An affluent Canadian is generally defined as an individual with significant disposable income or investable assets, often categorized as having over $1 million in investable assets. While the top 1% of income earners in 2023 made over $293,800 annually, the "mass affluent" segment often refers to those with $100,000 to $1 million in assets. They typically enjoy high-end lifestyles and work in senior, specialized roles.
In order to be considered wealthy in Canada, you should have a net worth of at least $1 million. That being said, a lot of Canadians who are considered wealthy live a relatively normal life. Most of their net worth is in their primary residence, investments, retirement packages, or even a mix of the three.
Accordingly, marketing firms and investment houses classify those with household incomes exceeding $250,000 as mass affluent, while the threshold upper class is most commonly defined as the top 1% with household incomes commonly exceeding $525,000 annually.
Individuals with mass affluence have liquid assets valued between $100,000 and $1,000,000. Mass affluent individuals have an annual household income exceeding $75,000 a year. These are usually workers in white-collar careers with significant savings and retirement funds.
If you buy an expensive pair of shoes or go on an expensive trip, which are you more likely to remember in five years? Wealthy people have the luxury of being able to travel more and experience unique opportunities, which can be a sign of a higher income than your average person.
Canada's mass affluent segment is defined as households with investable assets ranging from $100,000 to $1 million.
While the average income for the top 1% of earners is $500,000 annually, the threshold income is much lower at $315,911 annually. Those who are considered to be part of the top 1% are also considered to be upper class. There are quite a few career paths in Canada that can lead you to make an income of those in the 1%.
In 2023, 25.5 percent of the Canadian population had an annual income of 100,000 Canadian dollars or more.
In 2023, there were 4.4 million families in Canada with net wealth above one million dollars and 108,000 families with net wealth above 10 million dollars.
Here's a wealth class framework described by Bo Hanson, CFA, CFP® that breaks out 5 groups by net worth: the bottom 25%, the lower middle class, upper middle class, upper class, and the wealthiest 10%.
Based on this data, approximately less than 10% of Canadians aged 55 to 64 have $1,000,000 or more saved up to carry them into retirement. However, there are ways to improve your odds of getting to $1-million-plus in retirement savings, but it will take work.
Wood Buffalo: Canada's Hidden Gem of Prosperity
Wood Buffalo, in the Province of Alberta, is actually the Median Household Income leader in the country. As of 2020, the Median Household Income in Wood Buffalo is an astonishing $182,000, in contrast to the Median Census Family Income, which is $175,450.
Nearly half of respondents said they think people need a net worth of at least $5 million in order to be considered wealthy. Among millennial respondents, the cutoff was a more modest $1 million.
About 18-23% of individual Americans earn over $100,000 annually, but this figure rises significantly for households, with roughly 34-42% earning $100k or more, depending on the data source and year, with higher percentages for specific demographics like men and middle-aged adults.
74% of Canadians with RRSPs have $100,000 or more in retirement savings. Less than half of Canadians with a high-interest savings account have surpassed $100,000 in savings.
From 2022 to 2023, the inflation-adjusted average income declined among the top 1% of Canadians with the highest incomes. Average income of this population edged down 0.6% to $606,000 in 2023, while that of filers in the top 0.1% group declined 1.0% to $2,131,900.
The top one per cent of tax filers made an average of $606,000 in 2023, according to Statistics Canada's most recent “high-income Canadians” report. In contrast, Canadian tax filers on average made $59,900 that year when adjusted for inflation.
Best places to live in Canada: the verdict
As a recap, the best cities are: Montreal, Quebec: best for food and drink. Boucherville, Quebec: best for rural escapes. Edmonton, Alberta: best for families.