Cost of Living · US vs CA
🇺🇸 New York vs 🇨🇦 Toronto: what everyday life costs
Monthly essentials: $2,410 in United States vs $2,121 in Canada — 12% cheaper.
- Essentials, United States
- $2,410/mo
- Essentials, Canada
- $2,121/mo
- Difference
- -12%
- 1-bed city rent, Canada
- $1,515/mo
Biggest differences
Much cheaper in Canada
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -13%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -13%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -13%
Closest to United States prices
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: -4%
- Running shoes (brand): -4%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): -4%
The full basket (32 items)
| Item | United States | Canada | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $1,750 | $1,515 (2,118 CAD) | -13% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $1,400 | $1,212 (1,694 CAD) | -13% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $3,200 | $2,770 (3,872 CAD) | -13% |
| Food out | |||
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $18.00 | $16.07 (22 CAD) | -11% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $75.00 | $66.96 (94 CAD) | -11% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $11.00 | $9.92 (14 CAD) | -9.8% |
| Groceries | |||
| Milk, 1L | $1.10 | $1.01 (1 CAD) | -8.2% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $3.20 | $2.95 (4 CAD) | -7.8% |
| Eggs, dozen | $3.40 | $3.13 (4 CAD) | -7.9% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $10.00 | $9.21 (13 CAD) | -7.9% |
| White rice, 1kg | $4.00 | $3.68 (5 CAD) | -8% |
| Apples, 1kg | $4.80 | $4.42 (6 CAD) | -7.9% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $12.00 | $11.05 (15 CAD) | -7.9% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $2.00 | $1.84 (3 CAD) | -8% |
| Drinks | |||
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $6.00 | $5.36 (7 CAD) | -11% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $8.00 | $7.68 (11 CAD) | -4% |
| Cappuccino | $5.00 | $4.46 (6 CAD) | -11% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $2.30 | $2.12 (3 CAD) | -7.8% |
| Transport | |||
| Public transport, monthly pass | $65.00 | $58.63 (82 CAD) | -9.8% |
| Public transport, one-way | $2.75 | $2.48 (3 CAD) | -9.8% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $4.00 | $3.57 (5 CAD) | -11% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.80 | $1.61 (2 CAD) | -11% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.95 | $0.91 (1 CAD) | -4.2% |
| Utilities & comms | |||
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $200 | $180 (252 CAD) | -9.8% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $70.00 | $63.14 (88 CAD) | -9.8% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $45.00 | $40.59 (57 CAD) | -9.8% |
| Lifestyle | |||
| Gym membership, month | $50.00 | $44.64 (62 CAD) | -11% |
| Cinema seat | $14.00 | $12.50 (17 CAD) | -11% |
| Men's haircut | $30.00 | $26.78 (37 CAD) | -11% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $55.00 | $52.78 (74 CAD) | -4% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $90.00 | $86.36 (121 CAD) | -4% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $250 | $223 (312 CAD) | -11% |
Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the interactive tool.
Beyond prices
What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about 588 km apart as the crow flies.
| Measure | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇨🇦 Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $5,087 | $3,650 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $1,109 | $1,357 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 21.8% | 37.2% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $1,472 | $974 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 3.7 | 2.8 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at New York and Toronto. | 73 | 69 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | strong | strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 3.2 (low) | 2.6 (low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 10 + 3 regional | 8 + 23 regional |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 9.9 | 9 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 78.9 | 82.1 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 5.8 | 2 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 94.7% | 94.4% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 271.2 | 262.6 |
Cheap for you, or cheap for everyone?
Rent measured twice: against a $6,000/month remote income, and against what people actually earn locally. The gap between the two is the arbitrage — and it is the reason somewhere can be affordable to you and unaffordable to a local at once.
🇺🇸 United States
3.3 pts
18.5% of your income vs 21.8% of a local wage
🇨🇦 Canada
14.6 pts
22.6% of your income vs 37.2% of a local wage
Worked at $6,000/month. Run it on your own income
Related
More comparisons
United States compared with
Frequently asked questions
- How much cheaper is Canada than United States?
- A single person's monthly essentials run about $2,121 in Canada versus $2,410 in United States — 12% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- What does a beer cost in Canada?
- A domestic draught pint is roughly $5.36 in Canada (≈ 7.49 CAD), versus about $6.00 in United States.
- How much is rent in Canada compared to United States?
- A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $1,515/month in Canada versus $1,750/month in United States (-13%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- How are these prices estimated?
- Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.