Calgary vs Edmonton Cost of Living 2026

Calgary and Edmonton share Alberta’s income tax rates, the absence of a provincial sales tax and the province’s flat child care fee, so the differences between them are in housing, property tax, transit and utilities. In September 2026, the average home sold for $646,198 in the City of Calgary and $466,080 in the Greater Edmonton Area, so Edmonton’s average was 28% lower. The average asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $1,550 in Calgary and $1,260 in Edmonton in the second quarter of 2026 (Statistics Canada).

Each city’s own costs are on the Calgary and Edmonton pages, and more city guides are in the cost of living hub.

Costs Side by Side

Each figure in the last column is Calgary’s amount less Edmonton’s. Listing rents are Statistics Canada’s for the second quarter of 2026; power bills are pre-tax amounts from Hydro-Québec’s rate comparison (April 1, 2025 rates).

Example: one person renting a one-bedroom

This example uses each city’s asking rent, electricity bill and transit, plus the Canadian one-person household averages for groceries and cell phone and internet service in 2023 (the same in both columns). It leaves out heating, clothing, health, recreation and savings. The last rows compare the total with take-home pay on a $70,000 salary, which is the same in both cities.

For a fuller one-person budget, see the cost of living alone in Canada.

Buying a Home

The two boards cover different areas: the Calgary Real Estate Board figures are for the City of Calgary, and the REALTORS Association of Edmonton figures are for the Greater Edmonton Area. Prices for other cities are on the average house prices page.

An average moves with the mix of homes sold; the benchmark is the price of a typical home. With 20% down and a 25-year amortization, a home at the benchmark price costs about $2,925 a month in Calgary and $2,184 in Edmonton at the Bank of Canada’s posted 5-year conventional rate of 6.09% (as of September 30, 2026), compounded semi-annually; the mortgage calculator works through other prices and rates.

Property tax works the other way: Edmonton’s 2026 residential rate is higher than Calgary’s.

Rates are set by each city’s tax bylaw and apply to assessed market value. Details are on the Calgary and Edmonton property tax pages.

Rent

Asking rents (Statistics Canada) are what landlords advertise to new tenants. CMHC’s average rent covers the units in privately owned purpose-built rental buildings with three or more units, including long-term tenants on older leases.

Asking rents are for the second quarter of 2026 (Statistics Canada Table 46-10-0092-01). CMHC figures are for apartment buildings of six or more units. Vacancy trends and Alberta’s rent rules are on the Calgary and Edmonton rental market pages.

Incomes and Jobs

Employment income is from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Income Survey for people with employment income in each census metropolitan area, including part-time and part-year workers. The unemployment rate is a three-month moving average from the Labour Force Survey.

2026 take-home pay for a single employee with employment income only and the basic credits, after federal and Alberta income tax, CPP and EI. Alberta’s brackets are on the Alberta income tax page; sales tax in both cities is the 5% GST.

Getting Around

Edmonton Transit Service charges adults paying with an Arc card, credit or debit card no more than the daily fare cap of $10.50 and the monthly fare cap of $102. Fares shown are Calgary Transit’s 2026 fares and ETS’s fares as of September 2026. Statistics Canada publishes car insurance averages for Alberta, not by city; Alberta’s Automobile Insurance Rate Board has a tool that shows average premiums by postal code. In Alberta, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces, drivers buy coverage from private insurers. More on car insurance in Calgary and Edmonton.

Groceries and Utilities

There is no separate grocery price series for either city; Statistics Canada reports Alberta as one market. In July 2026, a 4 L jug of milk averaged $6.68 in Alberta and a kilogram of ground beef $17.71, and the province’s food prices scored 105.2 on an index with Canada at 100. Spending by household size is on the average grocery bill page.

For energy, the gap between the cities shows up in the power bills in the table above. Alberta households overall spent $372 a month on electricity, heating fuel and water in 2023 (Statistics Canada), and the City of Calgary puts a typical metered home’s water, wastewater and stormwater bill at $119.21 a month for 2026. Provinces are compared on the average utility bills page.

Child Care and Tuition

In Alberta, children up to kindergarten age in a licensed daycare or family day home that receives affordability funding pay a flat parent fee of $326.25 a month for full-time care ($15 a day) or $230 for part-time care. The flat fee has applied since April 1, 2025 (Government of Alberta) and is the same in both cities.

Average undergraduate tuition for Canadian full-time students in Alberta is $8,260 a year in 2026/2027 (Statistics Canada). The University of Calgary, the University of Alberta, Mount Royal University and MacEwan University each publish their own fee schedules.

Climate

Environment and Climate Change Canada climate normals, airport stations.

How the Two Compare

• Buying: the average sale price in the Greater Edmonton Area was 28% lower than in the City of Calgary in September 2026.
• Renting: Calgary’s one-bedroom asking rent was $290 higher than Edmonton’s.
• Property tax: Edmonton’s residential rate was 56% higher than Calgary’s.
• Incomes: Calgary’s average employment income was 12% higher than Edmonton’s.
• Same in both: income tax, sales tax, the child care fee and the provincial car insurance average.

Other comparisons: Toronto vs Vancouver, Ottawa vs Montreal and affordable cities in Canada.

Related Reading

• Financial guide to living in Alberta
• Ontario vs Alberta tax comparison
• Cost of living in Saskatoon