Ottawa vs Quebec City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Ottawa	Quebec City
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2133	$1695
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4730	$3907
🏠 One person rent	$1249	$873
🏘️ Family rent	$1952	$1435
🍽️ Food expenses	$587	$558
🚐 Transport expenses	$172	$129
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3871	$2900
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	6 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	49	38
😀 Quality of life	92	88
🏙️ Population	1.02M	549K

The cost of living in Ottawa is 26% more expensive than in Quebec City. Cities ranked 1668th and 3269th ($2133 vs $1695) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 27th and 113th in Canada.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Ottawa compared to 1.7 months in Quebec City. Ranked 10th vs 28th best cities to live in Canada, and 123rd vs 332nd among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/ottawa/quebec.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Ottawa vs Quebec City infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/ottawa/quebec" target="_blank">Ottawa vs Quebec City - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Ottawa vs Quebec City

Prices for goods and services in Ottawa and Quebec City are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Ottawa	Quebec City
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$16.4	$17.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$62.9	$59.9
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$11	$11
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.87	$5.49
☕ Cappuccino	$4.25	$3.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.1	$2.08
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1328	$863
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1047	$743
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2126	$1500
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1662	$1244
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$96.9	$61.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$148	$95
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$48.9	$44.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.48%	5.33%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4318	$8196
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3670	$2969
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.99	$2.76
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$99.5	$71.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$15.9	$19.2
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1	$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.18	$2.29
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.68	$3.03
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.89	$3.99
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.59	$3.17
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13	$11.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.2	$11.5
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.8	$12
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.13	$4.28
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.37	$1.66
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.85	$4.13
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4	$4
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.57	$2.11
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.08	$2.81
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.05	$0.99
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.84	$1.88
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$11.9	$11.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.74	$3.05
🚬 Cigarette pack	$13.8	$13.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$12.8	$6.92
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.26	$3.16
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.99	$2.29
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.04	$1.91
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$44.4	$39.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$11	$11.3
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$68.3	$81.6
💇 Haircut, simple	$16.7	$16
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.4	$58.4
👟 Brand Sneakers	$89.3	$96.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$882	$719
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$17337	$7052

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Ottawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
7.4 km or 4.6 mi	Gatineau	$1866
19 km or 12 mi	Kanata	$2229
87 km or 54 mi	Cornwall	$1703
94 km or 58 mi	Brockville	$1868
124 km or 77 mi	Salaberry-de-Valleyfield	$1971
128 km or 80 mi	Mirabel	$1896
130 km or 81 mi	Vaudreuil-Dorion	$1924
138 km or 86 mi	Saint-Jerome	$1864
141 km or 87 mi	Saint-Eustache	$1948
143 km or 89 mi	Kirkland	$1930
144 km or 89 mi	Blainville	$1935
146 km or 90 mi	Sainte-Therese	$1950
147 km or 91 mi	Pointe-Claire	$1920
147 km or 91 mi	Boisbriand	$1934
147 km or 91 mi	Dollard-des-Ormeaux	$1944
147 km or 91 mi	Kingston	$1476
150 km or 93 mi	Le Ray	$1927
152 km or 94 mi	Dorval	$1923
152 km or 94 mi	Chateauguay	$1914
153 km or 95 mi	Laval	$2047
157 km or 98 mi	Saint-Lin-Laurentides	$1800
158 km or 98 mi	Cote-Saint-Luc	$1893
160 km or 100 mi	Mount Royal	$1876
162 km or 101 mi	Watertown	$1733
163 km or 102 mi	Terrebonne	$1907
163 km or 102 mi	Westmount	$1862
166 km or 103 mi	Saint-Constant	$1910
167 km or 104 mi	Montreal	$1928
167 km or 104 mi	Mascouche	$1852
170 km or 106 mi	Saint-Lambert	$1875
170 km or 106 mi	Candiac	$1940
170 km or 106 mi	Longueuil	$1923
171 km or 106 mi	La Prairie	$1960
175 km or 109 mi	Brossard	$2080
176 km or 109 mi	Boucherville	$1897
177 km or 110 mi	Repentigny	$1846
178 km or 111 mi	Varennes	$1861
183 km or 114 mi	L'Assomption	$1723
183 km or 114 mi	Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville	$1918
185 km or 115 mi	Sainte-Julie	$1891

Cities near Quebec City

Distance	City	Cost of living
3.6 km or 2.2 mi	Levis	$1685
80 km or 50 mi	Thetford Mines	$1024
89 km or 55 mi	Saint-Georges	$1466
102 km or 64 mi	Victoriaville	$1265
114 km or 71 mi	Trois-Rivieres	$1180
120 km or 74 mi	Shawinigan	$1434
142 km or 88 mi	Drummondville	$1399
166 km or 103 mi	Sherbrooke	$1451
169 km or 105 mi	Sorel-Tracy	$1589
170 km or 106 mi	Riviere-du-Loup	$1506
178 km or 111 mi	Saguenay	$1104
180 km or 112 mi	Chicoutimi	$1254
187 km or 116 mi	Magog	$1526
188 km or 117 mi	Saint-Hyacinthe	$1642
192 km or 120 mi	Joliette	$1458
195 km or 121 mi	Alma	$1341
196 km or 122 mi	Granby	$1142
201 km or 125 mi	L'Assomption	$1723
206 km or 128 mi	Beloeil	$1838
210 km or 131 mi	Repentigny	$1846
211 km or 131 mi	Varennes	$1861
212 km or 132 mi	Sainte-Julie	$1891
217 km or 135 mi	Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville	$1918
218 km or 135 mi	Mascouche	$1852
218 km or 136 mi	Boucherville	$1897
220 km or 136 mi	Chambly	$1918
223 km or 138 mi	Saint-Lin-Laurentides	$1800
223 km or 139 mi	Terrebonne	$1907
227 km or 141 mi	Longueuil	$1923
228 km or 142 mi	Brossard	$2080
229 km or 142 mi	Saint-Lambert	$1875
229 km or 143 mi	Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu	$1857
231 km or 144 mi	Montreal	$1928
234 km or 146 mi	La Prairie	$1960
236 km or 146 mi	Westmount	$1862
236 km or 146 mi	Mount Royal	$1876
238 km or 148 mi	Laval	$2047
238 km or 148 mi	Candiac	$1940
241 km or 150 mi	Cote-Saint-Luc	$1893
241 km or 150 mi	Boisbriand	$1934