The cost of living is more expensive than ever.
According to a Canadian National Rent Report done by Zumper–who analyzes data from thousands of active listings across the country–Victoria has officially been ranked as the third most expensive rental market in the nation.
Just behind Toronto and Vancouver, Canada’s most densely populated cities, the average one bedroom rental unit in Victoria is $1,970.
The going rate of a two bedroom rental climbed 2.8% from last month, and is now at $2,550 per month.
This time last year, a two bedroom would have been going for around $500 less than it is today.
While this cost is up 20.3% from this time last year, statistics show a 1% dip from August 2022’s Canadian National Rent Report.
The report also notes that five of the top 24 most expensive cities in Canada are in BC, while Ontario boasts 10 in the same category.
The rule-of-thumb has always been that people should only spend a third of their monthly income on housing.
That means to afford to rent a one bedroom according to that rule, you’d have to make approximately $6,000 per month—that equates to around $72,000 annually, or $35 per hour.
