British Columbia is Canada's least affordable province, study finds

The downtown Vancouver waterfront is seen in a Shutterstock image.

British Columbia is the least affordable province in Canada, and Vancouver is the least affordable city, according to a new analysis.

The personal finance website Savvy New Canadians looked at data from Statistics Canada for each province to create a household "income-to-expense ratio," then compared that ratio across regions. 

In B.C., the average estimated expenditure per household was $79,591, while the median after-tax income for an "economic family" – defined as "a group of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling and are related to each other by blood, marriage, common-law, adoption or a foster relationship" – was $97,800.

That leaves the province with an income-to-expense ratio of 1.23, the worst of Canada's 10 provinces, according to the study.

Quebec had the best ratio on the list, at 1.5, reflecting much lower per-household expenditures of $59,770 and slightly lower median after-tax income of $89,400.

Notably, despite its poor showing, B.C. has neither the highest estimated expenses nor the lowest median income.

Alberta's expenses are highest at $81,992, but that province benefits from the highest median household income at $107,500, nearly $8,000 higher than the next-highest figure.

The full ranking and the figures Savvy New Canadians used to calculate it can be seen in the table that follows.

This table provided by Savvy New Canadians summarizes the site's analysis of affordability across provinces. (savvynewcanadians.com)

VANCOUVER'S HIGH COST OF LIVING

The analysis also looked at individual cities in Canada, using a modified version of NUMBEO's 2023 cost of living index. 

While NUMBEO compares the cost of living in a given city to the cost of living in New York City, Savvy New Canadians recalibrated the scale to be based on the average cost of living across the 26 Canadian cities included in the list.

A city scoring 100 on the index has the same cost of living as the average city. A score of 105 would be five per cent more expensive and a score of 95 would be five per cent cheaper.

Vancouver scored a 121.3, meaning it's 21.3 per cent more expensive than the Canadian average. Toronto was second at 118.6, with Victoria, B.C.'s capital, close behind at 117.4.

Markham, Ont. and Nanaimo, B.C. rounded out the top five, with scores of 114.5 and 108.6, respectively.

Savvy New Canadians' analysis is hardly the first one to point out B.C.'s high cost of living and poor affordability.

The province is routinely singled out as having the country's most expensive real estate and rental markets and among the highest costs of living. Vancouver and Victoria, in particular, are out of reach for many. 

Despite the expense, however, Vancouver is still often included in lists of the world's most liveable cities.