Albertans spend the most on shelter, food: StatsCan

Albertans spend much more than the average Canadian household on shelter and food, according to the latest survey of spending by Statistics Canada.

In fact, Albertahouseholds spent an average of $76,535 on all goods and services in 2015.

That's much higher than the Canadian average of $60,516.

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Shelter takes the biggest bite out of Albertans' annual spending, accounting for 28 per cent of the total.

On average, Albertans spent $21,642 on shelter in 2015. That's slightly higher than the Canadian household average of $17,509 and much higher than New Brunswick, where households spent the least on shelter at $12,171.

Shelter includes rent, mortgage payments, repairs and maintenance costs, property taxes and utilities.

Albertans spend more on food, with the average household spending $10,171 a year, accounting for 13 per cent of their total expenditures.

That's compared to the national average of $8,629, most of which were grocery purchases with $2,502 spent on restaurants. Not surprisingly, couples with children in Canada reported spending the most on food, while seniors living alone spent the least.

While living in Alberta might be expensive,Albertanshave historically made more money than Canadians as a whole, with theprovince's average earningsstanding 16.8 per cent above the national average lastJune.

The information on goods and services spendingwas gathered in 2015 based on detailed surveys completed in 17,603 households in all the Canadian provinces.

According to the study, national household spending on goods and services is up 2.5 per cent from $59,057 in 2014.

The territories weren't included in the larger study, however Statistics Canada looked at 767 households in territorial capitals. Yellowknife reported spending $88,927 a year on goods and services, Iqaluit $86,706, and Whitehorse $68,788.

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