In which large cities are artists’ incomes highest?
Part 2 of my analysis of highly artistic municipalities in Canada
Two weeks ago, I examined census counts of professional artists in municipalities across Canada, including a list of those municipalities with the highest concentrations of artists. I also looked at the number and concentration of artists in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.
But let’s say that you’re an artist who can be flexible in terms of where you live. Living in places with lots of other artists might be one criterion, but wouldn’t you also be interested in choosing a place where artists tend to be well compensated? Is there such a place in Canada?
Today’s post offers an analysis of large cities where artists have particularly high incomes and/or where artists’ incomes are closest to all workers. In exactly 0 municipalities across Canada is the median income of artists equal to or greater than the median of other local workers. So, the analysis below relates to large cities with the lowest gaps between artists and other workers.
In two weeks, I’ll analyze both factors in combination, i.e., municipalities with both a high concentration of artists and relatively high median income.
Which municipalities are included?
My (unpublished) first attempt at this analysis looked at all lower-tier municipalities, not just large cities. The results appeared to be an idiosyncratic list of small municipalities that are close to larger cities, i.e., places where artists who have achieved financial success in the big city might choose to reside. None of these municipalities has more than 300 artists.
To counter this, I adjusted the analysis to include only those municipalities with at least 1,000 artists. For convenience, I’m calling these places “large cities”.
To broaden the net a little, I’ve included lower-tier cities and upper-tier regions, districts, and counties with at least 1,000 artists. But I’ve taken care to exclude upper-tier municipalities that have a similar number of artists as a lower-tier municipality that forms part of it. Any amalgamated city that covers the same territory as its region is included only once (e.g., Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Laval).
In total, 41 municipalities are included in the analysis.
Here are some examples of what this means:
Five cities within Metro Vancouver are included but not the region itself. The five lower-tier cities each have over 1,000 artists and collectively represent roughly three-quarters of the artists in Metro Vancouver (including the cities of Vancouver, North Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, and Burnaby).
Both the City of Victoria and the Capital Regional District are included, because the district has about three times as many artists as the city itself.
The Ville de Montréal is included but not the Island of Montreal (because the Island has relatively few additional artists compared with the city, and artists’ income statistics are very similar).
Edmonton and Calgary are included, but not Alberta Divisions 6 and 11.
Regina and Saskatoon are included, but not Saskatchewan Divisions 6 and 11.
St. John’s is excluded, because the city has just under 1,000 artists, but Newfoundland Division 1 is included, because more than 1,000 artists reside there.
Mississauga and Brampton are included, but Peel Region is excluded (because it has relatively few additional artists compared with the two constituent cities).
Barrie is excluded (less than 1,000 artists), but Simcoe County is included.
Guelph is excluded (less than 1,000 artists), but Wellington County is included.
Focus on median personal income (only)
For clarity, I’m looking at just one income statistic: median personal income in 2020. This statistic includes all income sources, such as employment income, net revenue from self-employment, pandemic supports, rental income, investment income, and others. Total personal income is calculated before taxes are deducted. The employment and self-employment portion of total income includes the work-related earnings of artists from all paid and self-employed positions that they held during the year.
The analysis is based on data that I requested from Statistics Canada’s 2021 long-form census, Details about how the census counts workers are provided at the end of the article.
There are only 5 large municipalities in Canada where artists’ median incomes exceed $35,000, and only 7 more where artists’ median incomes are above the national median of $30,200.
There are only 3 large municipalities where artists’ median incomes are within 25% of the incomes of other local workers. (Reminder: the difference for all Canadian artists is 39%.)
Which municipalities? Read on …