Ottawa vs Quebec City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: July 09, 2025

	Ottawa	Quebec City
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2111	$1689
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4755	$3879
🏠 One person rent	$1239	$857
🏘️ Family rent	$2031	$1353
🍽️ Food expenses	$579	$557
🚐 Transport expenses	$172	$138
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3380	$2875
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	5 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	50	38
😀 Quality of life	92	88
🏙️ Population	1.02M	549K

The cost of living in Ottawa is 25% more expensive than in Quebec City. Cities ranked 1708th and 3217th ($2111 vs $1689) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 26th and 111th in Canada.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Ottawa compared to 1.7 months in Quebec City. Ranked 6th vs 21st best cities to live in Canada, and 113th vs 278th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Ottawa vs Quebec City infographic

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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	$16.5	$16.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$64	$65.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$11.2	$11
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.9	$5.83
☕ Cappuccino	$3.93	$3.88
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.08	$1.99
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1231	$813
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1042	$748
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2143	$1477
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1732	$1167
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$107	$52.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$164	$80.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$51.8	$43.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.46%	6.84%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5133	$9041
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3390	$3707
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.95	$2.73
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$97.7	$68.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$15.8	$22.8
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.11	$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.39	$2.09
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.44	$3.18
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.75	$4.35
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.9	$3.1
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.2	$12.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.2	$11
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.8	$13.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.17	$4
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.36	$1.66
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.39	$4.22
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.93	$4.01
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.68	$1.86
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.1	$2.46
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.01	$1.02
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.49	$1.88
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$13.8	$10.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.5	$3.08
🚬 Cigarette pack	$13.7	$12.9
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.5	$6.96
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.29	$3.15
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.03	$2.32
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.53	$1.94
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$43.1	$40.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$11	$10.9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$59.5	$80.5
💇 Haircut, simple	$16.8	$15.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$55.4	$60.7
👟 Brand Sneakers	$94.5	$109
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$901	$822
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$16052	$6261

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	$1842
19 km or 12 mi	Kanata	$2299
87 km or 54 mi	Cornwall	$1698
94 km or 58 mi	Brockville	$1880
124 km or 77 mi	Salaberry-de-Valleyfield	$1966
128 km or 80 mi	Mirabel	$1818
130 km or 81 mi	Vaudreuil-Dorion	$1884
138 km or 86 mi	Saint-Jerome	$1786
141 km or 87 mi	Saint-Eustache	$1838
143 km or 89 mi	Kirkland	$1871
144 km or 89 mi	Blainville	$1823
146 km or 90 mi	Sainte-Therese	$1815
147 km or 91 mi	Pointe-Claire	$1871
147 km or 91 mi	Boisbriand	$1805
147 km or 91 mi	Dollard-des-Ormeaux	$1870
147 km or 91 mi	Kingston	$1473
150 km or 93 mi	Le Ray	$1810
152 km or 94 mi	Dorval	$1877
152 km or 94 mi	Chateauguay	$1891
153 km or 95 mi	Laval	$1965
157 km or 98 mi	Saint-Lin-Laurentides	$1747
158 km or 98 mi	Cote-Saint-Luc	$1856
160 km or 100 mi	Mount Royal	$1847
162 km or 101 mi	Watertown	$1656
163 km or 102 mi	Terrebonne	$1828
163 km or 102 mi	Westmount	$1836
166 km or 103 mi	Saint-Constant	$1890
167 km or 104 mi	Montreal	$1924
167 km or 104 mi	Mascouche	$1797
170 km or 106 mi	Saint-Lambert	$1860
170 km or 106 mi	Candiac	$1922
170 km or 106 mi	Longueuil	$1879
171 km or 106 mi	La Prairie	$1941
175 km or 109 mi	Brossard	$2097
176 km or 109 mi	Boucherville	$1856
177 km or 110 mi	Repentigny	$1799
178 km or 111 mi	Varennes	$1818
183 km or 114 mi	L'Assomption	$1704
183 km or 114 mi	Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville	$1903
185 km or 115 mi	Sainte-Julie	$1866

Cities near Quebec City

Distance	City	Cost of living
3.6 km or 2.2 mi	Levis	$1673
80 km or 50 mi	Thetford Mines	$1046
89 km or 55 mi	Saint-Georges	$1508
102 km or 64 mi	Victoriaville	$1296
114 km or 71 mi	Trois-Rivieres	$1191
120 km or 74 mi	Shawinigan	$1431
142 km or 88 mi	Drummondville	$1382
166 km or 103 mi	Sherbrooke	$1463
169 km or 105 mi	Sorel-Tracy	$1583
170 km or 106 mi	Riviere-du-Loup	$1490
178 km or 111 mi	Saguenay	$1099
180 km or 112 mi	Chicoutimi	$1247
187 km or 116 mi	Magog	$1521
188 km or 117 mi	Saint-Hyacinthe	$1616
192 km or 120 mi	Joliette	$1478
195 km or 121 mi	Alma	$1332
196 km or 122 mi	Granby	$1143
201 km or 125 mi	L'Assomption	$1704
206 km or 128 mi	Beloeil	$1808
210 km or 131 mi	Repentigny	$1799
211 km or 131 mi	Varennes	$1818
212 km or 132 mi	Sainte-Julie	$1866
217 km or 135 mi	Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville	$1903
218 km or 135 mi	Mascouche	$1797
218 km or 136 mi	Boucherville	$1856
220 km or 136 mi	Chambly	$1890
223 km or 138 mi	Saint-Lin-Laurentides	$1747
223 km or 139 mi	Terrebonne	$1828
227 km or 141 mi	Longueuil	$1879
228 km or 142 mi	Brossard	$2097
229 km or 142 mi	Saint-Lambert	$1860
229 km or 143 mi	Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu	$1830
231 km or 144 mi	Montreal	$1924
234 km or 146 mi	La Prairie	$1941
236 km or 146 mi	Westmount	$1836
236 km or 146 mi	Mount Royal	$1847
238 km or 148 mi	Laval	$1965
238 km or 148 mi	Candiac	$1922
241 km or 150 mi	Cote-Saint-Luc	$1856
241 km or 150 mi	Boisbriand	$1805