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Library – Coast Capital Savings Library

Consumer Income and Spending


Sorry, this guide has moved.
 No changes will be made to it after February 21, 2012. 
Please visit the Consumer Income and Spending pages on our new Business Statistics guide at:

http://libguides.kwantlen.ca/busistats

This guide lists a small selection of sources of Canadian income and spending statistics which are available to Kwantlen faculty members, students and staff.

 Related library guides: Business Statistics | CANSIM | Census | Data Services | Statistics

Consumer Income 


Census

Statistics Canada conducts the Census every five years. It is an excellent source of income information. In fact, Census Profiles are the only source of income data for very small geographic areas such as Census Tracts. Please see the Library's Census guide for more information.

CANSIM

CANSIM stands for Canadian Socio-economic Information Management system. Most of Statistics Canada's tables are stored in its CANSIM collection. As of February 1, 2012, these are freely available to the public from the Statistics Canada website.   


Statistics Canada collects income data from a number of sources in addition to the Census, including tax records from Canada Revenue Agency, and other Statcan surveys such as the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID). These sources are frequently updated and selected tables are made available through the CANSIM collection.

For a list of Statcan surveys which include income statistics, see:

 

 



As of February 1, 2012, CANSIM tables are freely available to the public from the Statistics Canada website. Kwantlen users also have access to CANSIM tables at no cost through three other sources which have different searching and formatting options. Check the Library's CANSIM guide to see which one is right for you.

BC STATS

  • Labour and Income links :  an excellent list of sources, including:
    • Neighbourhood Income and Demographics
      - annual, based on tax returns
      - statistics grouped by age and sex, marital status, income bracket, EI status
      - broken down by: Postal Code Prefix (FSA), Development Area, Regional District, Municipality and Sub-Area
    • Earnings and Employment Trends
      • - monthly 20-page report with analysis of the provincial labour force and its earnings, with comparative figures from the U.S.A. and other parts of Canada.

Consumer Spending

The Census does not include statistics on consumer spending, except for selected housing and shelter costs. However, Statistics Canada conducts several other surveys which capture consumer behaviour (eg. internet use). Results from all of these non-Census surveys are in the CANSIM collection described above. The best-known one is the Survey of Household Spending (SHS) described below. 

Survey of Household Spending (SHS)

- annual Statistics Canada survey measures household spending on a range of products and services
- results from the survey are published in a variety of ways, with varying levels of detail (both geographic and product/service)

Type of info
 Source Year
 Smallest Geographic
Level
  Level of Detail
Summary tables
e.g. CANSIM table 203-001 a

E-STAT

 2008  Census Metropolitan Area
 Broad categories
 e.g. "Personal Care"
Detailed tables
e.g. CANSIM table 203-009 b		 E-STAT  2008  Province Smallest categories
 e.g. "Disposable Diapers"
Detailed tables
e.g. CANSIM table 203-009 b		 UT/DLS
 (also called
 CHASS)		  2009  Province "Disposable Diapers"
Detailed tables
e.g. 62F0031 c		 Equinox  2009   Census Metropolitan Area "Disposable Diapers"
PUMF
(Public Use Microdata File) d		 UT/DLS
 (also called
 CHASS)		  2008  Province Medium detail
  e.g. "Personal Care:
  Supplies & Equipment"
PUMF
(Public Use Microdata File) d		  Equinox  2008  Province Medium detail
  e.g. "Personal Care:
  Supplies & Equipment"
a CANSIM table 203-0009: Survey of household spending (SHS), household spending, summary-level categories, by province, territory and selected metropolitan areas, annual (2356 series)
- approx. 20 broad categories

b CANSIM table 203-0009: Survey of household spending (SHS), household spending on personal care, by province and territory, annual (504 series)
- each of 20 broad categories in the summary-level table (203-0001) above has its own detailed table, e.g. Personal Care
- there are roughly 350 detailed subcategories in all of the tables 

c Statcan catalogue no. 62F0031XDB: Detailed Average Household Expenditure for Canada, Provinces/Territories and Selected Metropolitan Areas. [Read description on Statcan website; access tables through Equinox]

d Survey of Household Spending: Public Use Microdata File [Read description on Statcan website; access tables through Equinox, or UT/DLS. The UT/DLS service allows you to run statistical analyses directly online.]

  • Spending Patterns in Canada

    - annual report provides highlights and key tables from the Survey of Household Spending with 5 year comparison
    - includes several concise analytic essays on key topics

    • Page maintained by: Chris Burns , Research Support & Data Services Librarian
    Updated: 25/05/2011