Can you live in Oshawa on minimum wage?

No. On $17.95 an hour, 40 hours a week, you would be about $350 a month short of basic costs living alone in a 1 bedroom in Oshawa.

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.

At $17.95 an hour for 40 hours a week, one adult takes home about $2,705 a month after tax, CPP, EI and benefits, against basic costs of about $3,052 for a 1 bedroom rented alone. To cover basic costs at $17.95 an hour, you would need to work about 47 hours a week, and about 62 hours a week to live comfortably. Ontario's minimum wage is $17.95 an hour (since October 1, 2026). The local living wage is $22.80 (the Ontario Living Wage Network, 2026, for mixed households), $4.85 more than this wage.

Your budget in Oshawa

Not enough

Take-home pay: $2,705
Basic costs: $3,052
Short by: $346

Per month

Monthly budget in Oshawa
Cost	Per month
Rent¹	$1,586
Electricity and heat (province average for renters)³	$125
Food²	$631
Getting around (Durham Region Transit)⁴	$138
Phone, clothes and other basics²	$571
Basic costs	$3,052

Take-home pay

Take-home pay per month
Pay before tax	$3,111
Income tax⁷	−$263
CPP and EI	−$218
Groceries and Essentials Benefit¹⁰	+$57
Canada Workers Benefit¹¹	+$19
Take-home pay	$2,705

Pay you need in Oshawa

To cover basic costs: $21.03 an hour
To live comfortably: $27.64 an hour
Local living wage⁶: $22.80 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 the East region of Ontario, which includes Durham Region, 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 Oshawa 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

On $17.95 an hour in Oshawa, by household

Living aloneNo. About $350 a month short, renting a 1 bedroom.
Sharing with a roommateYes, but tight. About $420 a month left, renting a 2 bedroom.
Single parent, 1 childNo. About $220 a month short, renting a 2 bedroom. Before- and after-school care not included.
Couple, 2 childrenYes, but tight. About $710 a month left, renting a 3 bedroom, counting $480 for child care. Before- and after-school care not included.

More about Oshawa

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

How many hours a week do you need to work at $17.95 an hour in Oshawa?

To cover basic costs at $17.95 an hour, you would need to work about 47 hours a week, and about 62 hours a week to live comfortably. That is for one adult renting a 1 bedroom alone.

What is the living wage in Oshawa?

$22.80 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 Oshawa?

About $27.64 an hour, or $57,491 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 Oshawa?

$1,586 a month for a 1 bedroom and $1,762 for a 2 bedroom, according to CMHC's October 2025 Rental Market Survey of purpose-built rentals.

Sources for Oshawa

RentCMHC Rental Market Survey, via Statistics Canada: Average rents for areas with a population of 10,000 and over (table 34-10-0133-01)October 2025 survey. Checked November 14, 2026.
Food, car, phone, clothes and other basicsStatistics Canada: Market Basket Measure thresholds by region and component, 2023 base (table 11-10-0066-01)2025 thresholds. Checked November 14, 2026.
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)2023 survey. Checked November 14, 2026.
Transit passDurham Region Transit: Adult monthly pass on PRESTO, $138.24, in effect since July 1, 2026Current fare. Checked November 14, 2026.
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)2026 fees, published August 19, 2026. Checked November 14, 2026.
Living wageOntario Living Wage Network: Living wage for the East region of Ontario, which includes Durham Region, 20262026 figure. Checked November 14, 2026.
Income tax, CPP and EICanada Revenue Agency: T4127 Payroll Deductions Formulas, 122nd edition (January 1, 2026) and 123rd edition (July 1, 2026)2026 tax year. Checked November 14, 2026.
Ontario LIFT tax creditGovernment of Ontario: Low-income Individuals and Families Tax (LIFT) credit2022 and later tax years. Checked November 14, 2026.
Canada Child BenefitCanada Revenue Agency: Canada Child Benefit: how much you can get (July 2026 to June 2027)July 2026 to June 2027. Checked November 14, 2026.
Groceries and Essentials BenefitCanada Revenue Agency: Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (formerly GST/HST credit): how much you can getJuly 2026 to June 2027. Checked November 14, 2026.
Canada Workers BenefitCanada Revenue Agency: Indexation of personal income tax and benefit amounts: Canada Workers Benefit for 20262026 tax year. Checked November 14, 2026.