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

Updated

In Winnipeg the big budget questions are rent, the price of a house, and what heat and power cost through a long winter under Manitoba Hydro’s rates. This page covers each, plus what jobs in Manitoba pay. The full set of city pages is in the cost of living guides, and Manitoba’s place among the provinces in cost of living by province.

Rent in Winnipeg

Listings in the Winnipeg area asked an average of $1,320 a month for a one-bedroom, $1,660 for a two-bedroom and $1,970 for three bedrooms or more in the second quarter of 2026, according to Statistics Canada. CMHC’s survey of purpose-built apartments in October 2025, which also covers long-time tenants, found an average rent of $1,236 for a one-bedroom and a vacancy rate of 2.8%, against 1.7% the year before.

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, the one-bedroom asking average fits a household income from about $52,800, and a three-bedroom from about $78,800. Manitoba's rent increase guideline is 1.8% for 2026 (newer buildings and higher-rent units are exempt). Rents by unit size and the vacancy trend are on the Winnipeg rental market page.

Buying a home

In its August 2026 figures, the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board reported detached homes averaging $439,216 and condominiums $283,715. The board publishes no average across all home types; its dollar volume of sales divided by its number of sales gives about $393,463 a home (the average house price page compares cities). The board doesn’t publish an MLS Home Price Index benchmark for the city, and averages shift with the mix of homes that sell.

For a detached house at that average, a buyer with 20% down and a 25-year amortization would face a payment of about $2,267 a month at the Bank of Canada’s posted 5-year rate of 6.09% (week of September 30, 2026); for the average condo it would be about $1,464. The posted rate overstates what borrowers pay: uninsured fixed-rate mortgages of 5 years or more that chartered banks funded in July 2026, counting new loans, renewals and refinancing, averaged 4.49%. Manitoba’s land transfer tax is added at closing; the Manitoba land transfer tax calculator works it out. More on prices: Winnipeg housing market.

Heat and power

Manitoba Hydro supplies both electricity and natural gas. Its residential electricity rate from January 1, 2026 is 9.97¢ per kWh plus $9.84 a month, and gas from August 1, 2026 costs 6.60¢ per cubic metre for the gas itself and 15.83¢ for delivery, plus $14.75 a month.

In Hydro-Québec’s comparison of major cities, at rates in effect on April 1, 2025, a Winnipeg household using 1,000 kWh a month paid $105.33 before tax, the second-lowest of the 12 Canadian cities it covers. Statistics Canada’s 2023 spending survey averaged Manitoba households at $126 a month for electricity, $38 for gas and $51 for water and sewage, counting homes that don’t pay those bills directly. With January nights averaging -21.2°C at the airport (1991-2020 normals), gas use is concentrated in winter. Other provinces’ bills: utility bills in Canada.

Transit, gas and insurance

ItemCost
Winnipeg Transit adult monthly e-pass$119.35
Youth, senior and post-secondary e-passes$88.55, $59.70 and $95.50
One adult ride with e-cash, or cash$3.10, or $3.45
Regular gasoline in Winnipeg, August 2026166.9¢ a litre
Manitoba average car insurance premium, Statistics Canada, 2025 study$1,235 a year

Transit prices are the City of Winnipeg’s 2026 fares. The insurance figure is Statistics Canada’s average written premium; Alberta’s was $1,818 and Ontario’s $2,068 in the same release.

What jobs pay in Manitoba

The Labour Force Survey publishes earnings for the province, not the city. Average weekly earnings of Manitoba employees in 2025, full-time and part-time together:

IndustryPer weekTimes 52
Public administration$1,602.21$83,315
Professional, scientific and technical services$1,427.85$74,248
Finance, insurance and real estate$1,402.40$72,925
Construction$1,342.18$69,793
Educational services$1,252.79$65,145
Manufacturing$1,165.53$60,608
Health care and social assistance$1,102.99$57,355
Wholesale and retail trade$922.29$47,959
Accommodation and food services$523.53$27,224
All industries$1,155.71$60,097

From tax returns, the median total income of Winnipeg-area residents with income was $43,430 in 2023. Manitoba adds 7% retail sales tax to the 5% GST, and its brackets are on the Manitoba income tax page. Grocery prices are tracked for the whole province; in July 2026 a kilogram of ground beef averaged $17.05 in Manitoba, and the grocery bill page has spending by household size.

Sample budget: a family of four in a three-bedroom

Two parents and two children renting an average-priced unit of three or more bedrooms, with groceries, internet and phones at the national averages for couples with children and two adult transit passes. Childcare, clothing, insurance, heating paid separately, savings and debt are left out.

Family cost per monthAmountBased on
Three-bedroom rent$1,970Winnipeg average asking rent
Groceries$1,080Couples with children, Canada, 2023
Electricity$1051,000 kWh bill, Hydro-Québec comparison
Internet$98Couples with children, Canada
Phones$179Couples with children, Canada
Two adult e-passes$239Winnipeg Transit
Total$3,671

With one parent earning $65,000 and the other $40,000, Manitoba take-home pay under 2026 tax rules is about $4,069 plus $2,681 a month, $6,750 in all, which leaves $3,079 after the costs above, before the Canada Child Benefit.

Winnipeg beside other cities

City1-bed asking rentMonthly transitSales taxNet pay on $80,000
Winnipeg$1,320$119.3512%$58,228
Saskatoon$1,340$91.0011%$59,022
Edmonton$1,260$102.00 (cap)5%$60,698
Calgary$1,550$126.005%$60,698
Toronto$2,090$155.10 (cap)13%$60,303

Rents from Statistics Canada for the second quarter of 2026; transit at each agency’s fares (Winnipeg Transit 2026 fares, Saskatoon Transit fares from July 1, 2026, ETS fares as of September 2026, Calgary Transit 2026 fares, TTC fares as of September 2026); net pay for a single employee after 2026 income tax, CPP and EI. On home prices, Winnipeg’s August 2026 all-types figure (the board’s dollar volume divided by its number of sales) was 16% below Edmonton’s September 2026 average of $466,080 (REALTORS Association of Edmonton) and 60% below the Greater Toronto Area’s August 2026 average of $993,410 (TRREB).

Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026. How we check facts.