Wealth and income percentiles in Canada
How much net worth or income does it take to be in the top 10% or top 1% in Canada? Model estimates for 31.5 million adults aged 20+, reference level 2025.
Net worth thresholds in Canada
Net worth is private assets (property, deposits, securities, business ownership) minus debt, per adult. Thresholds show the minimum net worth needed to belong to each group.
| Group of adults | Threshold, CAD | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | CAD 232,000 | USD 169,000 |
| Top 10% | CAD 932,000 | USD 681,000 |
| Top 5% | CAD 1,720,000 | USD 1,260,000 |
| Top 1% | CAD 4,730,000 | USD 3,450,000 |
| Top 0.1% | CAD 23,000,000 | USD 16,800,000 |
| Average (mean) | CAD 550,000 | USD 402,000 |
Income thresholds in Canada
Income is a harmonized pre-tax economic income per adult used for cross-country comparison. It is broader than wages and includes capital income, pensions and some imputed components.
| Group of adults | Threshold, CAD | Threshold, USD |
|---|---|---|
| Median (top 50%) | CAD 58,600 | USD 42,800 |
| Top 10% | CAD 167,000 | USD 122,000 |
| Top 5% | CAD 228,000 | USD 167,000 |
| Top 1% | CAD 470,000 | USD 343,000 |
| Top 0.1% | CAD 1,320,000 | USD 963,000 |
| Average (mean) | CAD 90,600 | USD 66,200 |
Canada in a global context
Canada has 0.57% of the world’s adults. About 52.8% of them are in the world’s top 10% by net worth and 5.5% are in the global top 1%. By income, the shares are 52.3% and 4.5%.
The median adult in Canada is in the global top 9.8% by net worth and the global top 9.5% by income. Canada is home to about 3.14% of the world’s top 1% by net worth.
Data quality and sources
Scores run from 1 (strong direct national source coverage) to 5 (mainly modelled).
| Measure | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Net worth | 3 | Statistics Canada provides a direct median net worth and quintile averages, but only one direct threshold is imported in the national wealth track; the rest is modelled. |
| Income | 3 | Statistics Canada provides direct tax-file thresholds for the top 1%, 0.1% and 0.01%. Strong official upper-tail data, but not a full distribution in the implemented curve. |
- Statistics Canada - Survey of Financial Security, 2023
- Statistics Canada - Distributions of household economic accounts, Q4 2023
- Statistics Canada - High-income Canadians, 2023
The calculator also offers a national source track for Canada based on official national statistics (Advanced options → Comparison basis). National tracks use their own definitions and are not added to the global total.
Amounts are converted at fixed exchange rates of 2025-12-31; they do not adjust for purchasing power. Thresholds in the extreme top are modelled and uncertain.
Frequently asked questions
How much net worth do you need to be in the top 1% in Canada?
About CAD 4,730,000 in net worth (assets minus debt) per adult, according to the WealthPercentile model for 2025. The top 10% starts at about CAD 932,000.
What is the median income in Canada?
The median adult in Canada has a broad pre-tax economic income of about CAD 58,600 a year. This measure is broader than wages: it includes capital income and some imputed components, so it is higher than a typical payslip.
How many adults in Canada are in the global top 1%?
About 5.5% of adults in Canada are in the world’s top 1% by net worth, and 4.5% by income.
How reliable are these numbers?
They are model estimates. The data-quality score for Canada is 3/5 for net worth and 3/5 for income, where 1 means strong direct source coverage and 5 means mainly modelled.