Is it cheaper to live in Halifax or Toronto? This data says the relative costs are comparable

Andrew Lam · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 03, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 3

The stock of income Halifax households typically spent connected lodging and proscription costs successful 2024 was comparable to cities similar Toronto, according to caller Statistics Canada data analyzed by CBC News. 

Half of households successful Halifax were estimated to walk astir 31 per cent oregon much of before-tax income connected those 2 disbursal categories. In Toronto, the fig was 30 per cent.

With housing costs having rapidly accrued implicit the past respective years, Halifax realtor Chris Melnyk said the information lines up with what he's seen.

 "A batch of radical person this benignant of misconception that … homes are cheap," said Melnyk. 

Over the past fewer years, he's regularly received inquiries from radical extracurricular Nova Scotia who are funny successful moving to the province. But, immoderate decided not to aft discovering Halifax homes were expensive.

Melnyk said prices for galore homes successful and astir the metropolis efficaciously doubled from 2019 to 2022, adding that wide prices person been climbing since past pursuing a little decline.

"The worth proposition [of moving to Halifax] doesn't marque that overmuch much consciousness anymore comparative to say, a fig of years agone erstwhile it was a batch cheaper."

Up until 2 years ago, Montreal-based instrumentalist and euphony teacher Rachel Sunter was surviving successful Halifax, wherever she saw that alteration successful lodging prices first-hand. 

While renting, Sunter started to see buying her archetypal location conscionable earlier 2020. But successful lone a mates of years, that was retired of reach.

"I could beryllium a homeowner connected 1 broadside of that [and] connected the different broadside had nary chance," Sunter said.

Rising rents were 1 of the main reasons for Sunter's determination to determination to Montreal aft much than a decennary surviving and gathering a vocation successful Halifax. 

There, Sunter rented a location with roommates. She said she was repeatedly told for a fig of years that the location would beryllium demolished, prompting aggregate searches for a caller apartment.

"Each year, each I could spot was that determination was thing … I would beryllium capable to afford [while] paying rent and having a teaching concern astatine the aforesaid time," Sunter said.

Rents are, connected average, considerably lower in Montreal, though Sunter said owning a car determination has been much costly for her owed to licensing costs and different fees.

The Statistics Canada information shows the median household successful Toronto does walk a higher proportionality of before-tax income connected lodging than successful Halifax. But, erstwhile proscription costs are factored in, the cities are similar. 

By that combined measure, Halifax ranked 22 most costly retired of the 50 largest census subdivisions successful Canada, which mostly correspond municipalities.

The figures are from the statistic agency's comparatively new Housing and Transportation Cost Index, which aims to supply a amended consciousness of what it costs to unrecorded successful an country arsenic of May 2024.

The thought down the scale is that adjacent though lodging in suburban areas tin beryllium cheaper than successful the city's core, commuting and different proscription costs tin offset that vantage and vice-versa. 

In Halifax since 2024, the mean terms of regular unleaded state has been consistently higher than successful Toronto, according to Statistics Canada. At the aforesaid time, wages successful Nova Scotia were the lowest successful Canada past year. 

Out of each the provinces, Nova Scotia was the sixth-most costly successful presumption of the fraction of before-tax household income spent connected housing, said Marcello Barisonzi, a elder expert with Statistics Canada. 

But the state was the astir costly for transportation, pushing Nova Scotia to 4th spot overall.

Barisonzi said proscription costs were astir costly for those surviving successful tiny towns.