 15% in 2008.

    • Our rate fell nearly five percentage points from 1995 to 2008.
    • Metro Vancouver had a higher rate of people in the low income category than Toronto (11%), BC (11%) and Canada (9%).
      Statistics Canada, Income Trends in Canada
Download Full Data
  • Affordability - In-depth information - Preview

    Income levels

    Real hourly earnings

    Our median real hourly earnings were $17.71
    2009

    Average hourly earnings

    Our median hourly earnings were $20.05
    2009

    Household income

    The North Shore had the highest median household income: $73,600
    2005

    Low-income rates

    Low-income residents

    15% of our residents have earnings that fall into the low income cut-off category as defined by Statistics Canada – our rate is four percentage points higher than Toronto and 1.4 points lower than Montreal
    2008

    Low income families

    17% live in poverty before tax and 13% after tax
    2006

    City of Vancouver

    16% of families in the city of Vancouver are low income
    2005

    Census families

    24% of census families live in poverty (before tax)
    2008

    Female single parents

    28% of female-led single parent families live in poverty
    2006

    Costs

    Spending

    $63,136 is the median amount we spend on household expenses per year
    2008

    Home expenses

    $12,193 median spending on accommodation in our region
    2008

    Mortgage spending

    $15,512 median spent on mortgage payments in our region
    2008

    Food spending

    $7,300 is the median amount spent on food in our region
    2008

    Transportation spending

    $6,000 is the median amount spent by households on transportation
    2008

    Public transportation

    $200 is the median spent on public transportation
    2008

    Wealth transfer/philanthropy

    Tax deductions

    23% of residents who completed their tax returns made charitable donations
    2008

    Gifts to charity

    $350 is the median donation to charity
    2008

    Contributions to charity

    58% of households said they make charitable donations
    2008

    Corporate philanthropy

    accounted for a quarter (26%) of all gifts to the United Way
    2008

    Personal Economy

    Net worth

    Median net worth in Canada is $148,350, up 23% over six years
    2005

    Consumer bankruptcies

    Up 28% from 2005 to nearly 5,000 bankruptcies
    2009

    Bankruptcy rate

    Nearly two bankruptcies for every 1,000 adults in our region
    2008

    Homeowners with mortgage

    60% of homeowners have a mortgage
    2006

    Homeless for one year

    38% of our homeless people have lived over a year without a home
    2008

    Housing costs

    55,765 households were spending 50% or more of their income on housing
    2006

Our Blog

More from our blog →

Events

There are currently no events.

  • Media Coverage
    • News & More