Cost of Living in Toronto for Low-Income Households

The City of Toronto monitors food affordability every year using the Ontario Nutritious Food Basket (ONFB) costing tool. Food prices, among other essential needs, have increased considerably in the last several years in Toronto. 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, ONFB data is best used to assess the cost of living in Toronto by examining food 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 - rent, food, child care, 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 further created to describe:

  • Impact of Subsidies: Income scenarios with subsidies

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

  • Impact of Paying Average Market Rent: 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).

  • Impact of Paying Current Asking Market Rent: Income scenarios without subsidies + asking market rent

    • Rental costs are based on asking rental prices for available units (as of October 2024), as measured by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

All values are rounded to the nearest dollar.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Dataset Category Document
Refresh Rate Annually
Collection Method
Excerpt Low-income households struggle to pay for the basic costs of living. These income scenarios describe affordability of shelter, food, childcare and transportation relative to income.
Limitations - Scenarios describe estimated values only, rounded to the nearest dollar. - A reference period of June 2024 – May 2025 is used to align with Ontario Nutritious Food Basket data collection in May 2025. The tax year 2023 has been used to calculate tax benefits. - Income amounts include all entitlements available to Ontario residents for the reference period between June 2024 and May 2025.They are maximum amounts. Actual income amounts may be lower if residents do not file their income tax and/or do not apply for all available tax credits. - Each scenario estimates the cost of four basic living expenses - rent food, childcare, and transportation - but does not capture other necessary expenses such as phone/internet, household/personal care items, clothing, children’s activities and school supplies. - The costing tool measures the cost of basic healthy eating as represented by current national nutrition recommendations (i.e., Canada’s Food Guide) and average food purchasing patterns. It does not include processed/convenience foods, infant foods, special diet foods or non-food items (e.g., soap, diapers). - Canada's Food Guide and the Ontario Nutritious Food Basket are not inclusive for all religious and cultural groups, and they do not acknowledge traditional Indigenous foods and food procurement practices. The City of Toronto recognizes this as a significant limitation of the data collection and analysis.
Owner Division Social Development, Finance & Administration
Owner Section Social Planning & Research
Owner Unit Poverty Reduction Strategy Office
Owner Email PRSO@toronto.ca
Author Email PRSO@toronto.ca
Maintainer Email PRSO@toronto.ca
Author PRSO@toronto.ca
Civic Issues
Formats XLSX
Topics
Source
Information URL https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/accountability-operations-customer-service/long-term-vision-plans-and-strategies/poverty-reduction-strategy/food-security-in-toronto-poverty-reduction-strategy/
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Last Updated 2026-02-19 22:39:59.927986
Is Retired? False
Date Published 2022-11-10 04:32:53.172094