Where in Canada can you afford to rent?

by Rob Carrick and Tom Cardoso

Whatever your reasons for renting, your goal should be to keep monthly rental costs as low as possible. There’s a rough rule that rent should account for no more than 30 per cent of gross pay. We took that rule and built this calculator to show you some affordable cities where you can rent. Just choose the province(s) you aim to live in, add your current or expected annual pay and tell us some information about the kind of place you want to rent. We’ll show you an ideal city for your personal situation, and some alternatives as well.

For best results, select several provinces and use an income at or below $50,000. This is due to the way the calculator is designed: you’ll only be matched with cities with rental prices within a 27-33% range of your total income. If average rental prices for a particular city seem low, keep in mind that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's rental survey averages the price of rentals for downtown and commuter areas.

Step 1 Where would you be willing to live?

Select the provinces you’d be willing to move to by clicking on the map, or selecting from the list below.

Step 2 Tell us about your income and living needs.

We take into account your income and rental requirements and narrow down the list of possible cities to the one that best fits your budget.

Where can I afford to live?

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Where in Canada can you afford to rent?

Step 1 Where would you be willing to live?

Select the provinces you’d be willing to move to by clicking on the map, or selecting from the list below.

Step 2 Tell us about your income and living needs.

We take into account your income and rental requirements and narrow down the list of possible cities to the one that best fits your budget.