What is the cost of living in Canada?

What is the cost of living in Canada versus the USA and other countries?

How much do you need to live comfortably in Canada? Depends on where you’re coming from!

According to Numbeo, Canada is ranked 26 on the list of most expensive countries to live in. However, it’s only marginally higher than the USA and the UK which are 27 and 28, respectively. It’s still less expensive than France (17th), Australia (14th) and Japan (12th).

What is the average cost of living in Canada per month?

The average person’s monthly costs are CA$1,127.85 without rent, or roughly US$881.74,  GB£665.21 or EUR€780.52. And where does all that money go? It’s usually a split between food and all other living costs like transport, recreation and utilities.

What is the cost of living in Canada with rent?

Given that rent is one of the largest expenses you’ll have in Canada, you might be wondering how much it is to rent different property sizes. Rent also very much depends on which area of Canada you’d like to live in.

For the average one-bedroom apartment, it’s still relatively expensive at CA$1,250.00 per month or CA$15,000 per year. In fact, rent in Canada is an average of 7.67% higher than in the United Kingdom.

Here’s the breakdown of what it looks like, depending on if you live in the city centre or not.

Which Canadian cities are the most expensive to live in?

By far, the most expensive city to live in is Vancouver. It ranked 93rd in the world on theMercer annual cost of living survey. Toronto wasn’t far behind at 98th. In order, the most expensive cities in Canada are as follows:

1. Vancouver

2. Toronto

3. Montréal

4. Calgary

5. Ottawa

Which Canadian cities have the lowest living costs?

One of the cheapest costs of living in Canada can be found in Québec City in Québec. And that’s including rent! The cheapest cities in Canada are as follows:

1. Québec City

2. Red Deer

3. Regina

4. Windsor

5. St. Catharines

What is the cost of living in Toronto?

Toronto is the biggest city in Canada in terms of population and is located in Ontario, the East-Central part of Canada which borders the United States. It’s an urban metropolis with many skyscrapers and it sits on Ontario’s northwest shore. But how much does it cost to settle in Toronto? Quite a bit, as Toronto is the second most expensive city in Canada to live in.

Here’s the breakdown of the kinds of costs you might be facing if you choose to live in Toronto.

How much does rent cost in Toronto?

In terms of rent, you’re looking at a much bigger expense depending on whether you choose to live in the city centre or not.

What is the cost of living in Ottawa, Ontario?

Toronto isn’t your only option if you do want to live in Ontario. Ottawa, the nation’s capital, is also located there.

Although it’s only the 4th biggest city in the country, it’s the political centre for the country and also a great place to get an education as there are many colleges and universities. It’s located on the bank of the Ottawa river, near the US border.

So what was the cost of living in Ontario in 2021? The cost of living in Ottawa is as follows:

How much does rent cost in Ottawa?

As for rent, those costs vary by apartment size again.

What is the cost of living in Vancouver, British Columbia?

British Columbia is located on Canada’s western coastline, bordering the Pacific. It’s home to sweeping landscapes as well as popular tourist destinations like Whistler Ski Resort and Glacier National Park. Here you’ll find one of the highest average living costs in the whole country at CA $4,557.

As for Vancouver, this bustling metropolis is irresistible to those involved in the arts and film industries. It often serves as the backdrop to many film shoots, as well as its reputation for promoting the arts and theatre. The cost of living in Vancouver is as follows:

How much does rent cost in Vancouver?

Here’s what it would cost to rent in this pricey city:

What is the cost of living in Montreal?

On the other side of Canada, in the heart of French Canada, lies Montreal. Unsurprisingly, the majority of French Canadians residing here are fluent in French. This region was once called Canada when it was part of New France. It’s the second largest province by population but the largest city in Québec’s province.

Montreal sits on an island in the St. Lawrence river and is made up of several diverse boroughs that were once independent cities. It’s actually very affordable in terms of living costs compared to the other major provinces, with an average monthly cost (including rent) of CA$2,625.

Here’s the breakdown:

How much does rent cost in Montreal?

As you can see here, rent is much more affordable in Montreal than other cities in Canada.

What is the cost of living in Winnipeg, Manitoba?

Located in Central Canada, Manitoba is famous for its natural beauty. Winnipeg is the capital of the province and is built around where two rivers fork – the Red river and the Assiniboine river.

Not only is Manitoba in the middle of the country, but it’s also in the middle of the list of Canada’s most expensive cities. The average cost to live there (including rent) is CA$3,324 a month, according to Wowa.

Here’s what those cost look like when itemised:

How much does rent cost in Winnipeg?

The costs to rent in Winnipeg, Manitoba are very similar to what it takes to live in Montreal.

What is the cost of living in Calgary, Alberta?

Alberta is home to magnificent mountains, pretty prairies, and fantastic forests. Despite the beauty of these landscapes, most of the population of Alberta are congregated around the city centres in the southern part of the province – Calgary and Edmonton.

The most populous city of the two is Calgary. Here the oil industry dominates the industry in the area and massive skyscrapers build a stunning skyline. It may be because of this successful industry, as well as the many people angling to move there, that living costs in this province are higher than others at CA$4,115 per month.

Here’s what that cost of living is per expense:

How much does rent cost in Calgary?

You may notice that rent in Calgary is on the higher end compared with some of Canada’s other medium-sized cities.

What is the cheapest place to live in Canada?

So there you have it. Québec City is one of the cheapest places to live in Canada and Vancouver is one of the most expensive. But as with anything, you have to factor in what your salary might be in each of these industrious cities as well as how your quality of life will be impacted in these versatile and beautiful provinces.

Given that we are in the business of international money transfers, we always want to do what we can to make it easier for people to move around the world. We hope this article gave you a bit more insight into the costs of living in the great nation of Canada. But if you want to check out what the costs might be in another nation, just keep an eye out on our blog for more tips on living abroad.

*The contents of this blog post does not constitute legal or financial advice and is provided for general information purposes only. If you require specific legal and / or financial advice you should contact a specialist lawyer or financial advisor. Information true at time of publishing*