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Disability in Canada: A 2006 Profile

Disability Facts about Income

People aged 15 to 64 with disabilities have lower total income1 than people without disabilities:

  • The average total income for people with a disability is $27,031.
  • The average total income for people without a disability is $37,998.

Total income earned varies by disability type:

  • People with a developmental disability earn the lowest average total income of all disability types at $15,247.
  • People reporting pain as a disability earn the highest average total income of all disability types at $28,814.
  • People with a seeing disability earn on average $23,564 in total income.
  • People with a mobility disability earn on average $27,057 in total income.
  • People with a hearing disability earn on average $28,663 in total income.

Gender plays a large role in determining incomes:

  • A male with a disability earns on average $32,583 in total income while a female with a disability earns on average $22,013 in total income.
  • A male without a disability earns on average $46,386 in total income while a female without a disability earns on average $29,593.

Government programs are a large source of income for people with disabilities in Canada:

  • People with disabilities aged 60 and older earn, on average, $7,078 of income from Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement compared to $6,548 earned from people aged 60 and older without disabilities.2
  • People with disabilities aged 15 and older earn, on average, $6,4563 of income from Canada/Quebec Pension Plan benefits compared to $5,707 earned by people without disabilities.4
  • Other government income for people aged 15 and older is on average higher for people with disabilities ($3,167) compared to people without disabilities ($1,400).

People with disabilities who are employed have lower average employment incomes than people without disabilities who have reached similar trades, college and university education levels:

  • As the level of education increases, the gap between average earnings for people with disabilities and people without disabilities becomes larger.

Chart 1: Average employment income by highest level of education attainment and disability status for working-age adults aged 15 to 64

This is a vertical bar graph that illustrates the average employment income by disability status for working-age adults aged 15 to 64.

[ Chart 1 Description … ]

Source: Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) 2006
Note: Data listed above is of the full 2006 Canadian population and may be different than that of previously released Federal Disability Reports due to different methodology of developing the samples. Please see the 2009 Federal Disability Report, page 3, for more information.

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← Table of Contents

1

Total income is the sum (including loss) of any paid, self-employed, government payments and other income. Employment income is paid employment which includes wages and salaries and self-employment (including loss). Other government income includes provincial income supplements and grants, goods and services tax (GST), Quebec sales tax (QST), harmonized sales tax (HST) credit, provincial tax credits, workers’ compensation, veterans’ pensions and welfare payments. All income represents taxation year 2005. It is important to note that not all sources of income are received by everyone. Those earning no total income are excluded from total income calculations.

2

Old Age Security pensions and Guaranteed Income Supplements are paid to people 65 years of age and over; however, allowance for a survivor is paid to 60-64 year-old spouses of Old Age Security recipients or widow(er)s.

3

Includes Canada Pension Plan disability benefits (CPPD).

4

Children who are between the ages of 18-25 and are full-time students are eligible for CPP benefits if one of their parents dies or starts to receive CPP disability benefits.

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Date Modified:
2011-08-04