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A tale of two cities: Calgarians keep more of their money, but Kelowna residents are happier

Ever look to the east and wonder how well our Calgarian neighbours are living? Is the prairie lifestyle better or worse than our lakefront one? How much more money do they make? How much does it cost to live there?

KelownaNow has taken a long look at what it’s like to live in both cities, especially how much the tax man is snapping up from both our local residents and Calgarians.

To help break it down, we’ve created two couples who represent average people living in both cities.

The Cannings are a young couple from Calgary who both work, have two vehicles and no kids. The Kents are a young couple from Kelowna, who also both work, have two vehicles and no kids.

The couples live almost identical lives, the only difference is the city they live in. We’ve figured out just how much it will cost each to live this year.

Skip to the bottom for a full, side-by-side comparison of both families.

Salaries:

To start, salaries in Calgary are on average higher than salaries in Kelowna, so the Cannings will make a little more money over the course of the year.

As an average couple living in Calgary, Statistics Canada says the Cannings combined income will be $112,320.

The Kents, our average Kelowna couple, will take in $99,880.

Taxes:

The good news for the Kents is that they will pay less income tax than the Cannings.

Using the latest tax numbers, Andrew Pitre, a chartered professional accountant at Kelowna’s PDC Business and Tax, says the Cannings will pay a total of $20,046 in federal and provincial income taxes in 2016, while the Kents will have to fork over $15,062.

Sales tax, on the other hand, is a different story. Let’s say each couple spends $20,000 on personal purchases, like entertainment and eating out.

The Cannings, paying five per cent sales tax, will be giving up $1,000 to the government.

The Kents, paying B.C.’s 12 per cent sales tax, will drop $3,000 into government coffers.

Since they’re from B.C., the Kents also have to pay Medical Service Plan Premiums. As a family of two, their medical coverage will cost them $1,632. The Cannings have no extra premium to pay for medical coverage.

What they have left:

The Cannings still have: $90,424

The Kents still have: $79,931

Spending:

The Kents and the Cannings also both drive a lot, and the Kents will drop slightly more on car insurance, and a fair amount more on gas, than the Cannings.

To insure both their cars, the Kents will spend about $2,224. The Cannings will drop $2,008 on their two cars.

They are each going to use a total of 2,500 litres of gas this year, and the Kents will pay about $2,850, while the Cannings will pay $2,075

What they have left:

The Cannings still have: $86,341

The Kents still have: $74,862

Both the Cannings and the Kents are also mortgaging a house this year, and it looks like the Kents will once again have to drop more dollars.

The Cannings’ two-storey home in Calgary will cost them $518,500. The Kent’s Kelowna two-story home will set them back $631,200.

Unfortunately for the Kents, they also have to pay B.C.’s property transfer tax, which will set them back $10,624. Luckily for the Cannings, Alberta has no property transfer tax, only a land title transfer fee, which will cost them a total of $308.

Both couples also bought a new car this year: a brand-new, $60,000 pickup truck. The Cannings will pay their normal 5 per cent federal tax, costing them $3,000. The Kents will pay B.C.’s 12 per cent tax, plus an extra three per cent “luxury tax,” equalling $9,000.

The final tally:

The Cannings will keep: $83,033

The Kents will keep: $55,384

Something the Kents can feel better about is that they will, on average, get a little more out of every dollar they spend.

The consumer price index is higher in Alberta than it is in B.C. That means The Cannings will pay more for basically everything they buy (like groceries, clothing and transportation) than The Kents.

The latest CPI for Alberta is 133.7, while it’s only 120.2 in B.C. That means the Kents will get about 13 percentage points more value for their dollars here in Kelowna.

X-factor:

While it may cost less to live in Calgary, Kelowna’s weather is better.

In general, the Okanagan gets a little less sun than Calgary, but has a much warmer average temperature. In the middle of the summer the Okanagan gets an average of about eight to 10 hours of sun a day, while Calgary can get nine to ten or more.

However, in July and August the Okanagan averages a high temperature of 28°C, while Calgary reaches an average high of only 23°C.

Calgary also gets a lot more rain and snow, and is generally windier than the Okanagan.

British Columbians are also more likely to say they are happy than Albertans. An Angus Reid survey found that, while Albertans and British Columbians are almost equally as likely to say they are “pretty happy,” a full 20 per cent of British Columbians say they are very happy, compared to only 12 per cent of Albertans.

So despite all the extra money the Cannings will have at the end of the year, there’s a decent chance the Kents are happier.

<who> Photo Credit: KelownaNow </who>

Editorial Note: Other factors may cause these numbers to skew. The above is based on both families buying a home and purchasing one new car in a year. The property transfer tax and automobile taxes are the main contributors to the large variance in B.C. taxes. Vehicles priced over $57,000 in B.C. are subject to a "Luxury Tax" in addition to PST making the total tax rate 15 per cent vs five per cent in Alberta.

*Edited: 7/29/2016, 3:00 p.m.



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