Most Affordable Cities in Canada: Ranked by Rent, with Home Prices and Budgets

This page ranks Canadian cities by the average asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment, the housing cost Statistics Canada publishes on the same basis for every census metropolitan area, and then compares ten affordable cities on home prices, a basic living budget and what a $70,000 salary leaves over. In the second quarter of 2026, the lowest average one-bedroom asking rent was $970 in Trois-Rivières, against $2,090 in Toronto and $2,280 in Vancouver. For province-wide comparisons of taxes, child care and other costs, see the cost of living by province, and for each city in depth, the cost of living guides.

The 10 lowest-rent cities in Canada

Statistics Canada, average asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment, second quarter of 2026 (table 46-10-0092-01), ranked across the 40 census metropolitan areas with a one-bedroom figure (Ottawa-Gatineau counted as its Ontario and Quebec parts; Drummondville and Saguenay have none). Statistics Canada marks the Trois-Rivières figure for this quarter E (use with caution). Asking rents are what new tenants are quoted, not what existing tenants pay. More on rents by city and unit size is on the average rent page.

Ten cities compared

The ten cities below span the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec City and New Brunswick. Eight have one-bedroom rents in the lower half of the metro areas, and Calgary and Ottawa are included as large-city alternatives to Toronto and Vancouver, which are shown for comparison. The rank column places each city among all 40 metro areas by one-bedroom rent (1 = lowest).

Rent: Statistics Canada, second quarter of 2026. Home prices: local real estate board releases, each for its board’s latest month (boards release on different days); a benchmark (MLS Home Price Index) is the price of a typical home, while an average moves with the mix of homes sold, so the two are not directly comparable. New Brunswick has one board, New Brunswick REALTORS, which publishes average prices by area but no city benchmark, so the Saint John and Greater Moncton rows show its area averages for August 2026. Unemployment: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey, August 2026 (three-month moving average, June to August), seasonally adjusted (Ottawa is the Ontario part of Ottawa-Gatineau). Rows for the ten cities run west to east, with Toronto and Vancouver added at the end for comparison. Average home prices across Canada are on the average house price page.

Basic monthly budgets

How far apart do these cities sit once everyday costs are added? Each basic budget is the average asking rent plus the non-shelter part of the 2025 Market Basket Measure for that city: food, clothing, transportation, phone and internet, and other necessities (Statistics Canada table 11-10-0066-01). The Market Basket Measure is Canada’s official poverty line and prices a modest basic standard of living for a family of two adults and two children; the single-person figure divides the family amount by 2, following Statistics Canada’s equivalence scale. The single budget uses a one-bedroom rent and the family budget a three-bedroom rent. These are floors, not typical spending: they leave out income tax, child care, savings and out-of-pocket health costs. The low-income thresholds page explains the measure.

Monthly amounts. Thunder Bay uses the Market Basket Measure for Ontario cities of 100,000 to 499,999 people. Quebec City and Thunder Bay family budgets use a two-bedroom rent, because Statistics Canada publishes no three-bedroom figure for them.

What is left after the basic budget

What a single renter earning $70,000 has left each year after 2026 income tax, CPP or QPP, EI (and QPIP in Quebec) and twelve months of the basic single budget above.

Single employee with employment income only and the basic credits. Take-home pay depends on the province, so cities in the same province share it.

Provincial costs that come with each city

Moving to an affordable city also means moving to that province’s taxes and regulated fees.

Take-home pay: single employee, after income tax, CPP or QPP, EI and (in Quebec) QPIP. Child care: provincial fee rules for participating licensed programs; New Brunswick from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ 2026 fee survey (published August 19, 2026). The lowest-tax provinces guide compares taxes at other incomes.

Putting it together

Moving from Toronto to Regina, for example, cuts the average one-bedroom asking rent from $2,090 to $1,250 a month, $10,080 a year. Rent is only one side: the unemployment rate, the local job market for your field, provincial taxes and child care fees all change with the city. Cities compared on jobs, climate and other factors, including for families and remote workers, are in the best cities to live in Canada guide, and the Calgary vs Edmonton and Toronto vs Vancouver comparisons go city by city. Money saved on rent can go toward an RRSP or a down payment.