What does it take to join Canada’s top 1% of income earners?
What does it take to be part of Canada's top 1% of income earners? Data from tax filings shows that the top 1% of taxpayers in 2022 had total income of at least $283,200. That’s up 4.3% from $271,300 in 2021 and continues the most recent cycle of increasing total income among the top 1% that began in 2009. Their average total income was $586,900, more than 10 times higher than all other tax filers whose average total income was $52,400. The top 1% of earners made 10.2% of all income in Canada, and paid 22.1% of all income taxes. The average income of the top 1% has increased each year since 2016.
According to Statistics Canada, total income includes income earned through wages, salaries, commissions, tips, income from government benefits such as child benefits, social assistance and employment insurance, payments from public or private pension plans, as well as, dividends and interest earned on investments, but excluding capital gains. Income statistics are based on persons who filed income taxes and were living in Canada. Individual tax filers are ranked nationally from lowest to highest according to the value of their total income. The ranked population is then split into 100 groups equal in number. The group with the highest incomes is referred to as the top 1%.
In 2022, 300,700 Canadians were part of the top 1% of taxpayers, with 74.4% being male and 25.6% female. Although women made up just over a quarter of this group, their average total income was $524,800—approximately 16% lower than the average total income of men, which was $608,300. This difference of $83,500 was five percentage points smaller than in 2021 and the narrowest gap since 2019.
The income disparity between men and women varied significantly by region. Manitoba had the largest gap, with men earning an average of $609,500 compared to $443,200 for women, a difference of $166,300. New Brunswick followed, where men earned an average of $134,400 more than women. In contrast, Newfoundland and Labrador had the smallest gap, with men earning $25,500 more than women on average.
Those in the top 1% tend to be older with a median age of 53 compared to 48 for all other tax filers. About 44% live in Ontario, the province with the highest concentration of the top 1% of all income earners. Quebec was second with 17%. Meanwhile, Prince Edward had the smallest share of income earners in the top 1%. About 85% live in large urban centres with almost 6 in 10 individuals living in Toronto (27%), Montreal (12%), Vancouver (10%) and Calgary (8%).
The income needed to join the 1% in every province
Now that we’ve explored the figures nationally, let’s dive into what it takes to be among the top 1% within each province. In 2022, earning over $300,000 was required to join the top 1% in two provinces. Alberta leads with the highest threshold at $325,000, followed by Ontario at $302,100. Meanwhile, New Brunswick's threshold is almost two-thirds that of Alberta’s at $203,400.
