Living wage and cost of living in Hamilton
The living wage in Hamilton is $23.10 an hour (the Ontario Living Wage Network, 2026, based on a weighted mix of families, single parents and single adults, working 35 hours a week). By our estimate, one adult renting a 1 bedroom alone needs about $25.52 an hour, 40 hours a week, to live comfortably, and $19.40 to cover basic costs of $2,850 a month. Average rent for a 1 bedroom is $1,402 a month.
Your budget in Hamilton
Tight
Yes, but it is tight. On $20 an hour, 40 hours a week, you would have about $70 a month left after basic costs living alone in a 1 bedroom in Hamilton.
Rent is CMHC's average for all tenants, including people who moved in years ago. New leases usually cost more, so if you are moving now your rent may be higher.
- Take-home pay
- $2,927
- Basic costs
- $2,855
- Left over
- $73
Per month
| Cost | Per month |
|---|---|
| Rent1 | $1,402 |
| Electricity and heat (province average for renters)3 | $125 |
| Food2 | $631 |
| Getting around (Hamilton Street Railway (HSR))4 | $125 |
| Phone, clothes and other basics2 | $571 |
| Basic costs | $2,855 |
Take-home pay
| Pay before tax | $3,467 |
|---|---|
| Income tax7 | −$350 |
| CPP and EI | −$245 |
| Groceries and Essentials Benefit10 | +$57 |
| Take-home pay | $2,927 |
Pay you need in Hamilton
- To cover basic costs
- $19.40 an hour
- To live comfortably
- $25.52 an hour
- Local living wage6
- $23.10 an hour
At 40 hours a week. Comfortable means about a fifth of take-home pay is left after basic costs, for savings and surprises. The living wage is the Ontario Living Wage Network's 2026 figure for Hamilton, based on a weighted mix of families, single parents and single adults, working 35 hours a week. It averages several household types, so it is not a direct comparison with any one household.
How Hamilton compares
Hourly pay for a comfortable budget: living alone in a 1 bedroom, 40 hours a week, with a transit pass. Lowest first, with basic costs a month.
- SherbrookeQC$20.97$2,350 a month
- Saint JohnNB$22.49$2,520 a month
- CharlottetownPE$22.72$2,510 a month
- WindsorON$23.17$2,640 a month
- Québec CityQC$23.40$2,570 a month
- St. John'sNL$23.46$2,600 a month
- AbbotsfordBC$23.70$2,710 a month
- MontréalQC$23.92$2,610 a month
- MonctonNB$24.42$2,690 a month
- ReginaSK$24.65$2,740 a month
- FrederictonNB$25.05$2,750 a month
- SaskatoonSK$25.08$2,770 a month
- LondonON$25.09$2,810 a month
- WinnipegMB$25.14$2,730 a month
- EdmontonAB$25.35$2,860 a month
- HamiltonON$25.52$2,850 a month
- KingstonON$26.13$2,910 a month
- GatineauQC$26.41$2,830 a month
- Kitchener-WaterlooON$26.85$2,980 a month
- KelownaBC$27.32$3,050 a month
- OshawaON$27.64$3,050 a month
- VictoriaBC$27.66$3,080 a month
- OttawaON$28.02$3,090 a month
- CalgaryAB$28.94$3,190 a month
- TorontoON$29.58$3,220 a month
- HalifaxNS$29.71$3,050 a month
- VancouverBC$30.21$3,310 a month
More about Hamilton
Average rent in Hamilton
| Home | Average rent a month |
|---|---|
| Studio | $1,078 |
| 1 bedroom | $1,402 |
| 2 bedroom | $1,659 |
| 3 bedroom | $1,866 |
CMHC Rental Market Survey, October 2025, purpose-built rentals in the Hamilton area. New leases often cost more than the average, which includes long-time tenants. An adult adult monthly pass on presto from Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) costs $125.40.
How the checker works
- Take-home pay: your pay for 52 weeks, minus 2026 federal and provincial income tax, CPP or QPP, EI and, in Quebec, QPIP. In Ontario it includes the LIFT tax credit for low incomes. It adds the Canada Child Benefit, the Groceries and Essentials Benefit and the Canada Workers Benefit. The Canada Workers Benefit is left out in Quebec and Alberta, which set their own amounts, and its disability supplement and the extra amount for a couple's second earner are not included.
- Not included in take-home pay: provincial benefits and credits (such as the Ontario Trillium Benefit, Ontario Child Benefit, B.C. Family Benefit, Alberta Child and Family Benefit, and Quebec's solidarity tax credit and work premium), other provinces' low-income tax reductions, RRSP savings, union dues and other income. Many people on low pay get some of these, so their real budget is often a little better than shown.
- Rent: CMHC's average rent for your home size, October 2025. Roommates split it in two. It includes long-time tenants, so new leases usually cost more. Where CMHC did not publish a 3 bedroom rent, the 2 bedroom average is used and the result says so.
- Electricity and heat: Statistics Canada's 2023 average for your province, adjusted to what renters spend. It is the same for every home size, so a large home may cost more.
- Food, phone, clothes and other basics: Statistics Canada's Market Basket Measure for 2025, the cost of a modest standard of living used for Canada's poverty line, sized to your household.
- Getting around: the local adult monthly transit pass for each adult, or the cost of running one used compact car from the same Statistics Canada basket.
- Child care: for the 3-year-old, the full-time licensed fee for a child under 6 in your city, from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' 2026 survey (Quebec's $9.65 a day reduced rate in Quebec), at 21.75 weekdays a month. Many families wait for a space at this fee. Before- and after-school care for the 7-year-old is not included. Enter your own monthly cost to replace the estimate. Where no fee is published, we ask for yours before giving an answer.
- The answer: "Not enough" if costs are higher than take-home pay. "Tight" if less than a fifth of take-home pay is left. "Comfortable" if a fifth or more is left.
Not included: debt payments, tuition and savings goals. This is an estimate to help you plan, not tax or financial advice.
Common questions
What is the living wage in Hamilton?
$23.10 an hour, according to the Ontario Living Wage Network (2026), based on a weighted mix of families, single parents and single adults, working 35 hours a week.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Hamilton?
About $25.52 an hour, or $53,082 a year, for one adult renting a 1 bedroom alone and working 40 hours a week. That leaves about a fifth of take-home pay after basic costs.
What is the average rent in Hamilton?
$1,402 a month for a 1 bedroom and $1,659 for a 2 bedroom, according to CMHC's October 2025 Rental Market Survey of purpose-built rentals.
Can you live in Hamilton on minimum wage?
No. On $17.95 an hour, 40 hours a week, you would be about $150 a month short of basic costs living alone in a 1 bedroom in Hamilton. Ontario's minimum wage is $17.95 an hour.
Sources for Hamilton
- RentCMHC Rental Market Survey, via Statistics Canada: Average rents for areas with a population of 10,000 and over (table 34-10-0133-01)
- Food, car, phone, clothes and other basicsStatistics Canada: Market Basket Measure thresholds by region and component, 2023 base (table 11-10-0066-01)
- Electricity and heatStatistics Canada: Survey of Household Spending 2023: household spending by province (table 11-10-0222-01) and by tenure (table 11-10-0225-01)
- Transit passHamilton Street Railway (HSR): Adult monthly pass on PRESTO, $125.40
- Child care for a child under 6Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: The $10-a-day divide: Child care fees in Canada in 2026 (median preschool-age fees by city)
- Living wageOntario Living Wage Network: Living wage for Hamilton, 2026
- Income tax, CPP and EICanada Revenue Agency: T4127 Payroll Deductions Formulas, 122nd edition (January 1, 2026) and 123rd edition (July 1, 2026)
- Ontario LIFT tax creditGovernment of Ontario: Low-income Individuals and Families Tax (LIFT) credit
- Canada Child BenefitCanada Revenue Agency: Canada Child Benefit: how much you can get (July 2026 to June 2027)
- Groceries and Essentials BenefitCanada Revenue Agency: Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (formerly GST/HST credit): how much you can get
- Canada Workers BenefitCanada Revenue Agency: Indexation of personal income tax and benefit amounts: Canada Workers Benefit for 2026