These are the best cities in Ontario for renters in 2024

Finding a budget-friendly place to call home in Ontario's gruelling rental market can be a challenge — especially if you're searching for an accommodation that's close to transit, within a walkable neighbourhood, and close to grocery stores or shopping centres. 

In an attempt to find the best cities in Canada for renters in 2024, real estate marketplace Point2Homes analyzed 24 metrics spanning three categories across the country's 100 largest cities. 

For the report, the company observed the 100 largest census subdivisions based on the most recent data from Statistics Canada's 2021 Census of Population. 

Metrics were grouped into three categories, namely economy and housing (unemployment rate, rentership rate), quality of life (crime severity index, air quality, greenness index, walk score), and community (museums per 10,000 people, restaurants per 10,000 people). 

Despite standing out for certain metrics, none of Canada's top 10 largest cities — including Toronto — were deemed the best cities for renters in 2024. 

However, several Ontario cities stood out in the quality of life and community categories. Whitby, Oshawa, and Clarington were all ranked in the top 10 list of best Canadian cities for quality of life, while North Bay, Aurora, and Kingston were all recognized for their high community scores. 

Toronto ranked #70 in the economy and housing category, #40 in quality of life, #25 in community, and #44 overall. 

Here are Ontario's top 10 renter hotspots, according to the study: 

1. Greater Sudbury 
2. Whitby 
3. North Bay 
4. Guelph 
5. Ottawa 
6. Niagara Falls 
7. Kitchener 
8. Welland 
9. St. Catharines 
10. Chatham-Kent 

These are Canada's top 10 cities for renters, according to the report: 

1. St. John's, NL 
2. Sherbrooke, QC 
3. Québec City, QC 
4. Trois-Rivières, QC
5. Saguenay, QC 
6. Granby, QC 
7. Fredericton, NB 
8. Saint John, NB 
9. Saint-Hyacinthe, QC 
10. Lévis, QC