For the First Time, Canadians Now Richer Than Americans

The average Canadian household is worth about $40,000 more than their American counterparts

By Meg Handley
July 18, 2012 RSS Feed Print


The net worth of the average Canadian household in 2011 was $363,202.

While Americans might enjoy throwing politically-charged barbs at their neighbors to the north, Canadians now have at least one reason to be smug.

For the first time in recent history, the average Canadian is richer than the average American, according to a report cited in Toronto's Globe and Mail.

And not just by a little. Currently, the average Canadian household is more than $40,000 richer than the average American household. The net worth of the average Canadian household in 2011 was $363,202, compared to around $320,000 for Americans.

Read more: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/07/18/for-the-first-time-canadians-now-richer-than-americans

All that and universal healthcare. Imagine that.

Canadian real estate prices are pretty high still, and it sounds like on average they do a better job of paying down mortgages, instead of re-fis and using equity as an ATM machine.

The $300K average net worth sounds a bit high in both countries. Median is a better statistic to use.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/busin ... -says.html

The FED study said US median net worth was more like $77K in 2010

They didn't suffer from the great recession like so many other nations. And Canada doesn't give tax deductions for mortgage interest. Doesn't seem to be hurting thier real estate market.

I go to Puerto Vallarata every year and a lot of Canadians winter there. It used to be with the weak Canadian dollar the canucks would save by eating at the street taco stands. Now they are eating at the fancy places and driving up prices for the American ex-pats.