7 Things You Didn’t Know About Canadians in the Top 1%

When you think of the top 1% of people we only know one thing about them, they are quite rich. However, beyond that, most of us don’t know anything about the top 1% of Canadians. This article looks to change that as we will take a look at 7 things you didn’t know about Canadians in the top 1%.

They Make an Incredible Amount of Money

To be considered a member of the top 1% of earners in Canada, you need to make over $191,000, which is over 7 times the national median income. The average income of the top 1% is an incredible $381,300.

They Are Mostly Men

Of the 1%’ers in Canada, nearly 80% of them were men. Most of these men (nearly 84%) are married or in a common-law relationship and over half were between 45 and 69 years of age.

They Only Live in a Select Few Cities For the Most Part

In terms of where the top 1% of Canada lives, nearly 65% of them live in Ontario or Alberta. In terms of the cities (and surrounding suburbs), over half of the top 1% live in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, or Calgary. This should not be too shocking as those are among the biggest economic centers in the country.

They Are Often Highly Educated

As you could likely imagine, highly educated individuals are likely to have a high income. Over 65% of the top 1% of earners in Canada hold a university degree and there is a good chance many hold more than one, or have a postgraduate degree. Less than 4% of the top 1% of earners in Canada don’t have some form of certificate, degree or diploma (this includes high school as well).

They Studied in Business, Health and Engineering

While there are many different fields you can study, it seems that only a few are likely to get you into the top 1%. Over half of those in the 1% with a degree have it in one of three fields: business (29%), health (15%), or engineering (11%). This also goes for the top 10% and top 5% of earners.

They Have Similar Occupations

Another similarity that most people in the top 1% share is what occupation group they are a part of. The large majority (almost 90%) of the top 1% worked in 5 different occupation groups. Those were: management occupations, health occupations, business/finance/admin. occupations, natural and applied sciences and educational/law/social/government services.

Many Are Senior Managers

If you want to get into the top 1% of earners in Canada, you will likely want to make sure you are in a senior management position. Senior managers account for 43% of all managers in the top 1% and almost 20% of all senior managers in the country made it into the top 1% of earners. Compare that to the 5% of regular managers, and it seems getting to a senior manager position gives you a good shot of making it to the top 1%. 

Source : Statistics Canada