Cost of Living in Edmonton: Rent, Bills and Take-Home Pay

Edmonton’s living costs are shaped by two things: rents and home prices that sit below Calgary’s, and Alberta’s tax rules, with no provincial sales tax on top of the 5% GST. In 2023, Alberta households spent an average of $7,132 a month on goods and services, against $6,346 nationally (Statistics Canada; the category breakdown is on the household expenses page). Other cities are in the cost of living guides, and provincial totals in cost of living by province.

Renting in Edmonton

Someone signing a new lease in the Edmonton area in the second quarter of 2026 faced average asking rents of $1,260 for a one-bedroom and $1,570 for a two-bedroom, changes of -2.3% and -2.5% on a year earlier (Statistics Canada, which marks the year-earlier figures “use with caution”). CMHC’s October 2025 survey, which counts sitting tenants too, put the average rent for a one-bedroom at $1,302 and the vacancy rate at 3.9%, up from 3.1%.

CMHC considers housing affordable when it costs less than 30% of before-tax household income, counting the rent (or mortgage payments, property tax and condo fees) plus electricity, heat, water and other municipal services. On the asking rent alone, before utilities, keeping that one-bedroom under the line takes a household income of about $50,400; for the two-bedroom it’s about $62,800. Rents for every unit size, vacancy history and what new tenants pay against sitting tenants are on the Edmonton rental market page. Alberta’s rules on rent increases:

• There is no limit on how much rent can go up.
• Rent can go up once a year (365 days) since the last increase or the start of the tenancy, and not during a fixed-term lease.
• A month-to-month tenant must get 3 full tenancy months' written notice.
• The notice period is 12 full tenancy weeks for a week-to-week tenancy and 90 days for any other periodic tenancy.

Source: Alberta government.

Buying in Edmonton

The REALTORS Association of Edmonton reported an average home price of $466,080 in the Greater Edmonton Area for September 2026 and an MLS benchmark (the price of a typical home) of $423,100. By type, apartment condos averaged $208,672, row and townhouses $289,640, semi-detached homes $412,974 and detached houses $569,820.

A buyer of the benchmark home who puts 20% down and amortizes over 25 years would pay about $2,184 a month at the Bank of Canada’s posted 5-year conventional rate of 6.09% (week of September 30, 2026). A posted rate is a benchmark, not an offer: the Bank of Canada’s average rate on uninsured fixed-rate mortgages of 5 years or more that chartered banks funded in July 2026 (new loans, renewals and refinancing) was 4.49%. Price trends by neighbourhood and type are on the Edmonton housing market page.

Getting around Edmonton

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. (ETS fares as of September 2026, City of Edmonton fares.) Gasoline in Edmonton cost less than the 173.8¢ national average that month (Statistics Canada).

Power, heat and water

Hydro-Québec’s comparison of major-city electricity bills, at rates in effect April 1, 2025, put an Edmonton bill at $171.95 for 750 kWh in a month and $220.02 for 1,000 kWh, before taxes. Alberta’s regulated Rate of Last Resort energy charge is 12.01¢ per kWh in the EPCOR area, with distribution and transmission charges billed on top. EPCOR puts water usage for an average single-family home at $74 a month, before fixed fees, wastewater and drainage.

Across Alberta, households spent an average of $111 a month on natural gas and $163 on electricity in 2023, averaged over every household, including those whose rent covers them. Edmonton airport’s January average low is -18.1°C (1991-2020 normals), so gas bills climb in winter. Province-by-province bills are on the utility bills page.

Groceries in Alberta

Statistics Canada tracks shelf prices by province. In July 2026, a kilogram of chicken breasts averaged $16.31 in Alberta ($14.68 nationally) and 4 litres of milk $6.68 ($6.99). Food from stores cost Alberta households $828 a month on average in 2023. The grocery bill page breaks spending down by household size.

Sample budget: a couple renting a two-bedroom

Edmonton next to Calgary and other cities

Rents: Statistics Canada, second quarter of 2026. Home prices: each city’s real estate board, for its latest month (RAE for the Greater Edmonton Area, CREB for the City of Calgary, Saskatchewan REALTORS Association, TRREB for the Greater Toronto Area). The Winnipeg board reports averages by property type only, so Winnipeg’s figure is its dollar volume of sales divided by its number of sales. Transit: ETS fares as of September 2026, Calgary Transit 2026 fares, Winnipeg Transit 2026 fares, Saskatoon Transit fares from July 1, 2026, TTC fares as of September 2026. The last column is one employee’s pay after 2026 income tax, CPP and EI.

Against Calgary, Edmonton’s one-bedroom asking rent was 19% lower and its average sale price 28% lower (the Greater Edmonton Area in September 2026 against the City of Calgary in September 2026), while pay after tax on the same salary is identical because both cities use Alberta’s rates. The Calgary vs Edmonton comparison goes line by line.

Related pages

• Cost of living guides
• Cost of living in Calgary
• Calgary vs Edmonton cost of living
• Edmonton rental market
• Edmonton housing market
• Alberta income tax