When it comes to spending more than you make, Greater Victoria households are in some high-profile company.
B.C.'s capital was ranked third-highest in the country for its debt-to-income ratio of 189 per cent in a new report from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
It means that for every $1.89 worth of debt, Victoria households had just $1 in disposable income.
"That's slightly above the national average, which has been bouncing around the 170 per cent [mark] for the last eight or nine quarters," said CMHC analyst Brent Weimer.
Out of 15 cities, Greater Victoria placed only behind Vancouver and Toronto, which each topped 200 per cent debt-to-income ratio. More specifically, Vancouver had a 242 per cent debt-to-income ratio, while Toronto's was 208 per cent.
"One of the things that we see is that centres with more expensive housing markets tend to have larger debt levels, simply because of the more expensive housing market," said Weimer.
But an island-based credit counsellor says the picture is misleading, because the numbers used to reach the ratio are calculated using gross incomes.
"So people just have to look at their own household budgets and determine what they can afford and be able to plan for the unexpected," said Craig York.
Weimer said despite the alarming appearance of the high debt-to-income ratio, "the absolutely debt level of households does not seem to be problematic."
It's as interest rates that those carrying the highest debts will feel the squeeze.
Read the full CMHC report here.
