How Much Does It Cost To Live In Toronto In 2022?

How much does it cost to live in Toronto in 2022? Know the cost of living in Toronto 2022 along with a detailed explanation of all the expenses you should look out for.

The largest city in Canada, Toronto, is as expensive and exciting to live in. However, it\’s smart for people who want a more affordable lifestyle or those on tight budgets looking at moving there because we\’ve got some practical tips that can help! 

There are many things you\’ll need when making your calculations including rent prices per square foot of apartment buildings along with other hidden costs such as Halton Region – where most real estate professionals suggest investing if building new homes isn\’t an option due to lack of available land space; groceries which typically cost about 10%-15% greater than average across Ontario… 

I hope this article helps Toronto Real Estate Pro explains how much it will cost to live in Toronto in 2022. 

As per The cost of living in Toronto in 2022 report by lowestrates.ca

Here\’s a detailed breakdown of the expenses to look out for in Toronto:

• Accommodation
  

  If you are a renter you need $1900 for Housing

  If you are a homeOwner you need $3800 / Month

• Commute Transit: $265, 

• Car: $580

• Food $535

• Phone and Internet: $172.63/month

• Entertainment: $60.94/month

• Health and Fitness: $63.32/month

This is what it costs to live in Toronto in 2022

Total: $3,008.74 monthly, or $36,104.88 annually (for renters who take the transit)

Total: $3,323.73 monthly, or $39,884.76 annually (for renters who drive)

Total: $4,886.57 monthly, or $58,638.84 annually (for homeowners who transit)

Total: $5,201.56 monthly, or $62,418.72 annually (for homeowners who drive)

Based on the current tax rate in Canada and Ontario, renters who commute will need to be making at least $45,500 before tax ($36,280 after-tax) to make ends meet in Toronto.

Renters who drive will need to be making $51,500 before tax ($40,199 after tax.)

Homeowners who commute will need to make $78,500 before tax ($58,709 after tax.)

And homeowners who drive will need to make $84,000 before tax ($62,522 after-tax).

How much money will be spent in Toronto on accommodations, utilities, groceries, commuting, entertainment, education, fitness, taxes, health, care, seasonal expenses, and other expenses?

 

I will share some amazing cost-saving tips for you. Let\’s get started with the accommodation. You will either be renting a property or you will own your own home so the biggest expense that all of us have is the ownership of these properties. 

Let\’s talk about renting first. If you\’re looking at renting a place in Toronto you\’re likely to pay a thousand to twenty-two hundred dollars depending on the location and type of property. Toronto has a lot of buildings that are rent-controlled and you can potentially find a one-bedroom apartment for just under a thousand dollars.

However, these buildings are not in the best condition and most of them are in subprime neighborhoods. If you\’re looking at renting a luxury one-bedroom condo apartment you can pay upwards of fifteen hundred dollars plus utilities. There are a lot of options for shared accommodation. 

And you can typically find them by joining specific Facebook and WhatsApp groups. Your average cost per room typically starts around four hundred dollars per month plus utilities; these prices greatly vary again based on locations.

For example, if you\’re living at young bloor you probably will be paying around two thousand dollars but if you decide to move 30 minutes by the Kennedy subway station you can probably get away by paying in the ballpark of a thousand dollars here is a pro tip for you: hire a professional realtor to help you out with hunting for real estate properties you don\’t have to pay anything and it\’s free service for you.

Now, if you\’re looking at joining the homeownership club in Toronto it is a pricey affair let me break it down for you if you\’re looking at purchasing a property in Toronto downtown for example a two-bedroom condo would cost you close to 1.2 to 1.5 million dollars if you were to buy the same kind of property in Scarborough it can cost you six hundred to eight 800 000.

There is a huge price difference based on location so make sure you finalize what your budget is and then work backward from there.

You can expect to pay a down payment between 5 to 25 depending on what your credit looks like most of these properties do not have parking associated with it.

Parkings are sold separately and they could cost you 60 to 70 thousand dollars, make sure you budget for those when you\’re looking at comparing rates for your mortgages go out to ratehub.ca and see the lowest rates throughout the industry right now. 

Make sure you shop around for them before committing to a specific rate next we are going to discuss the internet and phone plans typically average pricing for internet and phone plans is around 170. 

The best way to find the cheapest deal is to go out and look at a website called planhub.ca that\’s where you will find the best resources for different companies that provide the cheapest rates.

Make sure you do check it out next we are going to discuss groceries according to the city of Toronto\’s nutritional food basket calculator a single male between the ages of 19 and 30 spends 340 a month on groceries and single women between the same ages have spent 264 dollars giving us an average of 302 dollars in Canada. 

You have a lot of retailers that own luxury and no-name brands that sell the same food items with very different prices based on user experiences here is a tip for you when looking for deals shopping for groceries. 

Check out the app called flip, in flip, you can search for toilet paper and compare rates throughout different retailers and make sure you find the cheapest one as everyone has been looking for them during cold when you\’re shopping at these grocery stores. 

Make sure you get their reward points cards they are an amazing way to save some money and collect some rewards now the problem that comes with it is that now you have to keep a completely new wallet with a ridiculous number of cards from different kinds of stores. 

Not anymore now you can get an app called a store card and all your cards can be tracked in it and your wallet will be much lighter next. 

We are going to discuss coffee because let\’s face it you cannot be Canadian without discussing timmies a cup of small coffee costs you a dollar 79 at Tim Hortons whereas the same cup of coffee costs you three dollars at Starbucks.

You pick and choose what you like next we\’re going to discuss commuting in Toronto it is one of the major expenses as well when you are deciding what you want to do, how you want to travel, and get from one place to the other in Toronto. 

Transit costs you on average 250 dollars whereas if you drive a car it will cost you 500 to 600 you decide is a time of matter or convenience. 

Toronto has a lot of ride-sharing services and taxis available to you they are not a cheap option and they are quite pricey you decide if you want to use that as your means of transportation if that is something that you want to work with make sure you allocate a budget towards it.

Typical budgets for people who are using taxis are around 500 to 800 a month next let\’s talk about cars these are beautiful pieces of equipment that get you from one place to the other but they are expensive. 

Let\’s start with the cheapest car first you can get a typical used car for three thousand dollars you can get a better car that is in decent shape from seven to ten thousand dollars next let\’s talk about new cars typically a new car is going to cost you 15 000 and up. 

There are a lot of hidden charges when it comes to purchasing a new car there is a 13 hst on top of it, the dealers will also charge you an air tax, a tire tax, freight, delivery, and on top of that, there will be fuel charges to fill up the gas tank. 

Make sure that you have a budget allocated for this on top of this there will be a title and plate registration fee, there would be admin fees and on top of this the dealers are going to try to upsell you for extended warranties, rust protection, paint protection. 

Please note sometimes these are hard sells and may not be worth the money except for extended warranties of course when you\’re purchasing a car on gg auto trader or Facebook marketplace.

Sometimes you save up a lot more money because it is a used car and you do not have to pay for any of the additional hidden fees that you may end up paying at a dealer but do keep in mind when you\’re buying a used car now you have to take care of paying for it on your own or get a car loan from one of your banks. 

These car loans are typically much more expensive and may not be worth it for you at the end of the day. Make sure you do a side-by-side comparison between buying a used car or buying a used car from a dealer. 

A new car’s interest rates at the dealership sometimes are amazing you can get something at zero percent interest for five to six years whereas on a used car you may end up paying five to six percent interest annually. 

Make sure you do consider that and take that into account when you are doing a comparison sometimes a new car ends up costing you much less than a used car. 

Also, when you are doing these calculations make sure you compare the maintenance costs as well a used car may not come with a warranty whereas a new car does come with a warranty where everything is covered all of these things should be part of your calculation in comparing your expenses.

The next thing that you should take into account when you\’re purchasing a used car is the long-term and short-term expenses of it if you are purchasing a Japanese car it is a bit more expensive because it holds its value in the market whereas an American car could be much cheaper but it may have a lot more maintenance and repair expenses.

Also, one thing for you to consider when you\’re purchasing a car is to go check out demo models there are a lot of those that are inexpensive and they are something that can come with a warranty make sure you do explore that. 

Also, at the same time there are a lot of trade-ins and lease buybacks available on the market there are people who bought these cars a year or two years ago and now want to trade them in or buy something bigger and more practical for their familism, do explore this as these are amazing hot deals. 

Here\’s a tip for you: if you\’re looking at buying tires explore Costco or simply tires both of them are amazing and they sell tires and packages Costco also offers free tire rotations and flat tire repairs for the life of the tire this is an amazing value that is added and provided to you free of cost. 

Next, let\’s discuss, gas, not this gas petrol, it\’s called gas and fuel over here in Canada, and gas stations are what they are commonly referred to as a typical gas budget in Canada for commuting in Toronto is 250 per month.

There are a lot of different programs that you can utilize to get rewards such as petrol points Costco has six to seven cents cheaper gas than all the other gas stations shell have air miles. Make sure you explore these when you\’re shopping for cheaper gas rates explore an app called gas buddy. 

Gas buddy compares prices at the closest gas stations that you have and it shows the cheapest rates available to you. Next, let\’s talk about car insurance, the average auto insurance cost in Ontario is around sixteen hundred dollars. Most drivers pay in the range of thirteen hundred to eighteen hundred annually. 

Insurance is greatly dependent on many factors such as age, gender, type of car, price of the car, the color of the car, Canadian driving history is a huge part of it, and where you live there are many other factors to consider when you are purchasing insurance.

Here is a tip for you: Some insurance companies will offer you a discount of up to 10 if you allow your driving habits to be tracked some people are okay with it, you can get an additional five to ten percent for multi-car discounts as well as car and home insurance together when you\’re shopping around for car insurance be sure to check out on lowestrates.ca, it compares insurances from multiple different providers and gives you the cheapest option available. People typically say 40 to 45 percent on average in shopping around for insurance rates.

Next, let\’s talk about dining out and entertainment typical entertainment expense varies from person to person. If you are eating out, a typical meal can cost you twenty dollars per person or a family of four can pay anywhere between eighty-two hundred dollars a typical movie date costs about 20 per person including popcorn and drink.

During covid, most people chose to stay indoors and use streaming platforms, these memberships range from five dollars to 25 dollars per month. Netflix, amazon prime, Disney, apple tv, crave, youtube, prime HBO, there are so many options to choose from.

Let\’s talk about gifts, a lot of people don\’t account for gifts in their budgeting a minimum budget of 500 per year should be set aside. There are events and other things in which you will have to provide gifts. For example Christmas weddings and other events that you haven\’t considered. 

Make sure that you do set aside a budget for it, Toronto is also a major hub for events and concerts and typical tickets can cost you anywhere between twenty dollars per person to well over a hundred dollars per person. Look for last-minute deals online to find tickets that people are looking at offloading because they cannot attend these events. 

This is something that is really really beneficial for you when you\’re searching for tickets if you\’re an outgoing person, it would budget 300 to 500 for meals and entertainment.

Next, let\’s talk about education, basic education for children in Canada till the age of 18 is free even if their parents are on work permits or study permits.

Next, let\’s talk about university fees, if you are an international student your typical tuition fee is going to be almost three times what a PR (permanent resident) or a Canadian citizen would pay, make sure you do consider this when you are planning on coming to Canada to study. 

The Next thing that you should consider is the residence cost, most universities offer residences and accommodation on campus, these residences sometimes are more expensive than what you may find outside these properties. 

There are a lot of private residences available for rent do explore and reach out to a realtor to find out what options are available to you on top of your tuition fee there is going to be a residence cost, there are permit costs as well as health insurance costs, please do keep in mind when you are coming to universities, books are not included as part of your tuition fee and could cost you up to a thousand dollars per semester.

Now, let\’s talk about fitness, if you are as fit as me you need a gym membership and it could cost you as little as ten dollars per month for a no-frills gym or as high as two hundred dollars for a high-end fitness club with all bells and whistles. Almost all gyms have a promotion once a year and you can find really good deals on it do, wait around and find out the best one before signing up with any of the gyms. 

Next, let\’s talk about taxes, everyone\’s a least favorite topic, Canada has a lot of them and it takes a bit of getting used to most of them. The first one is harmonizing sales tax, basically, it\’s a tax that you add on top of every single thing so if you see a top for twenty dollars you end up paying 22.60, you have to add this tax on top of it it is basically 13 in Canada.

You pay taxes on your income and the bracket ranges from zero to 53.5 depending on what you earn from land transfer tax, if you are purchasing a property in Canada, expect to pay between 0.5 and 2.5 for the Ontario portion of it and if you\’re purchasing a property in Toronto there is an additional 0.5 to 2.5 on the purchase price. Also, if you\’re a non-resident there is an NRST tax which is a non-resident speculation tax if you purchase any property under four units there\’s the property tax on the property that you just purchased which is point six one percent of the assessed value in Toronto which you have to pay each year here is a small list of additional taxes.

Next, let\’s talk about healthcare, everyone\’s favorite topic is healthcare is free in Canada which is such a relief talking about after so many taxes and other expenses, however, you do pay for medication, eye care, physio, and Cairo. There are some additional health care expenses that are not covered. 

Let\’s talk about seasonal expenses, seasonal expenses are once a year and costs that are every year that you should account for. For example, purchasing jackets, winter shoes, and winter tires. If you own a car there is an additional heating cost associated, if you are renting a house or you own a house additional heating of the car costs you. More fuel usage of the car in winter actually adds up a lot more fuel cost. 

If you know, in the summers throughout the year during summer, you have lawn mowing costs, landscaping costs, gardening costs, all of these additional charges that are part of your calculations and should be accommodated as we usually budget about 400 to 800 dollars per year for these additional expenses.

Let\’s talk about other expenses that you may face driver\’s license needs, to be renewed once every five years license plate every year study and work permits if they\’re applicable there are provincial cards for your ids from the ontario state, if you do not have a driver\’s license, there are parking permit fees, there are tolls, there are speeding tickets that you could potentially get, that you should budget for and there are a lot of speeding cameras on the highways in Toronto so be careful when you\’re driving and follow the post and speed limit

Let\’s talk about parking on city streets it is prohibited to park on city streets between the hours of 3 a.m and 6 a.m, between December 1st to April 1st. Also, if you park for longer than three hours you can get a ticket, these are offenses that do not require a signature on the street if you park more than 30 centimeters from the curb you can get a ticket, if you park on a boulevard, you can get a ticket so, be careful with all of these things. 

Let\’s talk about clothing, on average you can get clothes for an entire year, starting from 200 if you\’re a smart shopper. Here are some of the most amazing cost-saving tips: Most major retailers offer loyalty programs and rewards do sign up for them as they add a huge value to your savings. 

A lot of retailers offer interest-free credit cards if you sign up for their credit cards at the time of purchase. If you are doing a home renovation, you can get your supplies from home depot and apply for a credit card and get interest-free payments for 12 to 18 months. 

Most stores in Canada offer price matching up to 90 days after your purchase along with great return policies in case you change your mind.

Here is a list of some of the banks that you can bank at in Toronto and their respective fees. There are so many options that each bank offers and they all vary from each other. 

Make sure that the bank that you choose has the right type of services that make sense for you. There are so many settlement services in Canada that offer basic furniture for free for up to three years post-landing.

If you are a permanent resident also Canada is an amazing second-hand market where nearly 85 percent of Canadians have participated in some form of second-hand transaction. Strategic marketing director Mark Andre has mentioned this in many reports also, Canadians have bought 1.8 billion second-hand items last year. 

Another great cost-saving tip is student discounts such as uni days SPC cards and a lot of university programs, make sure you do contact your student program counselor to be able to find out what is available to you.

Another great tip to save money on shopping is: to shop during shopping sales. Sales are dedicated towards sales seasons and some of the best sales throughout the year are on boxing day, thanksgiving, and black Friday, make sure you check out your flyers the day before these and go find out amazing door crasher deals. 

Here is a tip for you red flag deals is a forum where some nice people post updates about deals daily go check out these forums and be a part of them so that you can take benefit of these deals.

Let\’s talk about shopping online, if you are looking for promotions and promo codes, here\’s the app called honey join, it has amazing promotions and promos for you, it also applies all of the promo codes for you automatically on whatever websites that you are purchasing from.

Explore them and find out your deals let\’s find out what was the damage the average cost of living in toronto report by lowestrates.ca states that if you\’re a renter you need 1900 for housing, if you\’re a homeowner you need 3 800 per month.

If you commute using the transit you need about 265, if you\’re a car owner you need about 580 for food you need 535 for phone, and internet 170 for entertainment, 60 for gym and fitness another 60 so here is what you need to earn to be able to break even in toronto you need a monthly salary of 3,000 or 36,000 annually.

For renters you need 3,300 monthly or 39,000 annually for renters who drive you need four thousand eight hundred dollars monthly or fifty eight thousand dollars annually for homeowners who use transit and you need fifty two hundred dollars monthly or sixty two thousand dollars annually for homeowners who drive based on the current tax rate in Canada.

For Ontario you will need to be making at least 45 500 before taxes to make ends meet renters who drive will need about 51 500 before taxes homeowners who commute will need to make 78 500 before taxes and homeowners who drive will need to make about 84 000 before taxes.

RELATED ARTICLES: