Canadian Household Income: We're Better Off Than Our American Neighbours

In the past few years, the median average for Canadian families hasn't gone up, but it hasn't gone down.

The average income for Canadians has stayed stable in the most recent analysis of incomes from 2010.

And that's better than our friends south of the border, where the recession has taken its toll on average income of couples and families.

According to Statistics Canada, Canadian family income stayed at $65,500 on average in 2010, unchanged from the previous year. Americans faced a sharp decline of 7.7% in their family income in the same time period.

So it a good thing for Canadians? If you're a two parent family or a single parent family, life has many challenges, but income has been holding steady for you too.These numbers reflect the stable Canadian economy - one that has increased housing prices in the past few years and employment numbers that are also gaining.

For the average Canadian family, two parents with kids, the average income was $78,800 annually, an increase over the previous year of $78,200.

The bad news is the increase in Canadian debt, which worries the Bank of Canada.

The Statistics Canada study also showed that low-income families, which make up nine per cent of the Canadian population, didn't increase in the same time period, and stayed at 8.1 per cent, which is less than in 2000, when it was at 13.8 per cent.

The good news is more Canadian are moving up the ladder, with 16.2 per cent of the population earning more than the comparative period the previous year. And which province or territory holds the highest median incomes? Albertans earn an average of $78,100 per year.