Canada vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Canada United States
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2044
$2515
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4548
$5738
🏠 One person rent
$1211
$1593
🏘️ Family rent
$1969
$2641
🍽️ Food expenses
$575
$654
🚐 Transport expenses
$126
$101
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3110
$4433
💸 GDP per capita
$54340
$84534
😃 Human freedom index
8.74
8.71
❤️ Life expectancy
81.6
78.4
👮 Corruption perceptions index
75
64
🌐 English speaking %
82.1%
95.3%
🎓 Higher education
99
100
😀 Quality of life
91
88
🏙️ Population
41.3M
340M

The average cost of living in Canada ($2044) is 19% less expensive than in the United States ($2515). Canada ranked 19th vs 10th for the United States in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Canada compared to 1.8 months in the United States. Ranked 15th and 21st best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Canada vs the United States

We calculate prices for Canada and the United States as a population-weighted mean of 153 and 2202 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Canada United States
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$16.8
$19.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$67.7
$78.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11
$11.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$5.76
$6.36
 Cappuccino
$3.93
$5.38
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.06
$2.69
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1200
$1682
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1036
$1341
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2104
$3111
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1750
$2433
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$89.3
$129
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$138
$198
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$54.8
$68.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
5.05%
6.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5236
$4955
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4482
$3526
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.63
$2.34
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$84.3
$70.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$16.1
$17.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.08
$0.91
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2.3
$1.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.56
$3.61
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.25
$4.52
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.52
$4.83
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.2
$13.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.3
$12.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.5
$17.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.93
$5.09
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.46
$1.86
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.75
$4.5
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.86
$4.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.63
$2.87
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.45
$2.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.14
$1.52
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.23
$2.75
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$13.3
$14.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.77
$2.43
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.7
$11
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$9.74
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.86
$6.64
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.03
$4.55
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.38
$2.22
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$40.9
$52
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$11.9
$14.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$76
$123
💇 Haircut, simple
$18.9
$22.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$56.2
$55.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$90
$93.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$779
$1517
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$13537
$21058

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Canada vs the United States

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Canada

City Cost of living Population
Toronto
$2493
2.79M
Montreal
$1928
1.8M
Calgary
$2118
1.31M
Ottawa
$2133
1.02M
Edmonton
$1878
1.01M
Vancouver
$2540
662K
Mississauga
$2357
718K
Brampton
$2151
656K
Winnipeg
$1834
750K
Surrey
$2237
568K
Hamilton
$2089
569K
Quebec City
$1695
549K
London
$1916
422K
Halifax
$2143
440K
Laval
$2047
438K
Markham
$2222
339K
Vaughan
$2309
323K
Burnaby
$2457
249K
Gatineau
$1866
291K
Kitchener
$2144
257K
Saskatoon
$1821
266K
Windsor
$1980
230K
Longueuil
$1923
254K
Oakville
$2360
214K
Richmond
$2240
210K
Burlington
$2237
187K
Regina
$1762
226K
Richmond Hill
$2520
202K
Oshawa
$1605
175K
Greater Sudbury
$2077
166K

In the United States

City Cost of living Population
New York City
$4207
8.8M
Los Angeles
$3378
3.9M
Chicago
$2822
2.75M
Houston
$2265
2.3M
San Diego
$3507
1.39M
Philadelphia
$2597
1.6M
Phoenix
$2357
1.61M
San Francisco
$4040
874K
Dallas
$2461
1.3M
San Antonio
$2063
1.43M
San Jose
$3962
1.01M
Seattle
$3154
737K
Austin
$2444
962K
Boston
$3638
676K
Washington
$3306
690K
Hempstead
$2697
793K
Fort Worth
$2219
919K
Charlotte
$2403
875K
Indianapolis
$2374
888K
Jacksonville
$2224
950K
Columbus
$2127
906K
Denver
$2791
716K
Portland
$2738
653K
Nashville
$2477
689K
Atlanta
$2617
499K
Oklahoma City
$1922
681K
Las Vegas
$2407
642K
Baltimore
$2234
586K
Sacramento
$2846
525K
Oakland
$3212
441K