Michael Wu / EyeEm via Getty Images A nighttime aerial view of downtown Vancouver is seen in this stock photo.

MONTREAL ― Statistics Canada’s latest dive into the money Canadians are making has some seemingly bad news for residents of Toronto and Vancouver: The median incomes in these cities fell in 2018. That doesn’t necessarily mean people there are seeing their paycheques shrink: Rather, the vast flow of migrants in and out of these cities is changing who lives and works there. But it does mean that these cities’ high and rising costs of living are becoming an even bigger burden for the people living there. Watch: It’s easier to get rich in Canada than in the U.S., but that comes at a price. Story continues below.

What’s going on with incomes? According to Statistics Canada’s latest Canadian income survey, released this week, after-tax incomes of families and unattached individuals rose 2.7 per cent in 2018, to a median of $57,100. “Market incomes” ― meaning what people earn in the job market, not including taxes and government transfers ― rose 0.8 per cent. But in Greater Toronto, both market incomes and after-tax incomes fell, by 0.9 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively. In Greater Vancouver, market incomes fell 8.8 per cent, while after-tax incomes declined 4.4 per cent. Why is this happening? The Toronto and Vancouver job markets have been strong recently, with the number of people employed in Toronto up a massive 5.2 per cent in the past year, and up 0.4 per cent in Vancouver. Clearly, these are not bad job markets, or bad economies. The answer may lie in migration, and in our changing lifestyles. In Vancouver, it seems more people are living alone. The data suggests “the population is shifting to include more (people living alone) ― this could reflect population aging and/or increased numbers of students and other younger, unattached people,” TD Bank economist Brian DePratto wrote in an email to HuffPost Canada. Also, faced with soaring housing costs, many Toronto and Vancouver residents are picking up and moving to more affordable locations. “If higher-income families are moving out to perimeter cities, it could pull the Toronto median down while boosting the rest-of-Ontario level,” Bank of Montreal senior economist Robert Kavcic said.