Cost of Living in Vancouver

Summary of cost of living in Vancouver, Canada:

Restaurants
Edit Range
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 18.62 $ 11.17-36.49
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 78.20 $ 47.67-134.06
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) 9.68 $ 8.94-11.17
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) 5.21 $ 3.72-7.45
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 6.70 $ 5.21-8.94
Cappuccino (regular) 4.03 $ 2.61-5.96
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) 2.08 $ 1.49-3.00
Water (12 oz small bottle) 1.85 $ 1.49-2.61
Markets
Edit
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) 8.00 $ 4.32-15.62
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) 2.65 $ 1.35-4.10
Rice (white), (1 lb) 1.69 $ 0.84-4.05
Eggs (regular) (12) 4.08 $ 2.61-5.59
Local Cheese (1 lb) 6.24 $ 2.46-16.89
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) 5.89 $ 3.38-8.78
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) 6.15 $ 3.38-9.46
Apples (1 lb) 1.76 $ 0.68-2.98
Banana (1 lb) 0.64 $ 0.34-1.18
Oranges (1 lb) 1.67 $ 0.68-2.98
Tomato (1 lb) 1.88 $ 0.68-2.97
Potato (1 lb) 1.43 $ 0.42-2.03
Onion (1 lb) 1.10 $ 0.34-1.86
Lettuce (1 head) 2.60 $ 1.49-3.72
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 1.87 $ 0.74-2.98
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 14.90 $ 11.17-22.34
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 2.80 $ 1.86-4.47
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 3.03 $ 1.86-5.96
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) 14.89 $ 12.66-16.39
Transportation
Edit
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 2.31 $ 1.86-4.10
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 89.38 $ 76.38-137.79
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 2.98 $ 2.42-3.72
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) 2.40 $ 1.86-4.79
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 29.05 $ 25.67-48.41
Gasoline (1 gallon) 5.45 $ 4.57-6.77
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) 22,343.87 $ 19,364.69-26,067.85
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) 20,165.34 $ 17,130.30-24,205.86
Utilities (Monthly)
Edit
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment 107.42 $ 56.27-216.74
1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans) 0.31 $ 0.11-0.48
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 67.57 $ 44.69-92.35
Sports And Leisure
Edit
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 44.35 $ 18.62-96.08
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 11.67 $ 0.00-19.36
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 12.85 $ 11.17-16.39
Childcare
Edit
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child 1,056.06 $ 744.80-1,526.83
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child 18,462.22 $ 8,565.15-33,515.81
Clothing And Shoes
Edit
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 61.04 $ 37.24-93.10
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 40.57 $ 22.34-59.58
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 91.00 $ 59.58-111.72
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes 115.90 $ 63.31-186.20
Rent Per Month
Edit
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 1,885.93 $ 1,489.59-2,234.39
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 1,577.61 $ 1,191.67-1,936.47
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 3,433.09 $ 2,979.18-4,468.77
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 2,615.77 $ 2,048.19-3,723.98
Buy Apartment Price
Edit
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre 954.99 $ 761.13-1,432.30
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 731.55 $ 558.59-899.71
Salaries And Financing
Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 3,482.81 $
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate 5.88 2.00-8.75

Prices in Vancouver

This city had 2743 entries in the past 12 months by 479 different contributors.
Last update: June 2023
Distribution of Expenses Using Our Statistical Model:
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21 Comments so far
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
Keith on Jan 13, 2020:
3rd generation resident of Metro Vancouver here (my grandfather was born on the west coast in 1909). 30 years ago Vancouver was fabulous. Decently affordable, civilized and spectacular. Now there are too many tourists and Asian immigrants. Property prices are insane within 50km of downtown. If you take public transit from Richmond, you might as well be in Shanghai. Surrey is a province of Punjab. Drug use is rampant. Now I feel like a stranger in my own city. How did we let that happen?
john fu lee on Jan 09, 2020:
Vancouver is so expensive, its killing me.
I work hard for chinese restarant. he geed me free noodles but say money is tight. give me noodle soup for baby but tht no good. want dollars for baby diaper but he says use table cloth material.
im very sad. city too expensive for me. ok for boss and his mother father and 3 children. all have nice car. drive in drieway. i went deliver food their house. lovely very lovey just like emperor house.
i make hard to save money but nothing left. no money for cream for daughter rash.
i find too expensive here.
what to do.
help me please
Hermes on Dec 26, 2019:
$98 for one month transit pass is misleading. In truth, it depends. It's complicated like our income tax system! GVRD (greater Vancouver Regional District) is not like taking the subway/buses in some other countries where it is simple and good value.

The real price could be more, and usually is. In some cases though it could be less. For example, if you are 65+ or under 18 a monthly pass is $56. If you are disabled or on 'welfare' it is $45 *per year*.

CAD98 for an adult is only for *one zone* (unless you take the bus instead of the city train, in which case there are no zones - you can travel anywhere within the metro Vancouver area). Also, if you take the express train 'West Coast express' running to the suburbs there is a surcharge. The monthly pass price is $131 for 2-zones and $177 for 3-zones. It is normal to travel between two zones for a trip over 20 minutes. What most persons do is buy the number of zones they usually travel and pay extra per trip for each additional zone in excess.

Also, if you travel for more than 90 minutes without buying a new ticket you can be fined several hundred Canadian dollars by Transit Police.

This is one of the challenges for the easy to compare prices of Numbeo. It is over-simplified for well, simplicity,
Stu on Sep 25, 2019:
Thought i Could cash out but the bubble bursted now I'm stuck, wife left because money tied in the house, doing shift work, got aging parents, became diabetic, stressed throwing up all the time. Bad timing
Charlie on Sep 05, 2019:
Awfully expensive city. People renting tents for 1000 a month. Check the site renters of Vancouver for all the horror stories. This is what happens when greed is allowed to take over.
Jeff stanl on Jul 24, 2019:
yes most bosses here are Chinese .they work very very hard and expect thst from you.
it makes no difference if you are a tin Horton worker or a optician in walmart very high chance your boss will be Chinese and will expect Chinese standard of high work.

I was in rest room my boss shouted at me he said Jeff you are 1 minute over...you multiply thst by 6 and then 50..num of employees. he said thst is 300 .if I pay 10 dollar hour ..u will make me bankrupt.

I said yes Mr Chan
CostPatrol on Jul 11, 2019:
I would say you need a minimum gross income of $100,000 to live here. I depends... for a single person it would be more than enough, but won’t be enough for a family of four. Prices and taxes are very high here. $100k cad in Vancouver is about equivalent buying power of $50k usd in America in realistic terms, I travel to Washington every week so I know. Although I’ve noticed American prices have been going up a lot in the last couple of years as well... So making $100k in Vancouver will mean a low middle class lifestyle. But good luck trying to find a job that pays even $80k. It’s an impossible city for the 99%.
CostPatrol on Jul 11, 2019:
Due to recent Boeing Max 8 grounding, all major flights prices have been jacked up.
For Vancouver to Calgary return flights used to be around $200 and now it is around $700 for Air Canada and Westjet.
This price gouging may be temporary but may continue for another 6+ months until they fix the airplane’s safety issues.
R L on Jul 02, 2019:
The monthly pass just went up from $95/mo to $98/mo