Cost of Living in Toronto: A Complete Guide for Planning Your Monthly Expenses

October 13, 2022
Lifestyle

Cost of Living in Toronto

Imagine living your dream Toronto life. Imagine having a fresh cup of coffee from a local café, enjoying a delicious meal for lunch with friends, and exploring the city’s many attractions on the weekend.

To ensure that you have the freedom to enjoy all this, it can be a good idea to budget for your monthly expenses in Toronto.

First, here is a summary of the cost of living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada:

A single person’s estimated monthly expenses are $1,516 without rent.
A student’s estimated monthly expenses, including the price of tuition divided monthly, is $2,896.
A family of four’s estimated monthly expenses are $5,482 without rent.
The average rent for a single person living with a roommate is around $700–1,000.
The average one-bedroom apartment rent is $2,609.

Scroll through the categories below to learn more about how much you will need to spend on different items, activities, and services.

Housing Rental Prices in Toronto

Accommodations can vary depending on where you live in Toronto or the Greater Toronto Area. Generally, you should expect to pay $700 - $1,000 per month if you are living with a roommate. However, this number can increase if you want to live alone.

According to Numbeo, accommodations close to Toronto’s city centre cost more, while apartments outside the city centre cost less.

As the FCT campus is in Midtown Toronto, nearby accommodations will cost a bit less than those in the downtown core.

Transit Prices in Toronto

Many factors influence transportation costs, including how often you travel, how close you live to campus, and what type of transportation you use.

In general, you should plan to spend $140 to $250 per month on transportation, or $1,700 to $3,000 per year. Of course, if you live close to campus, you can always walk to class!

How Much Does Health Insurance Cost?

Upon enrollment, all FCT students are automatically registered with international student health insurance coverage provided by Guard.Me. That means you don’t have to worry about paying extra insurance costs.

For more resources related to wellbeing, please visit our health and wellness page.

Toronto Restaurant & Grocery Expenses

How often do you go to restaurants? What do you like to eat? How much do you order? Answering these questions will help you uncover a realistic food budget.

According to Numbeo, a meal at an inexpensive restaurant in Toronto ranges from $15 to $40.

To help you plan a budget for your weekly shopping trip, explore this grocery data from Numbeo.*

Items	Price Range
Milk (regular) (1 litre)	1.85-6.00
Loaf of Fresh Bread (500g)	2.49-7.00
Rice (white) (1kg)	2.20-11.69
Eggs (regular) (12)	3.49-7.00
Local Cheese (1kg)	8.00-35.00
Chicken Fillets (1kg)	8.80-28.00
Beef Round (1kg) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat)	12.00-30.86
Apples (1kg)	2.50-10.00
Banana (1kg)	1.25-3.28
Oranges (1kg)	3.00-10.12
Tomato (1kg)	2.18-8.82
Potato (1kg)	1.10-6.60
Onion (1kg)	1.00-7.00
Lettuce (1 head)	2.00-5.00
Water (1.5 litre bottle)	1.28-5.00
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range)	15.00-25.99
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)	2.20-6.00
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)	2.35-8.00
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro)	14.66-25.00

*Data retrieved on 03/01/2024

Education Expenses

For the latest program tuitions, please visit the program page and click on one of the programs.

Besides tuition, you should expect to pay a certain amount for books and supplies. This number will vary for program and person. For example, a person who does not own a laptop should expect to pay more if they need one for their class.

Expense	Approximate cost
Tuition	Visit our tuition fees page
Books and school supplies	$500
Laptop (if needed)	$800–1,800

Monthly Entertainment Costs

As the saying goes, the best things in life are free. FCT is close to various parks, and Toronto has many free festivals and concerts to enjoy throughout the year.

With that said, at the time of writing, Numbeo claims that most people spend from $64 to $196 monthly on sports and leisure activities. Again, if you like shopping and traveling, this number can be even higher.

Expense	Approximate cost
Dining out in restaurants	$50
Monthly gym membership	$50
Movie ticket	$15
Other entertainment events (e.g. concerts, classes, sports events, spa treatments)	$80

Cost of Living: Individual vs. Family in Toronto

Expense (per month)	Individual person (living with roommate)	Family of four
Housing	$700–1,000	$3,700–5,500
Restaurant and Grocery	$350	$1,125
Transit	$195	$600
Education (tuition per month) / Childcare	$2,156	$1,457
Entertainment	$195	$700
Total	$3,596–3,896	$7,582–9,382

Reasons to Have a Budget

The average cost of living in Toronto will vary for each person, so take the time to think about the kind of life you want to live then plan accordingly.

Will you be going to a lot of restaurants? Are there festivals you want to attend? How about destinations you want to visit?

Where did this information come from?

All cost estimations have been taken from Numbeo, the world’s largest cost-of-living database. For the most up-to-date info about cost-of-living in Toronto, it can be a good idea to check Numbeo and other local sources regularly.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How expensive is it to live in Toronto?

For a student at FCT, the cost of living per month in Toronto is around $3,600, including the cost of tuition and rent per month.

How much salary is good in Toronto?

The average salary in Toronto is around $50,000, but an above-average salary to most would likely be at least $70,000.

What is the 50-30-20 rule?

The 50-30-20 rule is a financial recommendation to split your after-tax income into spending 50 per cent on needs, 30 per cent on wants, and 20 per cent on savings.

Need More Help?

Need help estimating your average cost of living in Toronto per month? Or do you have other questions about life in Canada? Email info@flemingcollegetoronto.ca, and we will respond as soon as possible.