Here's what you have to earn per hour to afford living in Toronto right now

Interest rates have eased, the pace of inflation is slowing (though prices are still on the rise), real estate values are plunging, and rent prices are lower than they've been in years.

But, it's still nowhere near cheap to live in Toronto, and many people's salaries just aren't keeping up with how the price of goods, services and housing have escalated over the last five years.

To float the typical home in the GTA, one needs to rake in more than a staggering $204,000 per year to cover the necessary monthly payments. And, even if you're not locked into an account-draining mortgage, you still have to bring home a hefty sum of cash to afford the average apartment.

A new report from researchers at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) estimates that to comfortably cover a one-bedroom unit in Toronto and still have enough left over to fund basic life expenses, one must earn at least $37.66 per hour — more than two times the current minimum wage in Ontario, which is $17.20 (soon to increase to $17.60 on Oct 1).

This renders Toronto the most "unaffordable" hub in Canada, by the institute's benchmark, which asserts that full-time minimum wage workers in a city should be able to cover rent with less than 30 per cent of their gross or pre-tax income for that place to be considered realistically affordable.

It should be noted that these figures do not take tipped minimum wage positions into account.

Toronto is the least affordable place in Canada based on CCPA's rent index, which looks at non-tipped minimum wage vs. the cost of the average one-bedroom apartment. Figures are from October 2024.

"It will surprise no one that Vancouver and Toronto top the unaffordability list, with someone working full-time needing to make almost $38 an hour for a one-bedroom apartment to be affordable," the report, issued Thursday, states.

"This amounts to $78,699 and $78,333 per year, respectively. Those making less would need to work an extra job, spend a larger share of their income on housing or get a roommate."

Thus, it concludes that it is "virtually impossible" for someone making minimum wage (in a non-tip earning environment, we should add) to be able to pay for housing on their own while still living comfortably, with 70 per cent of their wages to devote to savings and other expenses.

Of all the locations examined across Canada, CCPA says that only eight meet its specific requirements for affordability when it comes to one-bedroom units.