Toronto renters should make about $44 hourly to comfortably afford a one-bedroom apartment: report

If a renter in Toronto wants to dedicate about a third of their paycheque to a one-bedroom apartment each month, they should be making roughly $44 an hour.

That’s according to Zoocasa, a real estate website, which crunched the numbers after several provinces recently raised their minimum wages to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

As of Oct. 1, Ontario raised that wage to $17.60 per hour, reflecting a $0.40 increase from the previous rate.

• READ MORE: Ontario’s minimum wage is rising in October. But is it enough for workers to support themselves full-time?

Zoocasa analyzed data from Rentals.ca across 51 Canadian cities to reveal what a single earner should make at minimum to rent a one-bedroom apartment affordably under the 32 per cent rule.

Typically, the “golden rule” of budgeting for housing costs is touted as spending no more than 32 per cent of your gross annual income, according to Zoocasa.

“It’s a standard that’s supposed to leave room for food, transportation, savings, and a little breathing room for the unexpected,” the report reads.

To make these calculations, the real estate website says it calculated the required hourly wage and annual income based on 37.5 hours of work per week, assuming 32 per cent of that salary would cover the average cost of rent for a one-bedroom unit.

Assuming minimum wage employees work 37.5 hours every week, Ontarians would bring home a $31,680 pre-tax annual income, making their ideal rent roughly $845 per month.

But Zoocasa’s report reveals the average rent for a one-bedroom unit in Toronto costs about $2,295, which is nearly triple the amount of what full-time minimum wage earners can comfortably afford on their own.

Torontonians should be making at least $86,062 annually, or $44.13 hourly, if they want to rent a one-bedroom apartment on their own, according to the study. That figure is 151 per cent higher than the province’s new minimum wage.

Across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), North York renters would need to earn $41.62 per hour; Mississauga calls for $41.12 per hour, while Brampton renters need $39.38 hourly to afford the same units. These figures represent wage gaps from 124 to 137 per cent.

Outside of the GTA, renters in Greater Sudbury need $40.93 an hour, Waterloo renters need $39.42 per hour, and London renters need $32.96 per hour, reflecting wage gaps ranging from 87 to 133 per cent. This reveals cities once painted as an affordable housing option are currently inaccessible to full-time minimum wage earners, Zoocasa notes.

“Ontario’s housing costs continue to outpace wage growth at nearly every level, confirming that incremental wage adjustments are insufficient to bridge the affordability gap,” the report reads.

Here is how much rent costs for one-bedroom units across Ontario in October and the required income to comfortably afford them on a single income, according to Zoocasa: