Comparing the Family Income of Students in British Columbia's Independent and Public Schools

Summary

• On average, families with children in independent schools earned $88,367 in income (after taxes) compared to $77,396, on average, for families with children in public schools, which represents a gap of 14.2 percent.
• If the families with children attending elite independent schools are removed, the average income (after tax) for the remaining families with children attending independent schools falls to $78,894, which is only 1.9 percent above the average income for families with children in public schools.
• Only 7.7 percent of independent schools in British Columbia were categorized as elite as of the year of analysis.
• Families with children in elite independent schools maintained an average income (after tax) of $119,242, which is 54.1 percent higher than the average income for families with children in public schools.
• Increasing the coverage ratio to 80 percent or decreasing it to 50 percent does not materially change the results. Families with children attending non-elite independent schools maintain roughly the same level of total after-tax income as families with children attending public schools.