Cost of living in Toronto for low-income households

The City of Toronto monitors the affordability of food annually using the Nutritious Food Basket (NFB) costing tool. Food prices, among other essential needs, have increased considerably in the last several years. People receiving social assistance and earning low wages often do not have enough money to cover the cost of basic expenses, including food. As such, NFB data is best used to monitor affordability in relation to income alongside other local basic expenses.

The dataset describes the affordability of food and other basic expenses relative to income for 11 household scenarios.

• Scenarios were selected to reflect household characteristics that increase the risk of being food insecure, including reliance on social assistance as the main source of income, single-parent households, and rental housing. A median income scenario has also been included as a comparator.

• Income, including federal and provincial tax benefits, and the cost of four basic living expenses - shelter, food, childcare, and transportation - are estimated for each scenario.

• Results show the estimated amount of money remaining at the end of the month for each household.

Three versions of the scenarios were created to describe:

• Income scenarios with subsidies: Subsidies can substantially reduce a households’ monthly expenses. Local subsidies for rent (Rent-Geared-to-Income), childcare (Childcare Fee Subsidy), and transit (Fair Pass) are accounted for in this file.

• Income scenarios without subsidies + average market rent: In this file, rental costs are based on average market rent, as measured by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

• Income scenarios without subsidies + current market rent: Rental costs are based on current market rent (as of October 2022), as measured by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

All values are rounded to the nearest dollar.