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April 14, 2025HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND CONSUMPTION, Q4 AND ANNUAL 2024 Household Income and Outlay
In addition to compensation of employees, household income also includes net mixed income (generated from unincorporated businesses), property income received (generated as the result of ownership of assets) and current transfers received (generally from government).
Nova Scotians received $16.01 billion in household income in Q4 2024, including $8.75 billion in employee compensation, $2.14 billion in net mixed income from unincorporated business ownership, $1.77 billion in property income receipts and $3.35 in current transfers received.
After paying current transfers (including income taxes) of $4.57 billion and property income of $0.60 billion, Nova Scotia disposable income was $10.84 billion in Q4 2024. Including the $3.71 billion value of social transfers in kind received from governments or non-profits in the form of services provided for households, Nova Scotia had adjusted disposable income of $14.55 billion.
The consumption of social transfers in kind matches the value of social transfers received ($3.71 billion), while households spent $11.07 billion on consumer expenditures. The value of household final consumption expenditures and social transfers in kind was less than the adjusted household disposable income, with the surplus resulting in an increase in savings of $0.16 billion in household savings and a $0.39 billion change in pension entitlements.
Household income
Nova Scotia's overall household income growth from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024 was 6.4%, which was just below the national growth of 6.5%. All provinces reported rising household income year-over-year, with the fastest increase in Ontario and the slowest gain in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotia's rising household income reflected employee compensation growth of 5.7%. Nationally, employee compensation was up 6.3% year-over-year with gains in all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador. Ontario had the fastest year-over-year rise in employee compensation.
Nova Scotia's net mixed income from unincorporated businesses grew 12.7% from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024. National net mixed income was up 10.4%. The three Maritime provinces reported the fastest growth rates from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024 while Saskatchewan reported the slowest growth.
Nova Scotia's growth in property income receipts was 3.0%. The national average gain in property income received was 4.7% with the fastest growth rate in British Columbia. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the weakest growth in property income receipts.
Current transfers received were up 6.4% in Nova Scotia from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024, matching the national pace of growth. Transfer growth was fastest in Ontario and slowest in British Columbia.
For 2024 as a whole, Nova Scotia's household income increased by 7.5% compared with 2023, which was the same as the national pace. Ontario reported the fastest annual growth in household income while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the slowest growth.
Nova Scotia's employee compensation growth of 5.2% in 2024 lagged the national pace of 6.0%. All provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador reported rising employee compensation with the fastest gains in Ontario and British Columbia.
Net mixed income grew by 14.4% in Nova Scotia in 2024. Net mixed income was up 12.4% nationally. The Maritime provinces (led by Prince Edward Island) reported the fastest growth while Saskatchewan reported the slowest growth in net mixed income.
Nova Scotia's property income receipts grew by 9.4%, slower than the national rise of 11.0%. All provinces reported rising property income receipts in 2024 with the fastest gains in Ontario and Manitoba and the slowest rise in Saskatchewan.
Nova Scotia reported an 8.4% increase in current transfer income in 2024. National current transfers grew 7.2% with the fastest gain in Ontario and the slowest gain in Québec.
In Q4 2024, Nova Scotia's household income was $32,799 per household or 82.1% of the national average ($39,927). The highest income per household was in Alberta and lowest in New Brunswick (followed by Nova Scotia).
Nova Scotia's employee compensation $17,916 per household, amounting to 76.5% of the national average per household ($23,431). Alberta reported the highest employee compensation per household and New Brunswick the lowest (followed by the other Atlantic Provinces).
Nova Scotia's net mixed income generated by unincorporated businesses amounted to $4,386 per household, which was 99.4% of the national average per household of $4,413. Across Canada, the highest values of net mixed income per household were in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The lowest net mixed income per household was in Québec.
Nova Scotia property income received in Q4 2024 was $3,633 per household, which was 71.9% of the national average ($5,050 per household). The highest property income values were in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. The lowest property income per household was in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Current transfers received in Nova Scotia were $6,864 per household in Q4 2024, third lowest among provinces. Current transfers received in Nova Scotia were 97.6% of the national average per household ($7,033). Transfers per household were highest in Newfoundland and Labrador and lowest in British Columbia.
Household Consumer Expenditures
Comparing Q4 2024 with Q4 2023, Nova Scotia's household consumer expenditures increased by 5.8%, just behind the national pace of 6.0%. Year-over-year growth in consumer expenditures was very similar across all provinces with the fastest gain (British Columbia: 6.2%) barely outpacing the slowest increases (New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island at 5.7% each).
Social transfers in kind refer to services that are provided for the benefit of households but are paid for by governments and non-profits. These are primarily health and education expenditures, which add to private expenditures made on these services. Social transfers in kind increased by 17.5% in Nova Scotia, the fastest gain among provinces from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024. Social transfers in kind were up in every province with Saskatchewan and Alberta reporting the slowest gains.
The sum of household final consumer expenditures and social transfers in kind is termed 'household actual final consumption expenditures', which reflects the benefits to households from both private expenditures as well as services provided by governments and non-profits. Combining these two components led to year-over-year household actual final consumption growth of 8.5% for Nova Scotia, which was the fastest among provinces. Apart from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador (both of which had notably faster increases in social transfers in kind), most provinces reported similar year-over-year growth rates in household actual final consumption. Prince Edward Island's growth was slightly slower than in other provinces.
Annual household consumption grew by 5.0% in Nova Scotia in 2024, just behind the national growth rate of 5.1%. The three westernmost provinces reported slightly faster growth rates, but even the slowest growing household consumption expenditures (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Québec at 4.8%) were barely slower than the fastest gains (5.4% in British Columbia and Saskatchewan).
Nova Scotia's social transfers in kind rose by 17.5% in 2024, outpacing all other provinces (though Newfoundland and Labrador's rise in social transfers in kind was almost as fast). National social transfers in kind were up 7.5% in 2024 with the slowest rise in Québec.
In total, Nova Scotia's household actual final consumption grew by 7.9% in 2024 - faster than in any other province. National growth in household actual final consumption was 5.7%, with the slowest rise in Québec.
Among the categories of actual final consumption expenditures, housing/utilities/energy made up the largest category of household consumer expenditures, followed by social transfers in kind for health care, transportation, social transfers in kind for education, food/beverages and recreation/culture.
From Q4 2023 to Q4 2024, growth in per household spending was fastest in social transfers for health and social transfers for education, followed by insurance/financial services and housing/utilities/energy. Expenditures were down for alcoholic beverages/tobacco, household furnishings/equipment, other social transfers and private (market-provided) education services.
Annual expenditures per household in Nova Scotia were largest for housing/utilities/energy, social transfers for health, transportation, social transfers for education, food/beverages and recreation/culture.
Nova Scotia per household expenditures grew fastest for health and education social transfers along with housing/utilities/energy. Annual per household spending was down for other social transfers, furnishings/household equipment, alcoholic beverages/tobacco and clothing/footwear.
Nova Scotia's final consumer expenditures (paid for private by households) amounted $22,677 per household (90.2% of the national average per household). Across Canada, final consumer expenditures per household were $25,128 with the highest values in British Columbia and Alberta and the lowest value in Québec.
In Q4 2024, Nova Scotian households received $7,597 per household worth of social transfers in kind (101.7% of the national average per household). Across Canada, social transfers in kind were $7,473 per household with the highest value in Manitoba and the lowest value in New Brunswick.
Nova Scotia's household actual final consumption expenditures in Q4 2024 were $30,274 per household (92.9% of the national average per household). National household actual final consumption expenditures were $32,601 per household with the highest value in British Columbia and the lowest value in Québec.
In Q4 2024, Nova Scotia's net savings per household were +$321, an improvement from the net savings of +$70 per household in Q4 2023. Only Newfoundland and Labrador reported negative net savings in Q4 2024. Nationally, savings averaged $2,309 per household in Q4 2024 with notably higher savings in Saskatchewan
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 36-10-0663-01 Distributions of household economic accounts, income, consumption and saving, Canada, provinces and territories, quarterly (x 1,000,000)
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