Surrey · Cost of living 2026
Surrey cost of living 2026: a complete monthly budget
Surrey is one of the more affordable major Greater Vancouver cities — rent runs roughly 25-35% below the City of Vancouver for the same square footage, daycare wait times are shorter, and groceries plus utilities are essentially identical to anywhere else in Metro Van. The single largest cost-of-living trade-off is transportation: more Surrey households own a car than in Vancouver proper, which adds $400-700/month in insurance, gas, and parking that downtown-Vancouver renters often skip entirely. South Surrey and Cloverdale are noticeably more car-dependent than the SkyTrain corridor around City Centre and Newton.
The bottom line
Two example monthly budgets
Single adult, one-bedroom apartment
$2,419/mo
CMHC rent + groceries + utilities + transit + lifestyle. Add ~$400-700 if you own a car.
Family of 4, two-bedroom + one preschool daycare spot
$4,997/mo
CMHC 2-bed rent + family groceries + utilities + 2 transit passes + 1 daycare. Infant daycare adds ~$500-700/month.
How Surrey compares
Where Surrey sits in the Metro Vancouver rental market
One-bedroom CMHC rent across all 6 Tier-1 Greater Vancouver cities, with Surrey highlighted. CMHC numbers are conservative — they only cover existing long-term tenants in purpose-built rental buildings.
CMHC One-bedroom rent across Greater Vancouver
The biggest line
Rent
CMHC purpose-built 1-bedroom
$1,412/mo
Conservative — only existing long-term tenants in purpose-built rental buildings.
Market 1-bedroom (new lease)
$1,950/mo
What you'll actually pay if you sign today on a typical condo.
The second biggest line
Groceries
Estimated monthly grocery spend by household type, derived from Statistics Canada's Survey of Household Spending and adjusted to 2026 dollars using the food CPI.
Mostly fixed Metro-wide
Utilities
BC Hydro is a regulated provincial Crown corporation, FortisBC serves natural gas across the Lower Mainland, and water/sewerage for apartment renters is typically embedded in rent. Internet and mobile costs are roughly the Canadian average.
Cheap if you don't own a car
Transit
If you own a car, add roughly $200-350/month for ICBC insurance (varies sharply by driving record and postal code), $150-300 for gas, and $100-300 for parking depending on neighbourhood.
The biggest family expense
Daycare
Market rates above. The BC $10-a-day program offers some spots at a flat $200/month — coverage varies by city and waitlists are 12-24 months.
Discretionary
Dining & lifestyle
Casual meals out (~10/month)
$180/mo
A typical fast-casual or pub meal for one runs $18-22 before tip.
Mid-range restaurant (~4/month)
$200/mo
Sit-down dinner for one with a drink runs $45-60 before tip.
Keep going
Plan the rest of your move to Surrey
Surrey city guide
Neighbourhood overviews, transit, schools, weather — the full city snapshot.
Is Surrey safe?
Calibrated Crime Severity Index, safest neighbourhoods, and newcomer scams to know about.
Newcomer essentials
The 8 practical guides every newcomer to BC needs — SIN, MSP, finding a rental, and more.