Cost of living in Canada
Summary of cost of living in Canada
- Family of four estimated monthly costs: C$6,361
- Single person estimated monthly costs: C$3,497
- Cost of living in Canada is more expensive than in 80% of countries in the World (16 out of 75)
Change the currency:
| Food | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district | C$23 | ||
| Combo meal in fast food restaurant (big mac meal or similar) | C$13 | ||
| 500 gr (1 lb.) of boneless chicken breast | C$8 | ||
| 1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk | C$2.98 | ||
| 12 eggs, large | C$5.24 | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes | C$4.97 | ||
| 500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese | C$9 | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of apples | C$4.81 | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes | C$2.98 | ||
| 0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket | C$3.38 | ||
| 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality | C$18 | ||
| 2 liters of coca-cola | C$2.80 | ||
| Bread for 2 people for 1 day | C$2.97 | ||
| Housing | |||
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in expensive area | C$2,782 | ||
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in normal area | C$2,191 | ||
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 2 people in 85m2 flat | C$198 | ||
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in expensive area | C$1,800 | ||
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in normal area | C$1,448 | ||
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 1 person in 45 m2 (480 sqft) studio | C$131 | ||
| Internet 8 mbps (1 month) | C$74 | ||
| 40” flat screen tv | C$452 | ||
| Microwave 800/900 watt (bosch, panasonic, lg, sharp, or equivalent brands) | C$192 | ||
| Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.) | C$15 | ||
| Hourly rate for cleaning help | C$30 | ||
| Clothes | |||
| 1 pair of jeans (levis 501 or similar) | C$78 | ||
| 1 summer dress in a high street store (zara, h&m or similar retailers) | C$55 | ||
| 1 pair of sport shoes (nike, adidas, or equivalent brands) | C$119 | ||
| 1 pair of men’s leather business shoes | C$146 | ||
| Transportation | |||
| Volkswagen golf 1.4 tsi 150 cv (or equivalent), with no extras, new | C$30,155 | ||
| 1 liter (1/4 gallon) of gas | C$1.72 | ||
| Monthly ticket public transport | C$111 | ||
| Personal Care | |||
| Cold medicine for 6 days (tylenol, frenadol, coldrex, or equivalent brands) | C$13 | ||
| 1 box of antibiotics (12 doses) | C$31 | ||
| Short visit to private doctor (15 minutes) | C$96 | ||
| 1 box of 32 tampons (tampax, ob, ...) | C$9 | ||
| Deodorant, roll-on (50ml ~ 1.5 oz.) | C$6 | ||
| Hair shampoo 2-in-1 (400 ml ~ 12 oz.) | C$6 | ||
| 4 rolls of toilet paper | C$4.26 | ||
| Tube of toothpaste | C$3.45 | ||
| Standard men's haircut in expat area of the city | C$31 | ||
| Entertainment | |||
| Basic dinner out for two in neighborhood pub | C$66 | ||
| 2 tickets to the movies | C$31 | ||
| 2 tickets to the theater (best available seats) | C$127 | ||
| Dinner for two at an italian restaurant in the expat area including appetisers, main course, wine and dessert | C$107 | ||
| 1 cocktail drink in downtown club | C$14 | ||
| Cappuccino in expat area of the city | C$5.19 | ||
| 1 beer in neighbourhood pub (500ml or 1pt.) | C$7 | ||
| Ipad wi-fi 128gb | C$774 | ||
| 1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans) | C$0.42 | ||
| 1 month of gym membership in business district | C$63 | ||
| 1 package of marlboro cigarettes | C$17 | ||
Moving to Canada with your children?
International Schools in Canada
Map of Cost of Living in Canada
This map shows only the top cities in Canada. We also have on this page a list of all the cities available in Expatistan:
List of all the cities available in Expatistan
The color of each marker corresponds with the cost of living in the city red markers show more expensive cities green ones show cheaper cities
Moving the mouse on top of a city will show its name and the Cost of Living Index of that city.
What is the Cost of Living Index? To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a
central reference city (that happens to be Prague).
Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the
database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.
Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Cost of Living Ranking in Canada
(top cities by data quality)
| Ranking | City | Price Index * |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Toronto | 150 |
| 2nd | Vancouver | 148 |
| 3rd | Victoria | 137 |
| 4th | Calgary | 130 |
| 5th | Whitehorse | 123 |
| 6th | Ottawa | 122 |
| 7th | Montreal | 121 |
| 8th | Edmonton | 118 |
| 9th | Kelowna | 115 |
| 10th | Oshawa | 113 |
| 11th | Barrie | 111 |
| 12th | Winnipeg | 107 |
| 13th | Nanaimo, British Columbia | 107 |
| 14th | Guelph | 104 |
| 15th | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | 102 |
| 16th | Windsor | 100 |
| 17th | Quebec City | 98 |
| 18th | Kingston, Canada | 97 |
| 19th | Moncton | 97 |
| 20th | Greater Sudbury | 97 |
| 21st | Kamloops | 96 |
| 22nd | Abbotsford | 95 |
Price Index:
To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a central reference city (that happens to be Prague). Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Are you moving to Canada? Do you know how much money you will need there to maintain your current standard of living?
Find out what is the real equivalent in Canada of your current salary and improve your chances of a happy relocation.
Get a salary calculation for:
List of all cities available in Canada
Recent Comparisons
- Cost of living in Montreal is 47% more expensive than in São Paulo
- Cost of living in Toronto is 29% cheaper than in New York City
- Cost of living in Toronto is 63% cheaper than in Tehran
- Cost of living in Vancouver is about the same as in Toronto
- Cost of living in Montreal is 23% more expensive than in Quebec City
- Cost of living in Vancouver is 10% cheaper than in Seattle, Washington
- Cost of living in Toronto is 25% more expensive than in Edmonton
- Cost of living in Toronto is 18% cheaper than in London
- Cost of living in Toronto is 25% more expensive than in Montreal
- Cost of living in Vancouver is 22% cheaper than in San Francisco, California
- Cost of living in Calgary is 12% cheaper than in Vancouver
- Cost of living in Toronto is 12% cheaper than in Dublin
- Cost of living in Toronto is 16% more expensive than in Dubai
- Cost of living in Montreal is 139% more expensive than in Feira de Santana
- Cost of living in Calgary is 8% more expensive than in Montreal
- Cost of living in Vancouver is 31% cheaper than in New York City
- Cost of living in Montreal is 56% more expensive than in Salvador
- Cost of living in Ottawa is 6% cheaper than in Calgary
Compare other countries
Prices recently added
- 1 kg of tomatoes in Montreal costs C$1.00 (about 20 hours ago)
- 1 pack of marlboro cigarettes in Quebec City costs C$11 (1 day ago)
- Monthly rent - 85 m2 furnished accommodation in expensive area in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island costs C$2,000 (1 day ago)
- Taxi, initial meter charge, weekday at noon in Vancouver costs C$4.00 (2 days ago)
- Public transport in Vancouver costs C$165 (2 days ago)
- Men’s leather business shoes in Vancouver costs C$120 (2 days ago)
- 40′ flat screen tv in Vancouver costs C$1,000 (2 days ago)
- Internet 8 mbps, 1 month in Vancouver costs C$60 (2 days ago)
- Utilities (studio), monthly for 1 person in 45 m2 in Vancouver costs C$80 (2 days ago)
- Monthly rent - 45 m2 furnished studio in normal area in Vancouver costs C$2,800 (2 days ago)