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Can you afford Greater Vancouver?
Pick a city, your household, and your monthly take-home pay. You'll get an estimated monthly budget — rent, groceries, transit, daycare and more — and whether your income covers it. The rent figures are the cited CMHC October 2025 averages we use across the site.
By Cenk Karakuz · Updated August 2026
- Rent (CMHC 1-bed avg)$1,862
- Groceries$385
- Utilities, internet & phone$235
- Transit$112
- Eating out & gym$180
- Estimated monthly total$2,774
On $5,000/month take-home in Vancouver, a single adult would have about $2,226/month left after these essentials — for savings, debt, travel, or a cushion.
Rent is 67% of this budget. A common rule of thumb is to keep rent under ~30–35% of take-home; above that, Vancouver starts to squeeze everything else.
Estimate only. Rent = CMHC Rental Market Survey, October 2025 (purpose-built average; market listings often run higher). Other lines are typical Metro Vancouver monthly figures from Statistics Canada (FAMEX), BC Hydro, FortisBC, CRTC, and TransLink. Your actual costs will vary with neighbourhood, lifestyle, and whether you own a car.
Quick answers.
How much income do you need to live in Vancouver?
For a single adult renting a one-bedroom in the City of Vancouver, essentials run roughly $3,000–$3,300/month (rent, groceries, utilities, transit, some dining) — so you generally want take-home pay above that, plus a buffer for savings. Suburbs like Surrey or Delta lower the bar by several hundred dollars a month.
Is the calculator's rent number what I'll actually pay?
It's the CMHC purpose-built average (October 2025). Listings you'll see as a new tenant — condos and basement suites — often run higher than the CMHC average, so treat the result as a floor for planning, not a ceiling.
Which Greater Vancouver city is most affordable?
On CMHC rent, Delta and Surrey are the lowest, then Richmond and New Westminster. The trade-off is commute time to downtown. Try each city in the calculator to see the difference.
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