Question about census profiles

Question

A question has arisen about how to interpret something in the census profiles.

It relates to housing costs; the tables are in the last group listed under Electronic Profiles -

Income of Individuals, Families and Households, Social and Economic Characteristics of Individuals, Families and Households, Housing Costs, and Religion. These tables all have catalogue numbers from 95F0492XCB2001001 through 95F0492XCB2001009.

There are several instances like this in the subsets:

Tenant households spending 30% or more of household income on gross rent
Tenant households spending from 30% to 99% of household income on gross rent

and

Owner households spending 30% or more of household income on owner's major payments
Owner households spending from 30% to 99% of household income on owner's major payments

The second line is indented and appears to represent a subgroup under the first. The numbers in the 30%-99% group are consistently a bit lower than those in the 30% or more group.

What does this mean? The reference title "The 2001 Census Standard Products Stubsets" and the notes in the Beyond 20/20 tables do not refer to the difference between the two.

Answer

Please find the explanation from the division :

Before the data release, we consulted with different data users. Some users insisted that STC exclude households spending 100% or more of their income on shelter, on grounds that the data do not lend themselves to any meaningful interpretation and that their inclusion would skew the analyses. Other users demanded a qualifier to indicate that the 30% threshold does not necessarily and does not always mean affordability problem; but some threshold should be presented as a general indication of trends.

In response, we have released the data as:
1. Less than 30%
2. 30% or more (i.e. including 100% or more)
3. 30% to 99% (which excludes the households spending 100% or more)

The figures for category 3 would allow users to exclude households spending 100% or more on shelter, for their analyses.

The relatively high shelter cost to household income ratios for some households may have resulted from the difference in the reference period for shelter cost and household income data. The reference period for shelter cost data (gross rent for tenants, and owner’s major payments for owners) is 2001, while household income is reported for the year 2000. As well, for some households the 2000 household income may represent income for only part of a year.