The following entry examines basic data on household income in the UBC/Dunbar Study area .

Using the VSB location of QEA students as the basis to select a census tract I then pulled the data from the BC Stats page that shows, among other things, household income and % of families with low income. For the UBC area the census tract includes only UEL/UBC areas (which is the right area and thus makes my job easier. The census tract for the QEA area is fairly close (though not precisely) to the actual location that their students are drawn from,

These are 2001 data as the current 2006 census data is not yet released for this question. The population profiles have been released and that was what I used to get a sense of numbers of kids.In the UBC/UEL area the average household income is $85,000. There is a clear 50/50 income split here with about 1/2 of the 2001 households earning over $50,000 per year and the remaining households earning less than $50,000 per year. The overall incidence of low income, as defined by Stats BC, is 30% of households.

The QEA area is significantly different in terms of household income profile. The average 2001 household income is $104,000. In this census track about two-thirds of households earn more than $60,000 per year. The incidence of low income is 13% (about 1/3 of the UBC/UEL incidence of low income).

While both areas are relatively well off, there is a pronounced difference to the UBC area in terms of having a significant number of households living very close to the poverty line. There are notable differences between the low income households as well, with those in the UBC/UEL area more likely to have children.

For reference:

• UBC/UEL 2001 Census tract profile. Download file
• QEA 2001 Census tract profile. Download file
• Comments on local area demographics. Click here.