Average Net Worth by Age in Canada: What's Typical
The typical Canadian family unit had a net worth of $519,700 in 2023, according to Statistics Canada. The average was $995,900. That’s a big gap, and it’s why the average net worth by age in Canada always looks out of reach: a small number of very wealthy families lift it for everyone else. The median is the family in the middle, and it’s the number worth comparing yourself with.
What is the average net worth by age in Canada?
Median net worth rises from $159,100 for family units under 35 to $873,400 for those aged 55 to 64, then dips to $738,900 after 65. The averages run from $459,800 to $1,347,300. Age here means the age of the family’s major income earner, and the figures come from Statistics Canada’s 2023 Survey of Financial Security.
| Age of major income earner | Median net worth | Average net worth | Share who own their home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $159,100 | $459,800 | 44.4% |
| 35 to 44 | $409,300 | $753,500 | 63.3% |
| 45 to 54 | $675,800 | $1,150,800 | 72.9% |
| 55 to 64 | $873,400 | $1,347,300 | 71.8% |
| 65 and over | $738,900 | $1,204,500 | 70.3% |
| All ages | $519,700 | $995,900 | 64.7% |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0016-01 (opens in a new tab), Survey of Financial Security, 2023. Family units include economic families and people living alone.
Why the average is so much higher
The average adds up everyone’s net worth and divides by the number of families. One family worth $40 million raises it for thousands of others and leaves the median where it was. Under 35, the average is almost three times the median, so a single “average net worth at 30” figure tells you more about the richest young Canadians than about you.
Why it drops after 65
People stop earning a salary and start spending their savings. Some sell a house and move somewhere smaller, and pension money is paid out as income. A lower number after 65 is what retirement is supposed to look like.
What counts in your net worth?
Net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe. Statistics Canada counts your home, other property, employer pension plans, RRSPs, TFSAs, investments, bank deposits, vehicles and any business you own. It subtracts mortgages, lines of credit, car loans, student loans and credit card balances.
The survey leaves out the Canada Pension Plan, the Quebec Pension Plan and Old Age Security. Workplace pensions are in, valued at what you would get if you left the plan today.
Most of the total isn’t cash. Across all ages, here’s what Canadians’ assets are made of:
| Asset | Share of total assets, all ages |
|---|---|
| Principal residence | 38.2% |
| Employer pension plans | 13.3% |
| RRSPs, RRIFs and LIRAs | 10.1% |
| Other real estate | 9.3% |
| Business equity | 8.4% |
| Bank deposits | 3.1% |
| TFSAs | 2.4% |
| Vehicles | 2.4% |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0016-01, 2023. The rows shown don’t add to 100%; stocks, funds and other assets make up the rest.
Bank deposits are 3.1% of the total. That’s why the median net worth of a family under 35 is $159,100 while their median bank balance is $6,000, as our guide to average savings by age in Canada shows.
Net worth by age for singles and families
People who live alone have much less than couples and families at every age, and comparing yourself with a figure for all family units hides that. A single person under 35 had a median net worth of $70,000 in 2023. An economic family under 35, usually a couple with or without kids, had $241,900.
| Age | Median, single person | Median, family | Average, single person | Average, family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $70,000 | $241,900 | $211,200 | $604,400 |
| 35 to 44 | $168,800 | $517,500 | $389,900 | $885,900 |
| 45 to 54 | $310,000 | $835,900 | $612,900 | $1,334,400 |
| 55 to 64 | $395,000 | $1,256,400 | $758,100 | $1,762,000 |
| 65 and over | $475,900 | $1,109,700 | $849,800 | $1,628,700 |
| All ages | $278,200 | $712,900 | $632,500 | $1,226,500 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0016-01, 2023. “Single person” is the survey’s “persons not in an economic family”: someone living alone or with people they aren’t related to.
Part of the gap is just two incomes and one home, as we show for couples in our guide to income by age. The rest is home ownership: 28% of single people under 35 own their home, against 54% of young families.
Does owning a home decide your net worth?
More than anything else on the list. Among families under 35, homeowners had a median net worth of $457,100 in 2023, while families with no home and no workplace pension had $27,000, according to Statistics Canada’s release on the 2023 survey (opens in a new tab). That’s about 17 times as much, in the same age bracket.
The gap is just as wide closer to retirement. Among families aged 55 to 64, homeowners with a workplace pension had a median of $1.4 million. Renters without one had $11,900.
Why young Canadians’ net worth nearly tripled since 2019
Rising home values. The median net worth of family units under 35 went from $56,400 in 2019 to $159,100 in 2023, in 2023 dollars. Statistics Canada puts the increase at 179% (from unrounded figures), the biggest of any age group, and says the largest gains went to young homeowners, whose median rose by $142,800.
Young families without a home or pension gained too, from $10,500 to $27,000, but that’s from a much lower starting point. The same house prices that lifted owners’ net worth made it harder for renters to buy in.
Has net worth changed since 2023?
Yes, it kept rising. The survey above is the most recent with medians, but Statistics Canada’s quarterly household accounts update average net worth by age every three months. Between the end of 2023 and the end of 2025, the average household’s net worth grew about 11.5%, before inflation.
| Age of major income earner | Average, end of 2023 | Average, end of 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $394,498 | $455,453 | +15.5% |
| 35 to 44 | $706,639 | $779,747 | +10.3% |
| 45 to 54 | $1,161,176 | $1,289,483 | +11.0% |
| 55 to 64 | $1,416,537 | $1,597,113 | +12.7% |
| 65 and over | $1,145,499 | $1,269,283 | +10.8% |
| All households | $967,599 | $1,078,642 | +11.5% |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 36-10-0660-01 (opens in a new tab), Distributions of household economic accounts, fourth quarter of each year. Averages per household, not adjusted for inflation.
These averages come from a different method than the survey, so compare the rows in this table with each other, not with the first table on the page. The same release shows how lopsided wealth is: at the end of 2025, the wealthiest 20% of households held 65.7% of all household net worth.
Median net worth by province
Where you live changes the picture a lot, mostly through house prices. British Columbia’s median is more than two and a half times New Brunswick’s.
| Province | Median net worth, all ages |
|---|---|
| British Columbia | $773,500 |
| Ontario | $665,600 |
| Alberta | $457,100 |
| Prince Edward Island | $399,800 |
| Saskatchewan | $394,600 |
| Manitoba | $386,300 |
| Quebec | $371,000 |
| Nova Scotia | $354,600 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $333,500 |
| New Brunswick | $286,200 |
| Canada | $519,700 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 11-10-0016-01, 2023. Statistics Canada publishes provincial figures for all ages only, not by age group.
How do you work out your own net worth?
Add up what you own and subtract what you owe. Use today’s values: the balance in each account, what your home would sell for, a realistic price for your car. Then list every debt at its current balance, including your mortgage, student loans and anything on a credit card.
Then compare it with the right row. A 32-year-old renting alone and a 32-year-old couple who bought in 2019 are both “under 35”, and the table above can’t tell them apart. If you rent and have no workplace pension, the $27,000 median for young families in the same situation is a fairer yardstick than $159,100.
Most people build net worth in three ways: paying down debt, owning a home, and saving. Saving is the only one you can change every week. If you don’t have a cushion yet, start with an emergency fund, then work toward the goal you actually care about, like a down payment.
The part of your net worth you can grow this week
A house and a pension grow on their own schedule. Savings grow when you add to them, and that’s the hard part: you put away $50, the balance goes up a little, and nothing else happens. After a few months of that, a lot of people stop.
Lodavo gives each of those weeks a payoff. Connect the savings or chequing account you already use, and every $25 you keep there earns you a free ticket in the weekly draw for cash prizes up to $10,000, with at least $100 won by a user every week. The more you save, the more tickets you hold. Your money stays in your own account, earning what it already earns.
Ready to give your savings a reason to grow? Download Lodavo free on the Apple App Store (opens in a new tab) or Google Play Store (opens in a new tab).
In the US? Our guide to average net worth by age in the US uses the Federal Reserve’s 2025 survey.
Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.
Frequently asked questions
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