So how much might it cost to live in Canada’s biggest urban city? The latest annual index calculated by LowestRates.ca gives an idea of what kind of salary you need to live there.
For housing alone and based on an average of house prices in Toronto and surrounding area of $819,319 and current mortgages, you’d need to spend at least $4,223 a month which includes property tax ($450 approx/month and insurance $140/month). The average house price in the city itself in January was over $1-million.
That $4K monthly cost does not include the approximately $28,290 in land transfer tax.
If renting a one bedroom in Toronto, that would cost about $2,300/mo, and don’t forget insurance at an additional $35/mo
Of course getting around Toronto is probably easiest by public transit and that’s about $151.15/mon
If you want to buy and own a car say a new Honda Civic, monthly payments and insurance (good driving record) together will cost about $557/mo. But that doesn’t include parking if you don’t have a driveway so you’d have to add about $18/mo. Then there are the variables of maintenance so you might add in approx. $450 or more per year. And then there’s gasoline costs too.
But what about eating? A single person would spend about $251/mo on groceries, but add in buying a latte twice a week, buying lunch three times a week, buying take out three times a month, restaurants once a month and it adds up to about $534/mo
It’s hard to survive without phone (approx. $75) and internet (approx. $80) and you can add in another $156/mo to live in the big city
Going for drinks and visiting friends, or to a movie or event, let’s toss in another $178/mo
And of course we haven’t included other things like clothing, or trips, or other items, but as a rough guide, if you are
A renter using public transit living will cost over $3,400/mo so you’d need a salary of almost $42.500 –net ie after tax-, add in a car and you’ll need to be clearing over $46,000
A homeowner who uses public transit would need an annual net salary of almost $65,000 (ie $88,000 before tax), and in a car and you need almost $69,000 ($94,000 before tax)
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