Yesterday’s Owl looked at the income of the top one per cent of tax filers in Alberta. Today we are examining Albertans at other points along the income continuum.

As of 2018 (the most recent year for which data are available), 50 per cent of Alberta tax filers had total incomes* below $41,500 and accounted for 16.9 per cent of all income collected in the province.

The average income across the bottom 50 per cent was $19,700. There was a small difference between the two largest cities, with the average income of the bottom 50 per cent of earners in Calgary coming in at $19,000 compared to $20,700 in Edmonton.

Controlling for inflation, the average income of Albertans in the bottom 50 per cent decreased by 4.2 per cent between 2015 and 2018. In Calgary, the average fell by 7.6 per cent compared to a contraction of 3.3 per cent in Edmonton.

The top 50 per cent group in Alberta had an average income of $97,300 in 2018 and accounted for the other 83.1 per cent of income collected in the province.

The average income of Alberta tax filers in the top 50 per cent group contracted by 12.4 per cent between 2015 and 2018. The drop in Calgary was 16.2 per cent versus 11.4 per cent in Edmonton.

*Total income consists of income from earnings, investments, pensions, spousal support payments and other taxable income plus government transfers and refundable tax credits.