Housing inequalities in Canada

Housing is a basic human need that not only provides shelter to provide safety from the outside world and a place to share with family and friends, but is also an important determinant of health.
Three key indicators related to housing inequalities include:

• living with a core housing need¹
• experiencing at least one neighbourhood issue reported as a big problem²
• at least one lifetime experience of homeless³

The indicators combine considerations such as income, affordability, neighbourhood dynamics, and dimensions of homelessness.
The proportion of adults living in core housing need is:

• 2.0 times higher among adults who have lower than high school education than among adults who are university graduates. This inequality is more prominent among women⁴.

Table 1: Proportion of Adults Living in Core Housing Need by Education Level

	Both sexes	Females	Males
Lower than high school	14.0	17.2	11.4
High school graduate	10.3	11.5	8.9
Post secondary diploma or certificate	7.8	8.6	6.9
University graduate	6.9	7.5	5.9

• 3.1 times higher among adults who are unemployed than among adults who are employed.

Table 2: Proportion of Adults Living in Core Housing Need by Employment Status

	Both sexes	Females	Males
Unemployed	23.7	23.2	24.8
Employed	7.7	8.5	7.1

• 3.4 times higher among adults who are separated or divorced or widowed and 3.3 times higher among who have never been married than adults who are married. This inequality is more prominent among women.

Table 3: Proportion of Adults Living in Core Housing Need by Marital Status

	Both sexes	Females	Males
Married	6.3	5.0	8.2
Living common-law	7.0	6.8	7.3
Never married	20.5	21.2	19.5
Separated/divorced/ widowed	21.3	24.2	15.1

Reporting at least one neighbourhood issue as a big problem might be experienced by Canadians in all socioeconomic groups but is particularly concentrated among those with the lowest socioeconomic status.

The proportion of adults experiencing at least one neighbourhood issue reported as a big problem is:

• 1.5 times higher among adults who have lower than high school education than among adults who are university graduates.

Table 4: Proportion of Adults Experiencing of At Least One Neighbourhood Issue Reported as a Big Problem by Education Level

	Both sexes	Females	Males
Lower than high school	20.5	24.3	17.5
High school graduate	16.9	19.7	14.2
Post secondary diploma or certificate	15.6	16.3	14.2
University graduate	14.0	14.9	12.4

• 1.4 times higher among adults who are unemployed than among adults who are employed.

Table 5: Proportion of Adults Experiencing At Least One Neighbourhood Issue Reported as a Big Problem by Employment Status

	Both sexes	Females	Males
	Both sexes	Women	Men
Unemployed	21.3	21.8	20.7
Employed	15.0	16.5	13.6

• 2.3 times higher among adults in the lowest income group than among adults in the highest income group⁵.

Table 6: Proportion of Adults Experiencing At Least One Neighbourhood Issue Reported as a Big Problem by Income Level

	Both sexes	Females	Males
Q1	23.4	24.6	21.9
Q2	17.0	19.2	14.8
Q3	13.6	14.3	13.0
Q4	11.0	11.5	10.4
Q5	10.2	12.7	8.4

Experience of having ever been homeless might be reported by Canadians in all socioeconomic groups but is particularly concentrated among those with the lowest socioeconomic status.
The proportion of adults who have ever been homeless is:

• 6.1 times higher among adults who have lower than high school education than among adults who are university graduates.

Table 7: Proportion of Adults who Have Ever Been Homeless by Education Level

	Both sexes	Females	Males
Lower than high school	6.6	8.3	5.2
High school graduate	3.3	3.2	3.5
Post secondary diploma or certificate	2.5	2.3	2.6
University graduate	1.1	1.1	0.9

• 3.2 times higher among adults who are unemployed than among adults who are employed.

Table 8: Proportion of Adults who Have Ever Been Homeless by Employment Status

	Both sexes	Females	Males
Unemployed	5.7	5.6	5.6
Employed	1.8	1.7	1.8

Understanding and exploring the inequalities within these housing indicators allows for future research and policy development to reduce inequalities.

For more data on health inequalities in Canada, visit: https://health-infobase.canada.ca/health-inequalities/data-tool/index

Note: All reported data on infographic are significantly different from reference category.

Source: Canadian Housing Survey (CHS) 2018