Household income quartiles

Household income quartiles group households into four evenly sized income ranges so relative income position can be compared across places and across Census years. They provide a distribution view of household income rather than a simple count in fixed dollar brackets.

This topic is useful because raw household income amounts are influenced by inflation and broader economic shifts. Quartiles make it easier to see whether an area's households are concentrated toward lower, middle, or higher income positions over time.

Interpretation notes

• This is a derived distribution of total household income, so each quartile shows relative position rather than a fixed income bracket.
• It is useful for over-time comparison because quartile groupings are less distorted by inflation than raw dollar bands.