Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK

New numbers from Statistics Canada show median household income is on the rise in the four major cities in the Thompson-Okanagan.

StatsCan says the median household income in B.C. was just under $70,000 in 2015, an increase of 12.2 per cent from 2005. It’s also slightly higher than the Canadian average, making B.C. the eighth-fastest growing region over the decade.

The landscape of in-demand industries has also changed over those 10 years. StatsCan says utilities, health care and social assistance, and forestry and construction centres had employment increases while there were fewer manufacturing and agricultural jobs in the province.

Cities in the Thompson-Okanagan had an increase in the median household income compared to 2005.

In Kamloops, the median household income is now at $73,336, more than $10,000 greater than the city’s median household income in 2005. It’s the highest median income out of the region’s four major cities.

Kelowna has the highest rate of median income growth in the region. The city’s median income in 2015 was just over $71,100, up more than $11,000 from the decade before.

Although Penticton’s median household income is far below the provincial and national averages, the city has seen growth over the past 10 years. In 2015, the median household income in Penticton was nearly $57,400, an increase of more than $3,000 from 2005.

Vernon’s median income is also below both averages at $64,780, but it is an increase from 10 years prior, when the average median income in the city was $57,121.

Several interesting national statistics came out of the new StatCan numbers, including same sex couples having a higher median income than opposite sex couples. In 2015, the median income for men in same-sex relationships was $100,707, the highest among all couple types.

Fewer Canadian children are also living in low-income households, falling about one percentage point compared to 2005. But more Canadian seniors are living in low-income households, especially women.

For the full report, go here.

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