About City Cost Report
Helping Canadians and newcomers make smarter decisions about where to live.
Our Mission
Moving to a new city is one of the biggest financial decisions you can make — and most people do it with incomplete information. A job offer, a school, or family can pull you across the country before you know what daily life there actually costs.
City Cost Report gives you real, comparable numbers across 60 cities so you can make that decision with confidence. Every page shows the same nine cost categories, drawn from the same database, so any two cities can be compared side by side.
The tool is free, has no sign-up, and every visible number comes from our dataset — nothing is hand-picked or editorialized.
What We Cover
Rent & Housing
Average one-bedroom rents inside and outside the city centre.
Groceries & Food
A relative groceries index plus the cost of a mid-range restaurant meal.
Transportation
Monthly adult transit passes and the price of gas per litre.
Utilities & Services
Monthly utilities, gym memberships, and full-time childcare costs.
Who This Is For
Moving to a new city
See exactly how your rent, groceries, and commute costs change before you sign a lease. Compare your current city against anywhere you're considering.
Comparing job offers in different cities
A higher salary in a pricier city can leave you worse off. The salary calculator on every comparison page shows what an offer is really worth.
Planning your retirement location
Stretch a fixed income further by finding cities where everyday essentials cost less. Compare smaller cities against the major metros you know.
Our Data
Our dataset covers 60 cities — 45 Canadian and 15 US — across nine cost categories. All figures are shown in CAD or USD depending on your preference, with live exchange rate conversion built in. For full details on where the numbers come from and how comparisons are calculated, read our Methodology.