Total income - Total income refers to monetary receipts from certain sources, before income taxes and deductions, during calendar year 2010. It includes employment income from wages, salaries, tips, commissions and net income from self-employment (for both unincorporated farm and non-farm activities); income from government sources, such as social assistance, child benefits, employment insurance, Old Age Security pension, Canada or Quebec pension plan benefits and disability income; income from employer and personal pension sources, such as private pensions and payments from annuities and RRIFs; income from investment sources, such as dividends and interest on bonds, accounts, GICs and mutual funds; and other regular cash income, such as child support payments received, spousal support payments (alimony) received and scholarships. The monetary receipts included are those that tend to be of a regular and recurring nature. It excludes one-time receipts, such as lottery winnings, gambling winnings, cash inheritances, lump sum insurance settlements, capital gains and RRSP withdrawals. Capital gains are excluded because they are not by their nature regular and recurring. It is further assumed that they are less likely to be fully spent in the period in which they are received, unlike income that is regular and recurring. Also excluded are employer's contributions to registered pension plans, Canada and Quebec pension plans, and employment insurance. Finally, voluntary inter-household transfers, imputed rent, goods and services produced for barter, and goods produced for own consumption are excluded from this total income definition.

Median income of households - The median income of a specified group of households is that amount which divides their income size distribution, ranked by size of income, into two halves. That is, the incomes of the first half of the households are below the median, while those of the second half are above the median. Median incomes of households are normally calculated for all units in the specified group, whether or not they reported income.

Average income of households - Average income of households refers to the weighted mean total income of households in 2010. Average income is calculated from unrounded data by dividing the aggregate income of a specified group of households (for example, two person households) by the number of households in that specific group, whether or not they reported income.