PEI

Rural incomes catching up on P.E.I.

The employment income of Prince Edward Islanders living outside of Charlottetown and Summerside is catching up with those living in the two cities.

P.E.I. incomes also growing against national median

Rural incomes are climbing relative to the P.E.I. average. (Submitted by Libby Whelan)

The employment income of Prince Edward Islanders living outside of Charlottetown and Summerside is catching up with those living in the two cities.

A recent report from Statistics Canada shows the median employment income of rural Islanders in 2015 was 90 per cent of the income earned by the average Islander.

That's up from 84 per cent in 2008. The narrowing of the gap has all happened since 2010.

Charlottetown residents had the highest income, earning 110 per cent of the median income in 2015, but that was down from 116 per cent in 2008.

Summerside residents, who were earning 105 per cent of the median in 2008, were earning the same as the average Islander in 2015.

Median employment income
2008 2015
Prince Edward Island $21,560 $26,950
Charlottetown $25,050 $29,660
Summerside $22,550 $26,980
Rural P.E.I. $18,190 $24,240

P.E.I. incomes are still well below the national average, at 80 per cent of the median, but that is up from 73 per cent in 2008.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kevin Yarr

Web journalist

Kevin Yarr is the early morning web journalist at CBC P.E.I. Kevin has a specialty in data journalism, and how statistics relate to the changing lives of Islanders. He has a BSc and a BA from Dalhousie University, and studied journalism at Holland College in Charlottetown. You can reach him at kevin.yarr@cbc.ca.