Cost of Living in Vancouver

Summary of cost of living in Vancouver, Canada:

Restaurants
Edit Range
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 25.00 C$ 18.00-40.00
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 120.00 C$ 80.00-200.00
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) 14.00 C$ 12.00-15.00
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) 8.00 C$ 6.85-12.00
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 9.00 C$ 7.00-12.00
Cappuccino (regular) 5.42 C$ 3.50-7.00
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) 3.05 C$ 2.00-4.00
Water (12 oz small bottle) 2.64 C$ 2.00-4.00
Markets
Edit
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) 11.57 C$ 5.99-18.93
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) 3.84 C$ 2.27-6.35
Rice (white), (1 lb) 2.78 C$ 1.00-4.54
Eggs (regular) (12) 5.97 C$ 3.79-8.00
Local Cheese (1 lb) 9.22 C$ 4.54-24.90
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) 9.50 C$ 4.54-14.00
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) 10.93 C$ 6.00-15.88
Apples (1 lb) 2.89 C$ 0.91-4.54
Banana (1 lb) 0.84 C$ 0.65-1.82
Oranges (1 lb) 2.34 C$ 1.13-5.00
Tomato (1 lb) 2.96 C$ 1.36-4.08
Potato (1 lb) 2.00 C$ 0.86-3.63
Onion (1 lb) 1.77 C$ 0.95-3.00
Lettuce (1 head) 3.57 C$ 2.00-5.00
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 2.56 C$ 0.99-4.00
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 20.00 C$ 15.00-35.00
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 4.79 C$ 2.86-8.00
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 4.75 C$ 2.50-8.00
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) 20.57 C$ 18.00-24.00
Transportation
Edit
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 3.15 C$ 2.55-4.55
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 140.00 C$ 104.90-189.45
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 4.00 C$ 3.50-5.00
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) 3.64 C$ 3.27-5.63
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 36.59 C$ 30.00-65.00
Gasoline (1 gallon) 7.42 C$ 6.44-7.99
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) 33,978.00 C$ 31,000.00-40,000.00
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) 28,345.04 C$ 27,000.00-30,000.00
Utilities (Monthly)
Edit
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment 171.90 C$ 99.17-304.98
Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data 67.04 C$ 39.00-110.00
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 82.27 C$ 50.00-117.00
Sports And Leisure
Edit
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 63.26 C$ 25.00-150.00
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 20.10 C$ 0.00-30.00
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 18.00 C$ 15.00-22.00
Childcare
Edit
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child 1,478.95 C$ 700.00-2,350.00
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child 20,100.00 C$ 11,500.00-40,000.00
Clothing And Shoes
Edit
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 92.16 C$ 45.00-143.00
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 64.67 C$ 30.00-110.00
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 138.67 C$ 75.00-185.00
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes 183.64 C$ 80.00-300.00
Rent Per Month
Edit
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 2,788.82 C$ 2,400.00-3,200.00
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 2,317.77 C$ 1,800.00-2,850.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 5,099.12 C$ 3,800.00-6,025.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 3,877.31 C$ 3,000.00-5,000.00
Buy Apartment Price
Edit
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre 1,508.81 C$ 1,099.99-2,043.85
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 1,000.17 C$ 799.99-1,254.18
Salaries And Financing
Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 4,288.81 C$
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate 6.62 5.19-8.95

Prices in Vancouver

This city had 2977 entries in the past 12 months by 542 different contributors.
Last update: April 2024
Distribution of Expenses Using Our Statistical Model:
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15 Comments so far
Anonymous on Mar 10, 2024:
Most of what you read on your phone and your tablet news feeds is all just clickbait like this It's absolute nonsense facts be wary of what you want to believe
Anonymous on Mar 10, 2024:
This is definitely nonsense It's nowhere close to that I haven't paid that much for a liter of pop since I was in high school 20 years ago those are mid-90s prices guaranteed
Anonymous on Sep 05, 2023:
BEWARE! This is no longer accurate. The actual cost of a one-bedroom is $2800.
Bruce Lee on Apr 18, 2023:
Someone commented below the Chinese have high standards of work. I lived in China and this is 100% false. They have significantly lower quality of work, it’s second world for a reason. They might work slightly more time (fewer days off because holidays are expected to be made up) but the productivity is almost zero that’s part of the culture. It’s normal to sleep at work in China. Most employees just message each other all day long there is no actual work being done by anyone except the laborers (peasant class)
melody on Oct 10, 2022:
you need to update your price or due better research to back your price of living estimates cause your way off
Brad on Apr 18, 2022:
Regarding mortgage rates: 20-year fixed mortgage rates don't exist here. The numbers listed above are going to be way off accordingly. There is currently only one option for a 25-yr fixed at 8.75% (RBC). 10-year fixed is around 4%-4.5% as of Apr 2022.
Yashar on Jan 30, 2022:
In the utilities section, there is 1 min. prepaid mobile cost, which appears the same in calculations. But getting a SIM-card costs around 80 CAD monthly. So I think this should be added to the monthly costs separately.
Tom Hollands on Oct 27, 2021:
In Kitsilano, Vancouver we pay ~100 CAD /mo for BC hydro (electricity), another ~100 CAD /mo for heating, then you have to add on the municipal taxes for garbage collection etc which takes us up to ~300 CAD /mo for all "basic" utilities. Another ~100 CAD for internet.

Vancouver is expensive!

Another thing to note: draft "pints" are rarely pint-sized in Vancouver. They're usually 16oz or even 14oz instead of 20oz.
Jessica Thompson on Apr 13, 2021:
Just move to Toronto, salary too low in Vancouver and not many jobs here.
Vancouverite92892 on Feb 01, 2021:
I think that car insurance rates need to be added. Possibly under transportation. Decently higher in BC, particularly the greater vancouver area, than other places in Canada.
Makram on Dec 13, 2020:
Plz I want to know who is the biggest company on painting contractors?
Commercial job and residential
Damian Luke on Dec 08, 2020:
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Brenda Spenda on Sep 23, 2020:
Single person in Coquitlam
Mortgage, strata fees & house insurance = $1400
Cell phone (100), hydro (60), internet/cable (180) and gym fee (16) = $356
Groceries (250), dog food/treats (50) = $300
Credit card $300
Hair/nails/lashes $130
Pet insurance $30
Gas $60
Prescriptions $200
Liquor store/social outings w friends $100
Total amount $2,876
Earnings $3,000
I WORK TO LIVE!! BC IS SOOO EXPENSIVE. TIME TO FIND A SUGARDADDY :-D
KONSTANTINOS on Aug 17, 2020:
Can somebody assist me ?

Is a gross salary 10000 usd/month enough for an expatriated family of four (2 adults + 2 children less than 10 years old)?

A first calculation of cost of living, gives monthly expenses between 5200 usd (out of city center) - 5900 usd (into city center)for 3 bedroom apartment and a low profile life style.

Your opinion, please !
Baby Driver on Jun 07, 2020:
My sunny 600 sq ft West End apartment with mortgage and strata fee = $ 1,025.00
Utilities ( cell phone, land line, hydro , internet and gym fee ) = $ 110.00 Groceries = $ 250.00 Frivolous spending ( beer, pubs, diners and such ) = $ 800.00 Total amount = $ 2,185.00 On a net income of $ 2,900.00 per month I save $ 700.00 Life is a breeze